Alexander Hoglund

Substance

scum stats: limited to 150 copies. surprised I even found one

The spiel straight from the artist himself…

SUBSTANCE is a sound work on a 12” LP vinyl record. It includes 11 tracks each with a recording of a dissolving painkiller tablet. The tracks display variation in audio as the tablets dissolve due to the medicines different chemical properties and physical design such as size and thickness. The painkillers have been ordered from E-bay and shipped from around the globe.

Records of non-music fascinate me. Records by “fine” artists fascinate me (and peep this book for some incredible insight into that realm...http://www.primaryinformation.org/product/broken-music/). Records in editions less than 200 copies fascinate me. Records that involve the methodical purchase of painkillers on eBay fascinate me, even if this is the only one of those I’m even aware of.

A simple idea, one that seemingly no one else has ever had before, is usually enough to get me off my ass and buy a record. I think this album has merit, I feel like it made me listen closer than I do to most things, I feel like it was worth whatever I paid for it.

The metronomic rhythm of kick off of “Panodil - Paracetamol”, which quickly and unexpectedly amps up in timbre and intensity provides for, I think, the most unique of the performances here. I dug “Treo - Acetylsalicylic Acid and Caffeine” with its almost coordinated bubbly epiphanies. The applause-like crescendo of “Ratiopharm - Paracetamol” was uplifting. The mid-track choreography of “Bamyl - Acetylsalicylic Acid and Caffeine” is arresting. Overall, there’s definitely joy to be pulled from the audio here. You just need to relax a little to cull it.

All THAT being said, I think ASMR is bullshit