Patton, Mike: The Solitude of Prime Numbers

Mike Patton has had a varied musical past ranging from his day job in Faith No More, Mr Bungle and the Fatomas to name but a few. He is an artist that is always challenging musical boundaries and with this outing he carries on doing so, although sonically this is a more restrained approach. This time out he has released an album that is a soundtrack to Paolo Giordano's The Solitude of Prime Numbers a film that was nominated for the Golden Lion at the 67th Venice International Film Festival in 2010 a film which past most people by.

As with the movie whose plot jumps back and forth over a 25 year period, the title is explained by arguing that the main characters Mattia and Alice are like twin primes, prime numbers that differ by two, both lonely, close to each other but separated by an even number, a dark and somewhat thought provoking plot which is captured perfectly by Mike Patton's musical approach.

The passages presented here are somewhat stark at times, defining elements that flow perfectly from the outset, short musical vignettes that mesmerize building moods, enhancing the atmospherics as they journey, something that he has managed to get down to a fine art. There just seems to be no end to the talents of this enigmatic artist. Although the instrumentals presented here are far removed from the avant garde, experimental or radio friendly approach of some of his past recordings, their sedate structures are no less rewarding. In essence the listener is invited and enveloped by the beauty of these creations.

Watch out for the stunning Twin Primes which also operates as the theme of the album, the mesmerizing Quadratix, the upbeat Radius of Convergence and the profound album closer Weight of Consequences. It really is soundtrack albums that like this that do make a difference. All I can say is thank god that people like Mike Patton exist, artists who aren't afraid to step outside the box.

Tracklist:
02. Twin Primes
03. Identity Matrix
05. Method of Infinite Descent
07. Contrapositive
11. Cicatrix
13. Abscissa
17. Isolated Primes
19. Radius of Convergence
23. Separatrix
29.The Snow Angel
31. Apnoea
37. Supersingular Primes
41. Quadratix
43. Calculus of Finite Differences
47. Zeroth
53. Weight of Consequences

Added: December 19th 2011
Reviewer: John OBoyle
Score:
Related Link: www.mikepatton.de
Hits: 1995
Language: english

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