Katreil - "A Simple Test Of Intuition" (Zenapolae 2003, zcdr1031, CDR)
Uploaded to Aural Innovations: July 2004
katreil (ka-TRE-el) is the fictitious feminine moniker of 20 year-old R.Andrew Scott. Scott has been recording music with varying levels of experimentalism for several years, though the specific format and instruments of choice have changed many times. The first song, nepheline, is long, very nice, kinda soundtracky, the next song, terminal_era [a], starts off so nicely, I was about to pay it some high compliments, but then the CHEESE drum machine.
A bona fide composer and musical instructor since high school, r.andrew is involved in many musical projects, including; Mutemath - an experimental ambient/noise/'avant-tronics' project with Jacen Kemp (diskette), Divine Masquerade - a solo project which focuses on dark soundtrack-type material and some harsher noise, Encircle - an atmospheric-folk-rock band, and The Shooters - a Texas/Virginia twangy alternative rock band - and he still finds time to compose soundtracks for film and theatre productions.
silance and the slow death, dramatic title for a somewhat ordinary track. But it gets better, grows on ya, actually a very Nice track. Track seven, ad.mera.six, is very beautiful, original, transcendental. Track nine, other dreams, is very STILL kinda Oriental, or is it Asian? Track ten, tensioning, is experimental cool.
Incorporating analog and digital synthesizers along with other vintage hardware, acoustic instruments, found percussion, and various software, the sound of katreil falls somewhere between ambient, idm, avant-garde, noise and film score. r.andrew states that quite a bit of his inspiratation comes from the musical instruments themselves and the technology used in recording. The layout of the notes, the timbre, and the personality of the individual instrument are very big factors in his improvisation and writing. The biggest influence, however, comes from relationships, friendships, and other important events affecting his life. He works to convey whatever he's feeling at the moment, without much regard for the format used... quite a sensitive lad.
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Reviewed by Carlton Crutcher