Kassel Jaeger - Toxic Cosmopolitanism (2014)

Kassel Jaeger is a Swiss-French artist based in Paris, France, and is a member of the GRM (Groupe de Recherches Musicales). Toxic Cosmopolitanism is his second full-length release for Editions Mego -- a release which explores and questions the very nature of the material experiments contained within. Each side consists of two clearly-defined sections based on the same material. Side A comprises of "Toxic Cosmopolitanism," a large-scale work based on distinct sounds of different cultures, instruments such as the balafon, tremolo, gnbri, gee, Tibetan gongs, pan flutes and the like are all deployed but rendered of the sonic properties identifying them to a specific region. The question that lies at the heart of this experiment: is such a swirl a creative process or a destructive one -- this is the ambiguity of toxic cosmopolitanism. "Exposure Scales 1-4" use sounds exclusively derived from the "Toxic Cosmopolitanism" material. Whereas "TC" is more about subjecting sounds to structure, "Exposure Scales" builds almost static textures. The results are an honest exploration of both culture and form. At once cerebral, enlightening and immensely rich in scope and sonic vision.