Patrick DeBonis - Submersions

Patrick Debonis 

Submersions
self-released; 2013

3.6 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Defining what is and what isn’t music can be a subjective opinion. For instance, John Cage would often rather listen to traffic than a pop song but that didn't necessarily make the traffic music. I guess if you find certain sounds enjoyable than that’s really what matters in the end.

 I’m sure that if a random sample of the population said they listened to Submersions by Patrick Debonis they would be hesitant to call it music. Debonis finds “natural sounds” and distorts and manipulates them to his liking. (Anyway you look at it this is more interesting than finding a preset in Reason and going to town). It is hard to discern what these actual sounds are but luckily a lot of them sound interesting if not melodic.

The album starts with “How To Start A Fire.” You hear desolate winds and a bell-like ringtone that morphs into a number of different elements all in less than four minutes. By the end he has a cool loop going of intersecting beeps that sound that as if they are in frenzy. The song “Qbrootics” is the longest track and lasts over the 12-minute mark. The music sounds like it is crackling like a fire with indiscriminate bursts of air. It sounds rather hell-like and evil at times. I'd recommend refraining from listening to this if you have panic attacks and get scared easily. The odd rhythmic percussion and timing don’t help either in making you feel like time is just about to run out. As with the first song this one is not complacent with staying in one direction.  The horn-sounding elements he utilizes sound nothing like the hell-like scenario he painted early but instead sounds a bit creepy in a whole new way. “Hard Earning” pretty much sounds like what Saturday morning cartoons would sound like if you took LSD followed by DMT and listened to  it in the next room.

I dare say the track “Submersion” is the most musical. It at least has consistent loops and themes that seemed steady throughout. “No Hope” sounds kind of like its title. A lot of the sounds here are shrill even though there is a section that sounds a bit Eastern in nature.

To state the obvious this album is not for everyone. I advise you take a listen and stay open minded.  

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