Lurji T'algha by Ben Wheeler

Tbilisi, Georgia-based multi-instrumentalist Ben Wheeler interfaces with sound in a wide array of contexts: improvisational modular synthesizer performance, acoustic soundtrack composition, ethnomusicology field recordings, community radio sound FX, etc. Which makes the premise of his newest solo collection particularly notable, as he distilled his palette to primarily two instruments: a 1983 East German Vermona synthesizer and a Soviet Elektronika FL-01 flanger (aided by accents of an Akai Tomcat drum machine and modified Boss loop pedals).

Recorded on the eve of a trio of shows across the South Caucasus, Lurji T’algha (Georgian for “blue wave”) distills his recent years of interdisciplinary work into mantric electronic reveries, swooping and spiraling in vertical horizons of unkempt circuitry. Each piece snowballs from snippets of glitch, noise, or oscillating drone, adding loops and layers until the harmonic mass seems to ascend like some feverish synthetic devotional.

While Wheeler admits the album has no “explicit” melodic or rhythmic allusions to traditional Caucasus music, he cites his extended exposure to it as formative, particularly its “core structures.” For instance the two root chords of the closing track, “Spider Crab,” echo a technique of songs from Tusheti, a rugged northeastern region of Georgia. Even to a neophyte, a subtle sense of the ancient is audible here. Though channeled from entirely electronic sources, the music of Lurji T’algha feels born of an ageless human wavelength: looking up, looking in, the world undimmed.

-Britt Brown (Not Not Fun Records)

"...immersive tapestries of ever-developing electronic sounds." -The FFFoxy Podcast

"...transfixing for those who listen, tones and notes filled with rich saturating electronic nostalgia . . . Don't miss out on this release, so beautifully solid." -Lost in a Sea of Sound

"...truly a one of a kind effort." -Take Effect

Music by Ben Wheeler

Video for "Lurji T’algha" by Kasper Jordaens
instagram.com/kaosbeat

Mastered by t e l e p a t h テレパシー能力者 / Virtual Dream Plaza
virtualdreamplaza.com

Artwork by Stugbear / Giorgi Gelbakhiani
instagram.com/stugbear

Leviathan sticker by Salome Jokhadze
instagram.com/salomejokhadze_

Tape + sticker photos by Emily Dodson

Tracklist

1.	Lurji T'algha	11:01

2.	Foam	10:28

3.	Mtsvane T'algha	10:35

4.	Ripple	1:07

5.	Bneli T'algha	5:13

6.	Spider Crab	5:55

Videos

Credits

released February 4, 2022

License

CC BY-NC 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.