Released
1996

Label
Drone Records

Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund

Contact

Stefan Knappe
Drone Records
Gneisenaustrasse 56
28201  Bremen
Germany

Visit



Last Edit/Update
27 June, 1999

Big City Orchestra

A Child's Garden Of Noise 7"
(second edition: 300 copies)

Track Listing

Side A
1. Noize All Day

Side B
1. Popub's Party
2. Go
3. The Pirate Song

          Very few experimental/underground artists offer their audience the opportunity to smile, but that is exactly what Big City Orchestra does on A Child's Garden Of Noise. In one extended piece, and three short little songs, the aural world is turned upside down, and -- under the guise of educating children about the nature of sound and music -- reveals the wonder of this world to the listener anew.
          "Noize All Day," which takes up all of Side A, begins as a lecture on noise that would make the producers of Sesame Street proud. At certain points this condescending lecture, which is underscored by a continuous stream of "noises," appears to actually be a clever ploy to shut children up. After an introduction to the nature of noise as such, the piece turns into a sound recognition test, or a lexicon of noises, with a myriad of odd and common sounds that the busy lecturer comments on. At times he interrupts his stream of speech, and accompanies his own song with a little melody strummed out on an acoustic guitar. Towards the end, the lecturer even turns his attention to musical theory, in a manner that seems to poke good-humored fun at Leonard Bernstein's famous classical concerts for children.
          Side B is not quite as compelling, although many undoubtedly will take pleasure in "The Pirate Song," which is basically a purple dinosaur hate song. "Popub's Party" is also not without its share of charm, being a recording of a little girl singing, while she hammers out a rudimentary rhythm on her mechanical toys.
          All in all, A Child's Garden Of Noise is a strange but fun release that is appropriately presented in a cover featuring a child's drawing on yellow paper. It is pressed on matching yellow vinyl, and in its second edition exists in 300 copies. The first edition of 200 came out in 1994, and was packaged in original children's drawings!