**Full-color picture disc, released in an edition of 233 copies. 2021 Stock ** Much of Matt Shoemaker's recorded output prominently features the use of field recordings (see his "Tropical Amnesia One" CD), but in this case he has eschewed such grounded measures and has instead sculpted a two-part puzzle which seemingly exists on some other plane(t). Layer upon evolving layer of sonic phenomena is still the methodological trademark, but the content is almost entirely electronic, lending a great deal of vivid color to a description of blackest space. The two works presented here are powerfully mysterious, unsettling examples of Matt Shoemaker's prowess as a composer of details, of moods and tenses.
The improbably relevant artwork for this release consists of two collages utilizing Shoemaker's own hand-dyed paper. The images, as well as their meanings, are essentially abstract and yet remarkably familiar. The "Isolated Agent" scuttles in a circular motion, forever locked in an endless search for the unknown element. The constant retreat, the "Stranding Behavior" inevitably resulting in/from confusion. "You realize what you are implying? That we owe our human condition here to the intervention of insects." Matt Shoemaker's music has been released by such labels as Trente Oiseaux, The Helen Scarsdale Agency, and Ferns Recordings.
