Eilbacher, Max

***On the new album 7 Runs (In Arc Mental Styling), Max Eilbacher (Horse Lords) juggles a series of electronic tones, meticulously sculpted and spaced to create what the Berlin-based composer describes as “a structural mirage made from constant movement.” Following a conceptual compositional algorithm, Eilbacher’s effervescent, repetitive digitally constructed electronic tones appear to endlessly rise across two side-long climbs that bend and twist like a barber pole. This quality is extenuated by a series of diagrams included in the release that map the arcs, arches, and columns created by this sonic shadowplay. As tones and repeating patterns layer and imperceptibly shift, the music seems to grow more solid and spectral all at once. Eilbacher may explain the “movement” of his illusory structures and even show his work, yet we are still left in awe at the seamless magic generated. A debut release on OMA, a new label co-founded by Eilbacher and his bandmates in Horse Lords, 7 Runs makes for a bemusing and breathtaking liftoff.