Fridgeworks by Erin Demastes & Bryan Day
Bryan Day and Erin Demastes cassette humbly but nicely released on Steep Gloss, UK label.
I have known Bryan and his work for over a quarter of a century ( yes, that's right - it sounds a bit pompous but he is a really innovative artist and deserves a bit of that grandiosity ) . I know Erin's work too and even more so I was encouraged to listen to this material.
There is a certain amount of sense of humour in this album that many electroacoustic improvised albums don't really possess. This album has two sides of it - on one hand there is a great deal of somewhat effortless virtuosity in its own respect - both Erin and Bryan know their craft - know how to do a perfect assemblage in terms of building their own tools and strategies to play.
On the other hand - there is this beautiful childlike need and striving towards finding out what happens - not always the most serious of tone and quality - it reminded me of a Jungean God-like child playing on the beach that is the territory of the cosmos. The world is decay and life is observation as Democritus said - it is laid out perfectly here on this album - it helps to understand that the need to experiment and discover can exist for the sake of its own - without explanation, in a style of childlike game with the rules you define yourself.
A beautiful piece of improvised composition work!
Erin Demastes is an experimental composer, performer, and sound artist. She uses everyday objects and hacked electronics for her installations and performances and subverts their use and perception with play and experimentation. In addition to her interest in physical materials, Erin works with instruction and interaction design in her scores, performances, and installations by balancing structured composition and predetermined actions with improvisation and exploration. Erin has presented her work at many venues including Coaxial Arts Foundation, Human Resources LA, Betalevel, Soundpedro at Angeles Gate Cultural Center, Center for New Music SF, Navel LA, Good Children Gallery New Orleans, Mills College, UC Santa Cruz, Rice University, and University of South Carolina and has performed at MOCA, Automata, The Women’s Center for Creative Work, Santa Monica Public Library, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and more. In addition to performing and building installations, Erin teaches composition and music technology classes at Tulane University. She often works with organizations such as Indexical and the wulf. and serves on the board of the Dog Star Orchestra in Los Angeles. Erin’s music can be found on record labels such as Public Eyesore, San Francisco and Sawyer Spaces. www.erindemastes.com
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Bryan Day is a sound artist, musical instrument inventor, and conceptual artist based in the east bay . Using scavenged electronics, repurposed mechanical components, and amplified materials, he re-imagines them into constructivist sound sculptures. Since the late-1990s, he has built over a hundred sound object devices, from amplified measuring tape, hacked radio transceivers to electromechanical installations using magnets, hard drives and pendulums. His recorded work ranges from noisy electroacoustic improvisation to drony minimalism and audio collage, which is showcased in his projects Euphotic, Collision Stories and Seeded Plain. Day has performed, taught workshops, and built sound installations across Europe, Asia and the Americas.
'The two players intertwine their individual rigs' sounds with more studied approaches, and their sounds drift out from the speakers in ways that are mysteriously intriguing....Small pops and whirs and ratcheting moves interlock for three slow burn tracks....Place it in your deck and let it transport your mind to the keenly abstract sonic potentialities that float and fly around any aural environment.'
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released March 6, 2026
Bryan Day - Invented Instruments and fm radio
Erin Demastes - repurposed and handmade objects and electronics
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Dylan Burchett at LSU Recording Studio
Cover art by Dylan Burchett
SG90
license
all rights reserved
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