Doc No’s Live Modular Piece “Q-41_QV_050325a” is Charged With the Playful Percussive Tones and Bright, Sustained Harmonics

Doc No, photo courtesy the artist

“Q-41_QV_050325a” sure does look like one of those file names that Aphex Twin uses for titles for tracks on some of his own releases. But it is part of Doc No’s latest collection Quimby Variations, Vol. 1 (released June 20, 2025). Its spacious resonances and vivid tonal quality sounds like the musical equivalent of a slow moving pinball machine with the ball hitting various objects as it bounces gently off walls as it’s guided through a gauntlet of widgets that change its trajectory and triggering unique sounds that are both percussive and rhythmic. All while swelling and fading drones give the foreground music a contrasting context of sustained harmonics. That the piece was part of a larger set performed through modular synths and recorded straight to tape makes it an even more impressive achievement of all but spontaneous composition. Listen to “Q-41_QV_050325a” on YouTube and follow Doc No aka Noah Davis at the links below.

Doc No on Instagram