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sound/music CD reviews


 Da Contents H2

May 1 2013
Jon Rose
Rosin

April 3 2013
zephyr quartet
a rain from the shadows

July 17 2012
the wired lab
wired open day 2009

May 22 2012
ros bandt, johannes s sistermanns
tracings

March 20 2012
new weird australia editions: thomas williams vs scissor lock, spartak
jewelz & nippon

October 25 2011
avantwhatever label collection
gulbenkoglu gorfinkel; ben byrne; alex white; ivan lysiak

May 24 2011
decibel
disintegration: mutation

May 10 2011
blip (jim denley, mike majkowksi)
calibrated

various
listen to the weather

March 22 2011
topology
difference engine

November 22 2010
various
artefacts of australian experimental music volume II 1974-1983

September 20 2010
clocked out
the wide alley

September 7 2010
clocked out
foreign objects

August 23 2010
matt chaumont
linea

July 26 2010
sky needle
time hammer

May 10 2010
mike majkowski
ink on paper

November 6 2009
various
new weird australia vols 1 & 2

October 26 2009
clare cooper & chris abrahams
germ studies

July 17 2009
erdem helvacioglu
wounded breath

rice corpse
mrs rice

April 28 2009
james rushford
vellus

joel stern
objects, masks, props

January 22 2009
loren chasse
the footpath

mark cauvin
transfiguration

December 12 2007
the splinter orchestra
self-titled

October 24 2007
various
artefacts of australian experimental music 1930-1973

August 28 2007
jouissance
akathistos fragments

pateras/baxter/brown
gauticle

various artists produced by le tuan hung; dindy vaughan
on the wings of a butterfly: cross-cultural music by australian composers; up the creek

May 1 2006
ai yamamoto
euphonious

camilla hannan
more songs about factories

found: quantity of sheep
monkey+valve

philip brophy
aurévélateur

rod cooper
friction

December 1 2005
anthony pateras
mutant theatre

December 1 2005
charlie charlie & will guthrie
la respiration des saintes & building blocks

dj olive
buoy

hinterlandt
new belief system

jodi rose & guest artists
singing bridges: vibrations/variations

lawrence english
transit

lawrence english
ghost towns

michael j schumacher
room pieces

robin fox
backscatter dvd

tarab
surfacedrift

the necks
mosquito/see through

tim o'dwyer
multiple repeat

toydeath
guns, cars & guitars

warp: various artists
warp vision: the videos 1989-2004

zane trow
for those who hear actual voices

 

james rushford

vellus


Cajid, 2008, 009
http://cajid.com/


This is a cracker of a CD, one of the best sound art releases I have heard. Rushford is a young composer and performer who has assembled some fine musicians to record his work. What is especially striking is the production, which is clear and articulate, with an intimate sound-stage so that the music envelops you, recreating the immersive effect of the typical multi-speaker sound art concert venue, and demanding a robust, quality stereo system that can accurately reproduce the entire audible frequency range.

It opens with the energetic three movement work “Lucas Stumbles” (2007) for Speak Percussion (Eugene Ughetti, Matthias Schack-Arnott, Greg Sully, Anna Webb) and electronics. Speak uses a variety of instruments, as well as voice, in an absorbing piece characterised by a kind of gestural, even theatrical lyricism. This is followed by a two-part work, “Respite in the Woodland” (2007), for clarinets (Aviva Endean) and chamber organ (Rushford), a more meditative piece that contrasts the breathiness of the clarinets with that of the organ. Opening with some gentle, quizzical melodic lines, the work then proceeds to explore the capacities of the instruments to blend and create evocative sonic effects, returning periodically to melodic figures as a daydreamer returns to purposive thought.

The outstanding work on the CD is “La Madre” (2006), for an ensemble comprising two sopranos, cello, percussion and electronics. “La Madre” has a strongly theatrical flavour, full of teasing sounds that evoke a complex drama. This is followed by the highly expressive “Tractus” (2006), for autoharp, violin, viola, cello, double bass, tam-tam and glockenspiel, which exemplifies Rushford’s acute and powerful writing.

Central to all the works on this CD are contrasting pitch, timbre, colour, dynamics and sonic blending. But also important are the music’s formal development and resolution. Rushford’s are well crafted compositions, where ‘resolution’ can be found structurally and timbrally. What works particularly well is his juxtaposition of electronic and acoustic instruments. Sound art can sometimes disappoint through the coldness of electronic instrumentation, and combining acoustic instruments with electronics can be like combining oil paint with a screen saver—it can work conceptually but fail to stir the soul. Rushford, however, uses electronics in subtle ways that meld with the other instruments, sometimes augmenting or heightening an acoustic sound, for example in “holdmegentlytightly” (2006) for Sam Dunscombe’s vibrant clarinet and Rushford’s own electronics, and sometimes contrasting it, for example in “La Madre”, where a periodic drone of seismic intensity suggests that the world is vibrating beneath our feet. There are also moments where the acoustic instruments seem to represent actors and the electronics suggest the audience’s internal, subjective responses.

Importantly, the use of timbre is not merely exploratory but is integral to the composition. For example, Endean’s beautiful clarinet notes in “Respite in the Woodland” are used to create a wonderfully haunting effect, as if the listener is groping blindfolded in a labyrinthine forest, observed by goblins and spirits. Shifts in timbre can be used to resolve moments of tension—or to leave them unresolved. Overall, Rushford’s choice of instrumentation works very well. He allows the performers scope to display their abilities while foregrounding the unique sonic properties of the instruments that underpin the composition. This makes for enchanting music.

Vellus concludes with the deeply introspective “Borders” (2006), a two-movement solo for Chloe Smith’s magnificent double bass, where the composer and the performer hold the emotional tension wonderfully. This final piece exemplifies the strengths of this CD: the writing and arranging, supported by great performances.

Chris Reid

© Chris Reid; for permission to reproduce apply to [email protected]

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