Russell Haswell - 2019 - 37 Minute Workout Vol.2

 

Diagonal – DIAG055  366.37MB FLAC

Russell Haswell has spent decades treating electronic sound less as composition than as a live system under stress. 37 Minute Workout fits comfortably into that lineage. The title hints at exercise, endurance, discipline, maybe even self-improvement, but the workout here belongs to the ears as much as the body. It is a concentrated block of synthetic pressure, where digital artifacts, feedback, clipped frequencies, and fractured rhythms become the equipment.

Haswell's work has always occupied an unusual position within experimental music. He is equally at home in the worlds of computer music, free improvisation, harsh electronics, gallery installation, and club-oriented sonic extremity. That mobility keeps his records from settling into one recognizable genre. Even when a pulse appears, it rarely behaves. Structure emerges only long enough to be dismantled, as though the software itself has become impatient with predictability.

The Editions Mego connection is an important part of the story. Few labels have documented the evolution of digital experimental music with such consistency, embracing artists who explore the physical limits of electronic sound without worrying whether the results resemble conventional albums. Haswell has been one of the label's defining voices, pushing the relationship between technology and perception into increasingly uncompromising territory. The title may sound playful, but the listening experience is anything but casual. Thirty-seven minutes can feel remarkably elastic when every second is packed with microscopic activity.

What makes this release rewarding is its density. Rather than overwhelming through sheer volume, it rewards repeated listening by revealing tiny shifts in texture, timing, and spectral balance. The apparent chaos begins to organize itself into patterns that seem to exist just beyond conscious recognition. It becomes less about identifying melodies or rhythms and more about learning to navigate an environment whose landmarks are distortion, interference, and instability.

As an archival object, this release also illustrates how experimental electronic music continues to migrate between physical editions and digital preservation without losing its identity. A sparse page, a FLAC file, and a name are enough. The music carries the rest. Like much of Haswell's work, it refuses to explain itself before it begins, trusting that curiosity is a better guide than certainty.