Altered Zones

By Kenny Bloggins

MP3: Arp: "Catch Wave"

MP3: Arp: "From A Balcony Overlooking The Sea"

The latest from Arp, the aerodynamic sonic vehicle of Alexis Georgopoulos, offers an experience as malleable and unpredictable as the man himself. After dabbling in minimal disco as one-half of DFA-outfit Q&A, and navigating the controlled chaos of San Francisco's celebrated Tussle, Georgopoulos shifted toward more understated endeavors, introducing Arp to the world with 2007's In Light.  His ideas come fully into focus with The Soft Wave, an eclectic exploration of electronic and pop music that recalls shades of Eno, Cluster, and the Ghost Box collective.

Expanding the palette of his crafty solo debut, Georgopoulos adds guitar and a surprising vocal presence to his trademark, modular synth-laden meditations. Balancing both lush and sparse arrangements, Arp cultivates high-minded music sans pretension, informed equally by the academia of John Cage and the accessibility of Boards of Canada. While The Soft Wave traverses many genres and moods, it is not, as he explains, ambient.

AZ: Arp is decidedly a departure from some of your previous projects, like Tussle. What was the catalyst for this solo project?

Alexis: After playing house parties and making 12–inch dance records, I just wanted to try to make something quieter, dreamier. Around that time, Matthew Higgs, the curator of New York gallery White Columns, asked if I'd do an installation for an exhibit he was putting together. The installation went so well, I decided to collect the pieces I'd recorded for an album. That's how it began.

AZ: Arp strikes me as a very insular project. Do you record, produce, and perform entirely by yourself, or do you invite others in on some of the process?

Alexis: Yeah, In Light was a bedroom record. I was just playing synths late at night and decided to press Record. But The Soft Wave was recorded in a proper studio on 2–inch tape. And I invited a few friends to contribute. On the recent tour I did with Caribou, I performed alone. But it's all dependent on circumstances. Yesterday, I performed a site-specific piece, "Raga for Moog & Violin", at the Berkeley Art Museum and was accompanied by violinist Marielle Jakobsons, who plays in Date Palms, and Jefre Cantu–Ledsema, whom I play with in The Alps, on modular synths and guitar. To perform the record I'm recording now, I'll be forming a band.