Eli Keszler’s tones are like rivulets of water or mercury. He makes the clang and rattle of metal strings and hammers sound like weird crickets and the noises of the woods. Not everything on COLD PIN(released by PAN) has a nature vibe; his sound can be ominous and cave-like as well. He is always precise. Kezler creates a mechanical anarchy by twanging an array of strings that he mounts on a wall which he underscores with a cello, and other means. A piece of thought music for sure, not something you’d play after bumping Dre—or would you? Keszler has certainly done his homework, stretching the boudaries of the experimental tradition to create a thought provoking work of art. It’s hard to tell what he wants you to hear: a bunch of screws and bolts rolling around in a can or rain streaming and dripping on a tin roof, but I think that’s part of what he is trying to accomplish with his music. COLD PIN is definitely worth a listen. This Providence resident maintains that his work is as much an installation as it is a composition—below is a cool video about how he created his sounds.

by Spencer Thurlow

Eli Keszler ‘Cold Pin I’ (PAN 21) by •PAN•

eli keszler : cold pin from eli keszler on Vimeo.