Search - Azusa Plane :: America Is Dreaming of Universal String Theory

Music for the mind's eye.

Vince Font | Utah, USA | 12/07/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Every once in a long while, something comes along that has the power to change a life. Or if not change a life, at least greatly influence it. I still remember where I was the day I first heard The Azusa Plane because I'm still feeling its impact, years later. As a musician, I (along with the rest of the world of musicians and music afficionados) spend my days always holding out hope for something new--something to alter the vast and often dreary landscape of contemporary music with its brilliance, its innovation, its importance. Most aspire to reach that plateau of inventive genius. Few ever do. Jason Diemilio, the sole creative force behind The Azusa Plane, is one of those few. Strikingly modest in his praise of influences and contemporaries alike, Diemilio's demeanor is the very picture of a man with no idea how important his contribution is. His entire approach (from the low-tech, improvisational manner in which he records, to the forming of his own independent record label) displays an artist for whom self-expression is the only motivation, and for whom any thought of commercial recognition is simply non-existent. Piling on layers of dreamy, droning guitars (and throwing in the occasional vacuum cleaner for effect), The Azusa Plane is not so much your typical dinner music as it is music for the mind. Never has a mystical collage of sound seemed so palpable, or practically visible to the mind's eye. And although The Azusa Plane certainly isn't for everyone (most great art isn't), you will never look back on the world of the standard 4/4 time signature the same after you've been exposed to this."