Tepe
Gawra: A Rise In The Chalcolithic (Other Forms)

I
don’t know much about this project, but this 3-track release on Other
Forms is totally stunning. According to the project’s Bandcamp page,
Tepe Gawra is an ancient Mesopotamian settlement located in modern
day Iraq, and its three “Tholoi” tracks are named after
keyhole-shaped houses of Halaf culture, believed to have been used
for ritual purposes. Of these three, prolonged pieces the artist
claims that “each tholoi recording is a passageway.” And indeed,
these are nearly transcendental in their immersive sprawl. It’s a
serene cloud of sound that vibrates with distortion and reverb,
majestic in their massiveness.

A Rise In The Chalcolithic by Tepe Gawra

The first one makes the biggest
impression and runs the longest, over 26 minutes of subtly shifting
minor chord drones. Once it’s swollen to full capacity, it drones
continuously for the duration, monumental in scale alone but elevated
by its own ethereality. The second track starts off much quieter,
with a tense, low-level hum and distant vocals. Over its 22 minutes
of playback, it grows in scale and volume to capture some of the same
majesty of the first cut. Its hepatonic flourishes seem to reference
the geography of its concept more directly, but again this is all
buried under a wall of reverb and effects. The shorter final cut (a
mere 12 minutes!) reprises much of these motifs and sounds as a final
entry, almost a bit of final punctuation on the idea as a whole.
While perhaps its three parts display diminishing returns on a
certain level, A Rise in the Chalcolithic is an excellent foray into
gaseous, amorphous sound. Recommended for fans of Rafael Anton
Irisarri, Fennesz, N, Saåad.

Buy it: Bandcamp