In 2025, Reinier van Houdt and Andrew Liles sat together for a week in the electronic sound studio of WORM in Rotterdam. This album is the result. I can hear that they played about every machine in the house, including the toy piano on the floor! But all of them are distributed with care and good taste throughout the album. It is meant as a radio play that chillingly incorporates “…lists of gun specifications and transcripts of experiences of gunshot victims.” The narration by Ash Kilmartin, her tone of voice and her diction, are perfect in this context. And unsettling as the pictures of weapons may seem at first glance, they all turn out to be mutants imploding into themselves.

Ambidextrous Constellation consists of eight short pieces that run between four and seven minutes each. The liner notes state that a gun is “A machine without morality or judgment.”

Iron Sights

One of the most unsettling tracks of the album. It begins with a strong percussive beat and electronic sounds that suggest the rapid firing of a weapon. The narrative description of an automatic rifle follows, deadpan and matter of fact: “L1A1, self-loading. barrel length, 20.4 inches. Rate of fire: 610 up to 775 rounds per minute.” Chilling in its dry, clinical description, the focus of the piece now shifts to the point of view of an automatic assault rifle. “Range 400 Meters. Muzzle velocity 940 Meters per second. Unit cost, 1,300 pounds. Aperture, Iron Sights.”

Trapped In A Constellation

In the title track, we hear the voice saying: “The habit that binds me to my limbs is suddenly gone – space extends.“ A background of beeps and bloops is heard, combined with ‘spacey’ electronic sounds. “I’ve become infinitely small and fall in all directions… Impossible to escape… I’m trapped in a constellation.” The listener is left with the distinct impression that this is a portrayal of instant death by gunshot.

(Parts of the above text are adapted excerpts from a review by Paul Muller for Sequenza21)

Tracks

1. My World 04:11
2. Iron Sights 05:51
3. Body, Gas Operated 06:37
4. Trapped in a Constellation 05:05
5. 1984 to Present 05:11
6. Blackout Detachable 05:30
7. Red Dot Stoner Bolt 06:27
8. Someone Else 04:58