Discography
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Referencing an old Providence armory in Geoff's neighborhood, Armory Radio is an ode to a specific chunk of time and space. Originally self-released as a double CDR in very small quantity, this limited double LP version features new material combined with reworkings of the original cdr version. Departing from last year's blues-influenced The Air In Pieces, Geoff surprises us once again with his creative diversity and his ongoing search for new sonic territory. At the start of the Armory Radio project in 2004 Geoff found a busted boombox in the trash with a barely working shortwave radio function on it. This roadside treasure was one of many found objects revived for unconventional reuse: handheld radios, cassette players and speakers which all play a role in structuring the album. This physical scavenging, along with other unplanned musical discoveries, led to the process-driven compositions on Armory Radio. Obsolete technology, found objects and a city's architecture are a few of the repeating themes embedded in Armory Radio's guitar-driven drones. Geoff's dramatic use of noise is prevalent as well, building thick fabrics of haze intertwined with fragmented feedback patterns that phase in and out with one another. Comparisons could be drawn to the ethereal short-wave recordings of William Basinski or Phil Niblock's massive drones, but Armory Radio is a more volatile work; no doubt influenced by the fertile noise underground in America (artists like Aaron Dilloway and Prurient come to mind, although not in too literal a way). Influences and artistic intentions aside, listening to Armory Radio evokes something a bit detached (in a good way) from its creative context and even Geoff himself. It's almost as though this recording already existed in a life somewhere else, a creation that's always been there; and Geoff's playing and our listening is the reawakening of its pulse. As the first solo release from Geoff on Barge Recordings, we are pleased to release Armory Radio as both a beautiful album and a pivotal work in Geoff's development as an artist. |
