Arc Lab The Goodbye Radio CATMD157

Medard Fischer returns with his rather cryptically-titled third album, “The Goodbye Radio”. Representing a large step forward for Fischer's Arc Lab project, the album is structured as a musical reinterpretation of the sonnet form in which field recordings, organic instrumentation, radio noise, candid male vocals and snippets of old public domain recordings meet with the FM synthesis, female vocals and signature beatwork that made previous Arc Lab efforts so special. Thematic reference points include the Russian space program, relativity, female serial killers, and being separated from a soulmate. This diverse collection of influences gives the album a more personal feel than previous efforts as there are now human stories attached to Fischer's Arc Lab scheme. Genre specific sign-posts or “this-meets-that” descriptors are really of little use in describing “The Goodbye Radio” as Fischer has now taken Arc Lab to places where the synthetic only aid him in the preservation of great music and ideas. But, as the title may allude to, this may be Fischer's final offering. Let's hope not. An artist capable of such alchemy would be a significant loss for all of us. Let's hope the Arc Lab radio stays on and at its full volume. [ learn more about Arc Lab]

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Medard Fischer's third Arc Lab album ranges so widely, it invites descriptors such as “genre-defying” or, perhaps most appropriately, “genre-transcending.” Some common threads do run throughout, however, one in particular being the material's oft-classical feel. And if the tracks do feel somewhat classical in spirit, they should as Fischer based their structures on the sonnet form. In many pieces, multiple vocal and instrumental melodies interlock in intricate and graceful counterpoint, and often the compositions feel reminiscent of gamelan and Asian music in their clockwork rhythms and overall delicacy. Though piano is the nucleus, the arrangements are rich in evocation, something that also doesn't surprise given that Fischer works field recordings, radio noise, male and female vocals, and bits and pieces of ancient recordings into the material's fabric.

There's much high-caliber music-making on display, with its emotive electronic character representative of n5MD in general. Following an overture of electro-acoustic haze (“Transients”), the album proper ensues with the melancholic piano-based ballad “The Secret Lives of A.C. Wuornos” (yes, the serial killer) whose haunting effect is undercut slightly by the robotic filtering of the vocal (“I am the movie with no sound / I am the girl you dream about”). Other highlights include “Reflexives,” an impressive two-part composition that begins as a classical sounding piano-and-strings setting before turning pensive in part two and gradually evolving into a gamelan-flavoured setting for mallet instruments, and “Departure Music Part One,” featuring an arresting mix of harp, glockenspiel, acoustic bass, and even castanets. Memorable vocal pieces appear too, specifically the elegant ballad “Small Numbers” and “I Wish I Could Tell You,” whose melancholic electro-pop style brings Styrofoam to mind.

Might this be Fischer's adieu, as the album title suggests? Stay tuned… papercuts

Décidemment le label n5MD n'a pas fini de nous surprendre et de nous charmer. Ce nouvel album d'Arc Lab se présente comme une des sorties electro incontournables de 2008. Medard Fischer nous avait déjà convaincu de son talent avec 'No Spectre', album précédent sorti en 2007. Mais loin de se reposer sur ses lauriers M. Arc Lab a choisi de se renouveller. 'The Goodbye Radio' sonne beaucoup plus accoustique, on y entend du piano et des cordes sur 'Reflexiver I', des voix féminines et masculines, et les (bonnes) surprises ne s'arrêtent pas en si bon chemin !

'The Secret Lives Of A.C. Wuornos' et '1905' peuvent rappeler le meilleur de Telepopmusik mais ce n'est qu'une facette de l'univers d'Arc Lab. Tout en finesse, 'The Goodbye Radio' est un oasis de douceur. Ambient mais passionnant, l'album arrive toujours à surprendre l'auditeur sans jamais le lasser.

La production est d'une richesse insoupçonnée, sous des airs épurés il s'agit ici d'un véritable travail d'orfèvre qui ne se dément jamais au fil de l'album avec en fil d'ariane ces sons de radio lointains et enfouis. Le meilleur exemple demeure le titre éponyme: une voix aérienne qui répète inlassablement le même gimmick et les instruments qui arrivent l'un après l'autre pour enrober et caresser ces paroles... Une montée en puissance vers le nirvana sonore.

