What happens inbetween states is probably one of the most fascinating aspects about "ambient" music. At the surface, all seems quiet and peaceful, but when you delve a little bit more inside the sound you start to apprehend the true meaning of the sounds.

Neil Wiernik's latest album Broken Strings, Plastic Tubes and Bedside Serenades, is a perfect example of this dynamics, or shall I say this stillness. The four songs of the album all seem to be static, and I mean they are almost like in suspension, but also they are soaked in electric static, like you were in a foggy landcaspe and all you could feel was the electricity in the air, nothing to see, nothing to touch. And when you start listening to this static, you soon realize that the rhythmic intervals are not the same, the deepness of the static evolves, but you can't quite understand what is the logic behind it. And you feel totally lost, though not desperate.

Neil Wiernik masters his music quite beautifully, with virtuoso craftsman hands and an elegant stream of sounds, there is tension and peace at the same time everywhere. Movement and stillness.

Leonardo Rosado

Short Bio
Montreal ex-pat naw (Neil Wiernik) who currently calls Toronto his home, began composing electronic music in 1988 with explorations in audio art and experimental music. Neil's interest in sound and technology has lead him to a continued questioning and refinement of audio tools and modes of production resulting in experimentation with altered instruments, modified devices, and custom software environments. Neil's music could be described as warm, atmospheric, and cinematic electronic music. The sound design of naw is firmly grounded in the rich traditions of dub studio culture but can also be weighed alongside formal contemporary composition. His music has been described in "The Wire" as having "...the kind of sharpness and clarity usually lost amid the murk and decay of clicks and cuts and digital delays." Neil has released music on various labels including noise factory and more recently paper+sound under his naw guise. He has also released music on elevation recordings and soon on BLRr for his most recent ambient post rock project with aidan baker as whisper room. Neil is also a founding member of the online digital arts publication vague terrain.

Composed and Recorded By Neil Wiernik in the Box Toronto ON Canada 2011
Socan Neil Wiernik 2011
mastered by madSavVy Productions
photo by Jessica Aliaga Lavrijsen
cover design by Leonardo Rosado
(cc) by nc nd September 2011

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