Fon: Fakt (review)

Fakt, by the Austrian duo Fon (M. Soellner, J. Groiss, no first names are given anywhere) comes in a nondescript grey cardboard package with a single page of hermetic writings. Fon has a fairly impenetrable Web presence as well, via the label Werkzeug (www.wrkzg.net/). Here, one can access and then read text files such as "about fon.txt," or go to "fon.redirect.to" to find, with difficulty, other material about the duo. The 11 tracks are listed as 0+0 0+1, 0+2, . . . 0+9, End. The times are given in seconds, the longest track (0+4) lasting 491 of them. Total CD time is 42:46. By describing the durations in seconds Fon flags the granularity of the attention that is required, or desired, for appreciation of the pieces found on Fakt.

Stylistically, the pieces on Fakt fit within the clicks-and-cuts, glitchand noise school, with the strongest pieces on the CD benefiting from an attention to detail at the micro level. In these, the shorter pieces, relatively sparse lines of glitches express a structural intention with hyper-clarity. The recording quality is beautiful—nothing lush, nothing seductive—every element standing out in the non-referential non-space digital music has made its own. Fon plays with the spatial attributes of this non-space very successfully, sometimes harshly or clumsily, at other times with subtlety and humor. Track 4 has a particularly effective and humorous use of panning and volume to give the impression of being buzzed by some bizarre insect car. The longer pieces tend to be (vertically) denser, and I found my attention flagging as they began to sound like just one sound after another.

Sonically, Fakt has a limited palette, lacking in mid-range frequencies, with upper-mid-range frequencies and rapid transients particularly apparent. Most sounds appear to be derived from digital glitches or file trawls for structure—standard techniques of the glitch school. This limited palette does not restrict or diminish the quality of the music. On the contrary, it is most apparent in those tracks I found the strongest. For example, Track 6 approaches a microsound sensibility, with variants on a single sound, rhythm, and space: a beautiful, percussive, filtered noise with subtle modulation over the amplitude and frequency envelopes. Throughout the CD a number of sounds are reminiscent of early computer and console games. Some sounds have an almost "retro" feel: microphone taps and tape echo, pulse modulation, amplitude-modulated sine waves. At times, this is a weakness in the integrity of the CD, as these sounds seem to appear without reference and can border on the cliché. This is particularly apparent with the vocoder-like sound used in Track 5, and the pulse-width modulation used in Track 7.

Rhythms underlie most tracks, generated by both synchronous and asynchronous loops and fragments. Rhythmical structures are generally simple and are derived from patterns of pop and dance music. At best, the rhythms are tightly integrated into the overall structure of the piece; at worst they seem a little gratuitous. They are never as oppressive or tedious as those found in much of dance-derived electronica, however.

Overall, then, Fakt is an interesting disc. It is not easy-listening, and at times can be harsh to the point of unethical. Nonetheless, Fon has produced a work of overt intention that is worth repeated listening.