Arc Lab nous prouve avec talent qu'on peut encore être inventif et passionnant dans la musique de nos jours. La meilleure façon de fermer le clapet à tous ceux qui pensent que « c'était mieux avant » angryape

Though Arc Lab’s 2007 release No Spectre displayed potent levels of production prowess, the emotional aspects one has come to expect from an n5MD release didn’t quite reach the same mark. On his second outing for the Californian imprint, Torontonian Medard Fischer has struck the perfect balance between the two aspects. Authoring a certain career best piece of work, if not one of the most original releases in the IDM field in some time.

“The Goodbye Radio” runs very much like the title suggests, as if Fischer is slowly guiding us through a variety of channels or stations on the radio spectrum. Confounding the set-in-stone rules of a stagnant IDM genre, hisses of static, soft piano sonnets, distant, grainy monologues and tranquil orchestral segments all weave their way throughout Fischer’s rich, intricate tapestry. To say the variety on the 50+ minutes of music here is remarkable would be doing Arc Lab a disservice. The way so many styles are uniquely incorporated is downright ingenious. “Transients” establishes the mood early on mixing radio interference with grainy, melodious drones, soft twilight tones and indecipherable speech, as if the radio dial has absent-mindedly been left between stations. From there, Fischer ushers us towards the serene pairing of “Reflexives Part 1 & Part 2”. The first part introduces a soft piano led melody and sombre orchestration, while it’s accompanying second part finds Fischer adding subtle electronics and soulful chimes and tones.

In keeping with the radio concept, “Song for Oleg” is a haunting electro pop number, as Fischer spins that dial towards a style that vaguely resembles his label mate Tobias Lilja. While, “I Wish I Could Tell You” pleasingly mixes chilled male/female vocals with a velvet synth backdrop to produce what can only be described as the album’s radio friendly unit shifter.

The fact that these differing styles are seamlessly blended is testament to Fischer’s production capabilities, a lesser musician may well have folded under such an ambitious concept. Given these sentiments, the strange “Recidivist Waltz”, a medieval sounding harpsichord piece, and the poignant “Like Conquistadors”, augment the overall flow rather than hinder. If anything, they add a personal touch, as if Fischer has invited us to trawl through his listening habits. As the closing number “Departure Music” fades into quiet, the only cause for concern on this release is possibility of a cryptic message in the album title (and indeed the last track). On this form, we really can’t afford to lose Arc Lab. popmatters

Evocative symphonies meet stationary ambience on The Goodbye Radio, with Medard “Arc Lab” Fisher’s interest in classical music outweighing his affinity for miniature, Morr Music-styled electronic pop.

The most engaging track on this, Arc Lab’s third album, is a slowly churning beauty called “The Secret Lives of A.C. Wuornos”. Its static-loaded percussion punches in and out like Morse code, and a female vocalist named Svitlana helps steer “The Secret Lives...” along its verse-chorus-verse route, rather than on the experimental road taken for most of Goodbye. The lyrics, already coded in metaphor, lap against lush electric piano tones and are rubbery and fluid, suggesting they’ve been over-processed with the ever-popular Auto-Tune software.

“Small Numbers” partners Svitlana’s un-touched vocal with Beatle-esque charm for another Goodbye collaboration. Arc Lab’s shared compositions yield the most pleasant moments here, but a couple of Goodbye‘s instrumentals are spellbinding in their digitally rendered wonder. The more straightforward, classically-launched efforts are pretty dry alongside the title track’s warm allotment of field noises and the fuzzy backdrop of “Transients”—Arc Lab would do well to expand on impulses like these or, at the very least, book more studio time with Svitlana. de:bug

n5MD hat zur Zeit mit jedem Release einen neuen Trumpf im Ärmel. Nach der berstenden Euphorie von Bitcrush legt Arc Lab es eher auf eine so laut wie mögliche Stille an, changiert clever zwischen Instrumentals, voll mit französischer Traurigkeit, und überraschenden poppigen Songs. Die daraus resultierende Mischung ist ziemlich unwiderstehlich. Medard Fischer produziert derart auf den Punkt, verwebt verhuschte Field Recordings mit großen Piano-Figuren, freundlich tuckernden Beats und entwickelt dabei ein verwischtes, aber doch immer alles durchdringendes Gefühl für Songs, die einfach gesungen werden müssen. Dabei hat er sich nicht etwa auf eine Formel versteift, die er dann über das Album in allen Facetten durchdekliniert. Die Drehungen und Wendungen, die "The Goodbye Radio" immer wieder nimmt, stoßen eine neue Tür nach der nächsten auf. Ein großartiges Popalbum.

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