In 2022, experimental musician Phillip Golub released his solo debut, Filters, on Joseph Branciforte‘s acclaimed label, greyfade. Like all other greyfade releases, it was a process-based project. Golub composed loops in each song with manual implementation of the same notes, over and over, as a minimalist exercise containing subtle sonic shifts throughout the album’s run time.
This time around, Phillip Golub is still with greyfade, but the project’s scope is a bit different. Loop 7 is one 28-minute composition, using a 22-note per octave tuning system and employing two microtonally-tuned Yamaha Disklavier pianos controlled via a keyboard controller. One of the biggest differences between Filters and Loop 7 is that Golub is joined by other musicians.
While piano certainly dominates the piece, the welcome, subtle addition of other players gives this project slightly more depth and scope. With assistance from Ty Citerman on electric guitar, Aaron Edgcomb on vibraphone, and Branciforte on live electronics and synthesizer, the loop project takes on a wider dimension, resulting in a step forward in Golub’s ambitions.
As expected, Golub’s piano notes repeat themselves throughout the 28-minute piece, but the subtle shifts can be felt when zooming out and seeing the piece as a complex project and not just an exercise in repetition. Golub and his fellow musicians can wrest uncommon textures and shapes from this minimalist exercise. Even if it were a solo piano piece, the unusual, sometimes indefinable feel of microtonal music is enough to jar the ears of those not used to it.
Golub prepared a performance of the piece on a MIDI keyboard, which was then played back through a Disklavier – Yamaha’s proprietary system for mechanical player piano-style playback – onto a microtonally-tuned acoustic piano in two separate layers. With assistance from Branciforte, the other members of the ensemble were recorded – Citerman’s electric guitar was tuned in scordatura mode and joined by Edgcomb’s microtonal vibraphone and Branciforte’s electronics and synths.
The ensemble were given a wide berth, finding its way in and around Golub’s notes but in subtle ways that quietly support the piece. The accompaniment is often almost subliminal, at least initially, but becomes more of an active part of the music as it reaches its conclusion.
One of the most satisfying aspects of this ambitious piece is how it manages to straddle lines between the tension of repetition and the warmth of the instruments. As is expected from Branciforte’s label, the sound quality is impeccable and meticulous, demanding the listener’s attention while creating an oddly peaceful atmosphere. Unlike previous greyfade releases, Loop 7 is currently only available in digital form. But like all other greyfade labels, it’s not available on streaming services. If you want to hear Loop 7, the greyfade Bandcamp site offers a sample, which is also where you can purchase and download it.
Loop 7 is yet another in a series of ambitious experimental projects from Phillip Golub and another stunning home run for Joseph Branciforte. Both artists – as well as the musicians who join them here – are devoted to creating music that is complex, engaging, and unique.