Eventless Plot is a group of musicians and composers originally from Thessaloniki, who are interested in the quieter side of the contemporary and avant-garde spectrum. Its core is Vasilis Liolios, Aris Giatas, and Yiannis Tsirikoglou and, indeed, those three are the full ensemble on many Eventless Plot releases. On Anisixia, however, Liolios (psaltery and e-bow), Giatas (analogy synth), and Tsirikoglou (electronics Max/MSP), are joined by Nefeli Sani (piano), Chris Cundy (bass clarinet) and Eva Matsigou (flute). Doubling in size, the ensemble generates a fuller sound than it has in the past through focusing on extended tones and textures, gradual development, amelodicism and space. They do so expertly and, remarkably, they do so evenly. On Anisixia, Cundy, Sani and Matsigou are as essential as the Liolios- Giatas-Tsirikoglou nucleus.
The album's single track, "Anisixia", evokes a calm, isolated suspension. It suggests the sensation of simply being adrift. (The triptych photograph on the inside cover speaks to that second point.) It is disorienting, but its warm, evocative tones offer solace and comfort. It is sinister, but buoyant, as the creeping hisses ride upon undulating layers of crescendos and, at one point, a heavy series of sparse piano melodies, which fades into a brittle silence. This brief moment of quiet is also a moment of gathering, as it folds into a lone piano backed by a whispering ambient hiss. Does this denote decay or presence? Is it a sign of life and electricity or the absence thereof? In this cryptic way, however, "Anisixia" also sounds distantly familiar. I had not heard this recording before my first listen, but I had heard something like it, with a similar palette and maybe even similar instrumentation (minus the psaltery) but with a heavier (or lighter) density of threads, a cooler range of colors, a different array of fog and shimmer and a more linear approach to progression. Eventless Plot, in other words, works within a recently established electro-acoustic tradition that one can trace through labels such as Another Timbre (who released the ensemble's Parallel Worlds in 2020) and, of course, Wandelweiser as of late. And they do it exceedingly well and to a heavy emotive effect. Turn this one up loud and play it as you sip your morning coffee or tea ideally with few other distractions. It will draw you in and take you away, if just for a short while.
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