On Constructions V-VII, John Wall pushes the concept underpinning his Constructions I-IV a little bit further, his sampling/collaging technique becoming even more seamless. A composer using samples of the work of other musicians and composers, Wall follows a path opposite to David Shea or Bob Ostertag's works. Where those two combine performances together to re-compose music, Wall treats his samples so that the performance of a particular musician becomes indistinguishable from the others -- a process of anonymity. The list of plundered artists goes from contemporary classical composers (Luigi Nono, Iannis Xenakis), to acoustic free improv musicians (Mark Sanders, John Edwards, Evan Parker, Andrew Sparling, Axel Dörner), to electronic artists (Sachiko M., Otomo Yoshihide, Christian Fennesz). You won't be able to retrace the work of your favorite, except for one brief explosion of acoustic sounds at the beginning of Construction VII: Luxi Var, where Sanders, Edwards, and Sparling enjoy a moment of clarity. This contrasting burst only enhances Wall's artistic approach: to create from samples pieces sounding as sample-free as possible. And it works: Construction V: Hylo and especially Construction VI: Stem can be mistaken for electro-acoustic works. They require sustained attention from the listener, and detractors of electronic minimalism could even argue that the process supplants the result. Even if they were right, Constructions V-VII would still remain a fascinating EP. ~ François Couture, Rovi

1		Construction V: Hylo
2		Construction VI: Stem
3		Construction VII: Luxi Var