New cassette release on PBKsound: "Sum & Substance (Phillip Klampe Mix)"-
Phillip Klampe, from Princeton, Illinois, has long been a luminary within the realm of experimental composition. With his Homogenized Terrestrials project taking flight in the mid-to-late 80's, Klampe emerged as a true sonic maverick, self-releasing mesmerizing cassettes that caught the attention of the U.S. cassette underground scene.
Delving into the micro>macro atmospheric soundscapes of ambient music, Klampe defied conventional categorization by employing an array of enigmatic and indefinable sounds to craft his compositions. His work, undeniably intellectual in nature, possesses an ephemeral quality that resists confinement, evoking a sense of poetry and profundity within meticulously thought-out arrangements.
One of Klampe's recent artistic endeavors was his contribution in 2021 to the Chain Letter Exhortation Series, a collection of four-person collaborative projects released on PBK's label, PBKsound. The premise behind this series revolves around a creative relay, where each artist remixes, manipulates, and adds to the audio crafted by their predecessor, resulting in a sonic metamorphosis with every iteration. This transformative process fractures and reshapes the established foundations, ultimately birthing a final mix that shatters preconceived notions of what came before.
"Sum & Substance," the first entry in this series, unites the sonic layers of experimental sound artists Nu A.M. (Mah Nu); PBK (Phillip B. Klingler); Homogenized Terrestrials (Phillip Klampe); and Dead Shall Not Have Died In Vain (Marc Benner). The original final mix was by Marc Benner whose rendition infused elements of ASMR to craft an intensely personal statement.
Contrasting Benner's version, Phillip Klampe's mix consists of ambient and atmospheric threads carefully woven into the fabric by Klampe himself. Here we are treated to a soundtrack brimming with beauty despite it's profound abstraction. Notably, Klampe's deft utilization of Nu A.M.'s "affected cassette" sources establishes a clear link to the very essence of the chain letter concept, deeply rooted in the ethos of cassette culture. In "Sum & Substance (Phillip Klampe Mix)," he defies sonic boundaries, transcending conventional genre classifications with his compelling artistry.