2025
7 track solo album available on Bandcamp
https://johnduncan.bandcamp.com/album/interference
Interference
Deep
Nonstop
Passive Urgency
Shrill
The Delusional Vortex
Smooth
After a life spent researching the characteristics of all kinds of vibrating matter, in recent years John Duncan has demonstrated a keen interest in a particular form of vocal expression that involves the transformation of emotional distress, such as anguish and anger, into a valuable auditory medium. However, it is evident that Duncan’s primary experimental inclinations still lie in the domain of investigation of the sonic nexus that exists between the subconscious and the unknown. In this instance, the employment of shortwaves, in conjunction with synthesis, directly targets individuals whose instinctive “resonance perception” abilities are notably more advanced than the norm.
Among other things, the notion of interference can refer to events that result in a progressive loss of inner stillness. A substantial proportion of our lives is dedicated to attempting to remove such hindrance, and the failure of this elimination process is frequently the underlying cause of suffering, whether expressed verbally or otherwise. It is therefore particularly interesting to realize that interference – eviscerated by Duncan via the superimposition of mysteriously rewarding sonorities – generates in this case the diametrically opposite effect in the sympathetic listener. Shades of Tod Dockstader’s unfathomable universes define the droning masterpiece “Nonstop”, yet close attention to the fine details indicate that this is genuine Duncan at his very personal best, furtherly explicated by gems named “The Delusional Vortex” and “Passive Urgency”.
Temporal dissolution and harmonic vagueness purge our apparata of all that is superfluous, thereby rendering them capable of attaining a condition of profound purity and heightened awareness, which on occasion can be accompanied by a degree of discomfort as we remain outside the realm of the predictable. The maze-like interweaving of these acoustic forms, identified by an intrinsic brain-cleansing quality, serve to obscure an implicit invitation to relinquish all analytical resistance. The basis of authentic knowledge, exclusively communicable through reasoning that serves the purpose of one’s oscillating core, is the acceptance of the resonant phenomenon in its unblended state, without intellectual additions. This set is a remarkable example of Duncan’s endless quest for the infinite ramifications of the deepest self, while also standing out as one of his most sonically satisfying works.
Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes https://touchingextremes.wordpress.com/2025/06/25/john-duncan-interference/