Strictly fare for the experimental music crowd, Andrew Young’s Inkplaces is “…representing granular synthesis, but on a larger scale.” Tearing field recordings into component moments, improvising with a patch created in MAX/MSP software and lacing the proceedings with pink noise, Young focuses on the “microscopic textures within a sound.” This makes for 25 minutes of challenging listening that has its “wtf” moments–like the booming ship horn that explodes in the middle of “Artifacts 2” or the slight electro-freakout in “Traces/Tapestry/Pinkfour.” While it’s not easy to take hold of, there’s a lot of interest to be had in digging down into Young’s sonic minutiae. Things crackle and hiss and crunch as Young repurposes them, crossing into fresh textures and expressions.

Inkplaces is a brief 25 minutes in length. For some, this will be quite enough. I can’t say I’ve enjoyed my excursions into it as much as others may, but I can say it has made me pay attention to it. In the places where Young’s sound-washes filter down into a drone-like space, I have found myself getting wrapped in it. The detail work is excellent  even if the approach can be a little off-putting. Those whose tastes run deep into the land of the abstract will want to give it a spin.

Available from Spectropol Records.