The Sacrificial Code

Released

This triple CD, lasting about an hour and 45 minutes, takes a unique approach to organ music. The instruments (each disc was recorded in a separate location, with a different organ) are miked very closely, paring away the reverb typically considered a key element of the sound. You never get the feeling you’re standing in the middle of a cathedral, hearing the air being blown through the pipes. Instead, you feel like you’re putting your head right next to the pipes, receiving the attack but not the sustain, and there’s more of an electronic texture. Malone’s improvised melodic figures are very simple, traveling short distances up and down the keyboard as a sustained drone throbs beneath. There’s also a surprising amount of hiss, giving it a kind of lo-fi quality even as the sound becomes immersive and strives for purity.

Phil Freeman