Irrational by π (Pi)

π (Pi) = Jon Drummond and John Encarnacao

π (Pi) is an electronic duo borne of a live improvisatory practice, but is also the product of intensive home-studio sessions. In the front room of a house in the tiny inner-west Sydney suburb of Orange Grove, Jon Drummond and John Encarnacao tinkered away, making two albums from 1998-2002. Irrational is the first of these albums, released on vinyl only in 1999. The second album Secret Robot Business remains unreleased, but Psychopyjama has plans . . .

Jon and John would improvise on an old VCS3 synthesizer - no keyboard, just a pinboard patch bay - a keyboard synth, and some mid-1990s effects units. Sometimes they would grab some relatively transparent layers of sound from these electronic jams, edit them into loops, and assemble CDs that would then become part of further improvisations. In this manner, they amassed material which would then be subjected to a variety of types of manipulation. Some final tracks are simply edits of jams, delivered as performed. Others might zoom in on an infinitesimal detail that might be stretched over several minutes, or be the result of radical remixes of multitrack recordings of these jams.

One might hear the influence of the 1990s experimental electronica of Oval, Aphex Twin, and perhaps especially Autechre, but also the acousmatic work of the likes of Parmegiani, Harrison, Oliveros and Xenakis, as well as the mid-century musique concrete and experimentation of Schaeffer, Henry, Cage, Stockhausen and Varese. However, the pop-sized chunks of the tracks on side 1 of Irrational as well as the casual humour of these home recordings set them apart. Visceral and challenging they may be on one level, but by turns the music is also beautiful, playful and evocative.