Epistasis vinyl

Swedish composer Maria W Horn has previously been noted for her academic approach to ambient and neo-classical music, composing pieces that tend towards the conceptual. She's at it again on sophomore set "Epistasis", whose title track - performed by an eight-piece double string quartet -is based on progressions in F minor inspired by early '90s black metal. Of course, the resultant cyclical minimalism - a thread throughout the album - sounds nothing like that infamous Scandinavian style, though the track is a little darker and more intense than the ethereal and sometimes poignant pieces that make up the rest of the set. These tracks are conceptual and experimental too, making use of everything from cutting edge compositional techniques to a computer-controlled Disklavier piano and a "supercollider framework using phase modulation synthesis".