Released
1998
Label
Touch
Reviewed by
Michael C. Lund
Contact
Touch
13 Osward Road
London SW17 7SS
United Kingdom
touch (at) touch.demon.co.uk
Visit
Last Edit/Update
04 June, 1998
Various Artists
TOUCH SAMPLER.3
Track Listing
1. --
2. Hole in the Universe
3. Panasonic -- Otaksura
4. --
5. Chris Watson -- Out of Our Sight
6. AER -- Brightness Contrast Volume
7. A television
8. Biosphere -- Knives in Hens
9. Prediction
10. Philip Jeck -- 16/17 Rehearsal
11. Temple Gamelan -- Group Rehearsal
12. North. Speed
13. African Music Village, Holland Park, London:
instrument demonstrations
i. drums
14. ii. 9-string iseze
15. iii. 13-string iseze
16. iv. marimba 1
17. v. marimba 2
18. vi. drum chime
19. Rehberg & Bauer -- Opla
20. Disinformation -- Live at the MOI. Simulation
21. Kitchen appliances
22. Farmers Manual -- dspKILL
23. --
24. Bruce Gilbert -- Voice
25. Chris Watson -- Demonic Laughter
26. Don't try this at home
27. Scala -- Fuser
Touch has released another CD
in their series of "Samplers." This is the third, and it contains 27 tracks that
are best described as explorations or investigations of sound. Sampler.3 includes
very brief samples and snippets of voices and atmospheres, field recordings,
demonstrations of indiginous instruments, as well as songs and compositions that generally
fall at the more extreme end of the experimental musical spectrum.
The short moments of speech and
incidental recordings -- most of them untitled and no more than 10-20 seconds in length --
that separate many of the pieces on the CD, are curious little aural sketches. The sound
of a creaking door with city noises audible in the distance; the ambiance of a kitchen;
the workings of machinery; the static whispers of a television set; and, strange little
bulletins from unidentified voices. At first seemingly pointless, these scraps of sound
jolt the listener's attention, and nicely accentuate what seems to be the underlying theme
of this compilation as a whole -- the wonder and beauty of the aural world.
The longer field recordings by
Chris Watson and AER find 'music' in such unlikely places as a domed
reading room in the British library, and amongst the songs and chirps of exotic birds. The
echoes of shuffling feet, pages turned and chairs being restlessly moved, at first appear
arbitrary, but by the end of AER's "Brightness Contrast Volume"
these commonplace, and apparently random sounds and noises, assume the qualities of an
orchestre, and the ambiance of the British Library becomes a subtle and unpredictable
symphony. Likewise with Watson's recordings of birds. The serene voices of the birds that
serve as the focal points of each of his field recordings, become arias within the greater
operatic environments of cicadas, other birds' voices and general sorrounding atmospheres
that the recordings also contain.
The series of demonstations of
Tanzanian indiginous instruments serve as a contrast to the various field and incidental
recordings. The warm, compelling sounds of the various drums, marimbas and isezes
naturally register as musical, however, played solo in the context of this sampler, the
pure aural qualities of the instruments become apparent. Just as the combined sounds of a
given environments carry musical qualities when listened to intensely, the individual
elements of musical arrangements, when listened to separately become recognizable as
nothing more or less than sound.
Sampler.3 also features a
number of more structured musical pieces. Bruce Gilbert (of Wire fame)
presents a short piece composed interely of cut-up and rearranged fragments of speech.
Rehberg & Bauer deliver a similarly brief, and rather noisy segment of manipulated
electronic sound pulses. Farmers Manual is represented with a piece
entitled "dspKILL," which is likewise composed of extremely manipulated and
treated sounds and noises of unknown origin.
Panasonic's
"Otaksuma" also utilizes brief fragments and snippets of static and noise to
create rhythm and melody; it is an amazingly rich piece composed of the most minimal
means. Biosphere's contribution is possibly the most enthralling piece on
the CD, featuring the hypnotic rhythm of a train travelling over railroad tracks as the
foundation for "Knives in Hens."
The closing track by Scala
(including members of Seefeel and Locust) is by far the
most conventional song on the CD. It is a compelling little pop tune with strong harmonic
flow, and endearing female vocals. The song returns the listener to the more commonly
known world of music, after a program of sounds and music of an originality and
imaginativeness that I have rarely heard the equal of.
