Everyday urban sounds that most people would consider irrelevant and ignorable background noise continues to be an endless supply of source material for the remarkable compositions of sound artist Christopher McFall. Following his recent single extended release on netlabel Alg-a "Touchtype (The Rising)", Christopher McFall brings four tracks of abstract sound art and murky drones that fall into the Clinical Archives aesthetic by way of "Grayscale is Failing." Consisting of four untitled pieces with three running between 8 - 10 minutes in duration and a shorter track of just over 2.5 minutes, "Grayscale is Failing" furthers the label’s goal of offering “eclectic and illogical electronic music.“ With these four compositions, Christopher offers an assorted montage of sampled field recordings sometimes stretched and bent into a grayish drones and, at other times, shredded into unrecognizable, microscopic grains of sounds which are then reconstructed into segments of abstract noise. With the exception of some gentle, harmonious moments on the third track, "Grayscale is Failing" is, in general, one of Christopher’s harsher, more discordant collections and continues his expressionistic approach to sound art. What comes across in his compositions is not an impassive, detached version of the urban soundscape, but one that is personal and poignant - a subjective and passionate response to the sounds that encompass his world. These are intense, guttural, and exaggerated soundscapes where layers of contrasting sounds create a fragmented sound-space where the fine, purposeful strokes of harmony and structure are replaced by the broad, sweeping brushstrokes of expressionism. Expressionist Soundscapes LAJ 2007-07-10 21:25:29 2007-07-10 16:15:03 5 1 5.00