Daniel Lopatin’s Software label has announced an intriguing upcoming release from Ben Zimmerman, a solitary electronic musician who created a vast archive of musical output mostly using his Tandy DeskMate computer. Recorded over a decade between the years 1992 to 2002, Zimmerman first sent the material to Software back in 2013. Struck by the large collection’s idiosyncratic style and rudimentary means, Lopatin culled the prodigious material down into the 2xLP The Baltika Years, due out June 9th. While it was no easy task fitting the material onto four record sides, Daniel explains that he focused on “certain stylistic epochs” that the musician moved thru during his ten years of “experimenting and obsessing” with the Tandy.
“Pausebreak Pt. 1” seems to be a pretty good indication of what is at work here. Sonically stark and monochromatic, the bass and beats that initially propel this cut have a, as the title suggests, “pause” and “break” seemingly built into the sequencing. After several rounds of this warped looping, the rhythm breaks off completely, and the track falls thru a hole in the floor. Landing in a basement of spooky flute and muttered vocal snippets, the broken beats eventually resurface, as Zimmerman drifts thru various modes of rhythmic inquiry–like randomly trying on a vintage collection of baseball hats! After hearing “Pausebreak Pt. 1”, we can thankfully say the world is a little weirder thanks to Ben Zimmerman, and the good folks at Software!
