Bernstein, Andrew

Bernstein, Andrew: A Presentation [CD]

Andrew Bernstein is a Baltimore-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound artist, and a member of ecstatic rock quartet Horse Lords. One could be forgiven for believing at first that An Exploded View of Time's ceaselessly tumbling billows of tone and self-consuming recursive mantras are the product of loop pedal or delay manipulation, when in fact Bernstein performed each session in real time using only his saxophone. As such, his pieces stand not only in the realm of heady minimalist composition but within the physical world as one human body engaged in a marathon of dexterity, breath control, manual repetition, and constant self-regulation. Bernstein's protracted circular breathing techniques and superhuman finger work stun at every turn, as he flits between passages of glistening major key bliss and tumultuous expanses of overblown skronk.