Eli Wallis | Solo

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Winter in Imola

June 22, 2024

The titular House of Usher stands in Poe's story as an afterdream in a singularly dreary stretch of country, its large and lofty rooms haunted by remote feudal times and a minute fungi sentience.

Melville Webber & James Sibley Watson's 1928 silent film adaptation envisions the house as a labyrinth of dark rooms looping back into themselves, ghostly recursions adrift with hypnotized inhabitants.

Autumn in the House of Usher was performed on an Allen & Heath Zed-10FX mixer fed into itself. The first two pieces consist of two overlaid improvisations, and the title track was performed in four takes responding to the Webber & Watson film.

Swum to Phasis began as three performances on no-input mixing board and radio, which were then arranged in reverse chronological order and responded to with amplified (and mostly muted) trombone. The rain grew from drizzle to downpour, then dissipated.

Al centro di tutto c'è la pioggia, che attraversa il disco come un elemento naturale e fluido: da una pioggerella iniziale che suggerisce una calma sospesa, si trasforma in un acquazzone impetuoso e poi lentamente si dissolve, lasciando spazio al silenzio e al vuoto. Questo passaggio dalla leggerezza all'intensità e poi alla sparizione crea un arco narrativo che va oltre la mera riproduzione sonora, evocando sensazioni visive e tattili che coinvolgono profondamente l'ascoltatore.

- Caesar, DarkRoom 18/01/2026

These are three stunning pieces of reflective playing. Sure, this is improvised music, not only from the trombone but also from how he handles the no-input mixer and the radio, but in this handling, he is very controlled, creating a lot of space between the sounds.

- Frans De Waard, Vital Weekly 1463

no-input mixing board, radio, trombone