SPARQL is a query language, used to retrieve and parse information in databases, important in the training of machine learning models by encoding data with semantic metadata. SPARQL is also the moniker of Ryan Woodhall, New York audio wizard and underground stalwart, a crucial part of multiple scene-defining bands and one notorious venue in Far Rockaway.

His new record, ‘six performance patches for solo bass guitar,’ in no way sounds like what you might assume based—no pun intended—on the title; the record is six heterogenous pieces of heavy-duty, abstract digital synthesis. From a technical side I can guess that each piece uses bass guitar as the input to trigger complex synthesis systems of his design—Woodhall is a Max/MSP maestro—which then output something that bears little resemblance to the source. One of its charms is that for a record of algorithmic, systems-based computer music, the sonic palette is rich and highly varied, at times sounding closer to Arca than David Behrman. A triumph of bridging the gap between rigor and listenability.