Preston Swirnoff
Maariv

[Audio samples available on Amazon]
 

"Preston Swirnoff is a San Diego-based electro-acoustic composer that expands the borders of said genre by adding substantial emotive elements to the mix. Where some talented folks tend to get stuck in technicalities and over ambitions we find Swirnoff doing it all right. He conjures hazy hypnotic soundscapes and minimalist pulsings of alien frequencies in a way that at first struck me as quite accessible, but which upon repeated listening revealed fragments of a pretty fucked-up dream. These fragments have been glued together by Swirnoff to something that goes beyond words as well as tedious genre names. Maariv is one of those masterworks that are destined to be forgotten by most and cherished by way too few" -- The Broken Face July 3, 2008

Maariv is a collection of electroacoustic solo works composed and produced by San Diego-based musician Preston Swirnoff.  This collection was recorded at his studio, The Habitat, in 2004-2005. Swirnoff also collaborates with Ilya Monosov in primal rock unit The Shining Path and as Monosov Swirnoff, as well as producing heavy analog dub music as Habitat Sound System. 

Taking 20th century minimalism, ritual drone music, and early electronic and tape experiments as launching points, Swirnoff uses a variety of instruments (piano, tone generators, organs, guitar, tape machines) to create absorbing sound worlds that thrive on repetition, melody, noise, and a sense of the otherworldly. 

Swirnoff has cited Gyorgy Ligeti, La Monte Young, the SF Tape Music Center of the 60's, the haunting solo work of Angus MacLise, and old Jewish liturgical melodies as inspirations that inform the four pieces on Maariv.  Each piece, though based on a simple premise and instrument setup, weaves a complex aural tapestry rich in both texture and emotion.