Released
1998
Label
Touch
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Contact
13 Osward Road
London SW17 7SS
UK
Visit
Last Edit/Update
02 september, 1998
Chris Watson
OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE OF FIRE
Track Listing
1. Waiting
Close up afainst a baobab tree, a cheetah, waiting...
2. Breathing In Cold Air
Breathing in cold air, Southern Right Whale
3. Horse Of The Woods
Capull coille, 'horse of the Caledonian woods'
4. Song
Red rumped tinkerbird song
5. At Dusk
The Maasai say hippos spend the day on the river bed
telling jokes.
At dusk they surface, laughing
6. Winter Flags
Winter Flags on a spring tide. 20 000 knot find a roost
7. Machine Noise
In the hollow ring of a ruined bothy, a starling mimics
the noise of farm machinery
8. Canopy
Dry topical contact calls follow spider monkeys through
the canopy
9. Song
Lemon rumped tinkerbird song
10. Across The Iris Beds
An evening chorus of corncrakes across the iris beds
11. Threat
A Lioness threatens
12. Cracking Viscera
Vultures taste the dry, crackling viscera inside the
rib cage of a zebra carcass
13. Deep Roar
The deep roar of a red deer stag
14. Unknown Forest
Unknown forest duet
15. Out Of Our Sight
Out of our sight, motionless anticipation, along the
dry sandy banks of the Zambesi a mozambique nightjar is sucking in all the remaining light
16. Leaf Litter
Leaf litter insect detail
17. Souls Of Dead Children
The souls of dead children are said to pass into
kittiwakes
18. Forest Fire
Wood pigeon wings across a forest ride
19. Sleeping In Warm Air
Elephants, sleeping in warm air
20. Rattle Of Wood
Deathwatch beetles, the rattle of wood over a black
stream
21. Moonlit Fog
Tawny owls sing in moonlit fog
22. Contacts
Hyena contacts
Chris Watson was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire and The
Hafler Trio -- two projects whose influence on the experimental/electronic music
scene can hardly be overestimated. Both projects were -- at least early on -- intensely
concerned with the nature and possibilities of sound, and strove to create music that
utilized, and focussed on these possibilities rather than on melody, rhythm or any other
traditional compositional conventions. At first listen, Watson's new CD of
wildlife recordings would thus seem to be quite a dramatical departure from his past
sound/music projects. Yet, as in the past, the obsession here is with sound --
attaining the perfect recording of the various animals.
Each of the 22 tracks/recordings on
Outside The Circle Of Fire are accompanied by notes and anecdotes outlining the
equipment utilized, and the approach taken, in each separate recording situation. These
notes complete each of the tracks, and at the same time paint a nice portrait of Watson
at his work. There is something very moving about this English gentleman moving his infant
twin sons out of his bedroom in the middle of the night, and setting up his equipment to
record the ruminations of Deathwatch beetles inside a roof beam; or, rigging a series of
microphones inside the rib cage of a dead Zebra, and waiting for the vultures to descend
upon it; or, floating in an small open boat for hours on end, with his microphone attached
at the end of a pole, patiently waiting for a Southern Right Whale to surface for air. In
listening to the CD while reading these notes, the recordings cease to be merely masterful
sound observations of animals, and Chris Watson the artist emerges.
The results of Watson's
meticulous efforts are nothing short of amazing. Each recording has a genuineness and
immediacy that on several occasions made our two yorkshire terriers start from their sleep
and let loose at full throat. In fact, to appreciate these recordings, all one need to
really do is turn to the Discovery channel on TV, and compare them to the rather
artificial and post-synchronized soundtracks of most nature documentaries.
This CD is certainly not the answer
to the cravings of those wishing to hear some new and exciting unconventional music a la Cabaret
Voltaire or The Hafler Trio. However, for those who hold that a
musician is no less an artist than an author or a painter, this CD by Watson is a
highly interesting glance at the artist's sketchbook, an essay on sound, or perhaps, something
like an autobiography.
