Released
1997
Label
Drone Records
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Contact
Stefan Knappe
Drone Records
Gneisenaustrasse 56
28201 Bremen
Germany
Last Edit/Update
23 august, 1998
Small Cruel Party
BEFORE THE DREAM (7"EP)
(second edition: 300 copies)
Track Listing
Side A
Before The Dream
Side B
Of The Still Earth
Small Cruel Party's two compositions on this 7"EP are best described
as environmental sound arrangements. Both tracks were completed in connection with Small
Cruel Party's participation in the 1994 A.V.E.-Festival in Arnhem, Holland;
"Before The Dream" was recorded in Seattle as a study for the installation to be
presented at the festival, and "Of The Still Earth" was recorded while in
Arnhem.
The aural quality of both pieces is
very immediate and 3-dimensional, with the various sounds gliding in and out of focus --
one moment lingering in the background like specks on the horizon, and the next appearing
at the very surface of the compositions. Water plays a dominant role throughout, literally
adding a liquid, streaming feel to both tracks, which -- amongst other sound sources --
include: the distant hum of traffic and room presence; the clacking and snapping as of
wooden sticks and branches; the grating and grinding of what appears to be gravel and
glass; tappings on metal objects; the soughing of the wind and/or human respiration; as
well as a couple of momentary cries of seagulls.
As suggested by the titles, these
pieces concern human interaction with the environment. There is a strong tension in these
sound collages between the natural, and the man-made; A theme that is of course
further reflected in the very process of creation of these pieces -- the natural
rearranged and transformed into man-made sculptures of sound.
The copy of this record at hand is Drone
Records' second edition, which came out in the summer of 1997. The single has
been pressed on beautiful grey and green marble vinyl, and presented in a printed sleeve
that portrays an idyllic lake scene, photographed from behind a weather-beaten old stone
fence.
