The Squid's Ear Magazine


Myers, David Lee: Oculus [2CDs] (pulsewidth)

A double CD of rich ambient work from New York City-based sound artist David Lee Myers, presenting four expansive compositions that blend electronics, lamellophone, feedback matrices, and hardware and software processing, evoking the ocular opening of the eye and architectural forms through immersive soundscapes that explore the interplay between organic and electronic elements.
 

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Label: pulsewidth
Catalog ID: PW34
Squidco Product Code: 35857

Format: 2 CDs
Condition: New
Released: 2025
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded Summer, 2024.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Oculus double CD recorded at Pulsewidth, summer 2024. The eye of the machine-ambient minimalist aural visions for electronics, lamellophone, feedback matrices, hardware and software processing.

Oculus Prelude - From various sources Oculus Neura - For low frequency audio oscillators Oculus Indo - For lamellophone Oculus Major - For feedback matrices"-David Lee Myers, Pulsewidth



David Lee Myers is a New York City-based sound and visual artist who has been exploring the realms of electronic and feedback music since 1980. Initially releasing works under the moniker Arcane Device, Myers has produced over fifty recordings, collaborating with artists such as Asmus Tietchens, Tod Dockstader, and Dirk Serries. His innovative approach involves creating "Feedback Music" by routing the outputs of electronic devices back into their inputs, allowing the machines to generate unique sounds autonomously.



"It's always a pleasure to hear new music by David Lee Myers, formerly known as Arcane Device. I have been doing so since I listened to his debut album in 1988 or thereabouts. I can't say how many different releases I have heard from the man, who seems to have become increasingly active in recent years. These are his two most recent releases.The most recent one is the one he recorded in the summer of 2024, Oculus, a double CD with three long pieces and a short prelude. Myers calls this "ambient minimalist aural visions for electronics, lamellophone, feedback matrices, hardware and software processing." The lamellophone is a thumb piano. Per piece, he mentions what we hear, starting with "various sources" and then "low-frequency audio oscillators", "lamellophone", and "feedback matrices". Obviously, the thumb piano is the most surprising instrument here, but Myers plays it quite differently. The operating words are given by Myers "ambient minimalist aural visions", and that's exactly what he offers here. In his feedback music, Myers swings many ways: noise, ambient, musique concrète, or even something very vaguely pop music, and I like them all, but I am also very much a lover of minimal music, drone music and all sorts of ambient. In that respect, Oculus is what I enjoy best, and it's some of Myers' best work. However, I have to put in a disclaimer: this is my opinion as a private listener. If I take a step back and discuss this album in terms of innovation or development, then, objectively, I have to say that's maybe not the case. Granted, there aren't many works from Myers on this minimal level, let alone playing these pieces for such a length (six, twice 30 and one 55 minutes), but it fits his previous ambient excursions quite well. The thumb piano piece, 'Oculus Indo', has very little to do with the traditional thumb piano and acts as repeated triggers for setting an ever-changing set of sounds in motion, sometimes very ambient, some machine-like. That's something that he repeats in each of these pieces. It's a beautiful, extended soundtrack for a dark evening. [...]"-Frans de Waard, Vital Weekly


Get additional information at Vital Weekly

Artist Biographies

"David Lee Myers is a sound and visual artist who has lived and worked in New York City since 1977. Pulsewidth serves as the platform for his activities in the arts, particularly sound projects, a number of which have been released under the Pulsewidth record label.

From 1987 through 1993, sound projects were developed under the name Arcane Device. With the development of new devices in 2014, it seems fitting for the moniker to be revived.

Myers work stems from an enthusiasm for electronics and the world of electrons as it relates to the realm of vibration and sound. After a fine arts education and many years in music, in 1987 Myers' accidental discovery of "Feedback Music" led to a new appreciation of the unseen forces underlying audible electronics."

-Pulsewidth (http://www.pulsewidth.com/)
2/24/2025

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



SIDE A



1. Oculus Prelude 06:04

2. Oculus Neura 29:24

3. Oculus Indo 30:45

SIDE B



1. Oculus Major 54:16

Related Categories of Interest:


Electro-Acoustic
Organized Sound and Sample Based Music
Electronic Forms
Sound, Noise, &c.
Piano & Keyboards
NY Downtown & Metropolitan Jazz/Improv
Solo Artist Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Experimental & Electronic Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

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