Ryan Teague - Recursive Iterations (2019)

Hugely surprising turn of angular, playful algorithmic experiments by composer Ryan Teague, best known for his sublime ambient minimalism, but here upending expectations with a very canny jazz-fusion winks to 0PN and the kind of mutated film music made by Maxwell Sterling

“Bristol–based composer Ryan Teague presents Recursive Iterations, a suite of seven extended compositions that incorporate cinematic arrangements and cutting edge sound design within an algorithmic framework to striking effect. The resulting pieces combine elements of neo-classical, post– rave, and soundtrack music, to create an utterly compelling contemporary soundscape balanced by a calculated, almost architectural use of space and restraint.

The musical structure is derived from a custom–written algorithmic system that sequences harmonic and rhythmic events in ever–shifting patterns. Hyperreal electro-acoustic phrases and digitally synthesised fragments come and go in continual rotation, re-framed and re-contextualised by their proximity to other events in the sequence as the compositions evolve. The effect evokes a minimalist bricolage, hypnotic and kaleidoscopic in nature, and calls to mind artists such as Oneohtrix Point Never, The Haxan Cloak and Ital Tek.

At the same time, a core theme running throughout the record is a masterly use of absence and inertia influenced by the Japanese concepts of ma (間 – negative space) and the enso (円相 – circle), which serve to complement and counterbalance the diverse sound palette. By integrating these qualities, tension is built and resolved in equal measure, creating a dramatic sonic impression where fragmented rhythms, dynamic textures, subsonic basses, and delicate ambience all coexist.

Recursive Iterations is a bold, powerful, and unique work that pushes sonic boundaries whilst revealing more with each listen.”