seven

trifid project is a collaboration of many members of zone 51 community that were featured on impressive "escape from room seven" compilation on vacuum. james plotkin joined matthieu maire, sheila mata, yves and marie daubert in an effort that borrows some of the percussive elements from celluloid mata, ambient motives of ultra milkmaids, mechanized haywire of jukebox sounds backed by downtempo percussion that is somewhat similar to oil 10 or even tame version of scorn. it is quite hard to make an adequate comparison, since the sound of this album is so unlike anything else I have heard lately.

its beauty lies in precise sound manipulation, perfectly crafted sonic elements that blend small percussives, clicks, hisses, atonal keys, cut up strings and occasionally well-placed vocal samples (that remind me of magnetism of vromb samples on "perimetre") with strings, colder ambient motives.

its atmosphere changes from song to song; first two tracks are closer to rhythmic hypnotizing textures that are still beautifully diverse and feature caustic, very solid atmospheres that holds up despite a wide variety of sounds used. on following "zickzack" james plotkin introduces a short crunchy intermission filled with little noisy splinters. later on it's more firm percussion backed by spacey acoustic elements and distant strings. "psalm 66" reminded me of peculiar rich ambient of "jerusalem" split between elektroplasma and celluloid mata. at the same time it is enhanced by perfectly fitting acoustic guitar touches and gentle spoken word samples. it is amazing how well all the seemingly unfitting elements mix together to form a completely unusual yet very solid texture. closing "nebula" is probably the most mysterious track on the cd, mesmerizing with dark minimal strings and well-placed strange vocal samples.

overall, this is a truly breathtaking experience that takes you through an amazing amount of emotions and moods, sparkling with mature, rich and very well-composed textures that make you play this short cd again and again. only mark spybey & mick harris work on hushush comes very close to this experience. it does not necessarily fit the same style, rather approaches music in a similar way, combining many strong music directions into one spectacular mix.