For many experimental electronic artists, “fun” is pretty low on the list of musical priorities. Nevertheless, Andrew Zukerman’s giddy sense of humour dominates his solo work as Fleshtone Aura. The mangled field recordings and wobbling tones on More Trivialities continue his ongoing marriage of classic musique concrète techniques with his trademark sly playfulness. If early academic electronic hadn’t been so averse to pop, it might have sounded like this.
Woozy tape loops, crackling static and manically skipping audio fragments often disorient but occasionally solidify songs like A Man Urinating In Loblaws into something unexpectedly funky, albeit far too grimy and lo-fi to work on even the most forward-thinking dance floors. It’s all ridiculously weird, but Zukerman’s light-hearted approach makes it much more accessible to new listeners than serious, academic sound explorations.
Top track: Litany Vanished No Room For Lunch
Fleshtone Aura plays the Music Gallery Saturday (February 21).