Left Orbit Temple -- Prolusion, Tydirium Multimedia, 2000. [Last Sigh Magazine]

1. Itch
2. Eview
3. Doctor Vestio
4. Mesmerized
5. Mirbat
6. Honu
7. Happy
8. Beautiful World
9. Darker
10. Rongo Rongo

    Left Orbit Temple is the brainchild of James Teitelbaum, best known for his work with Pigface. "Prolusion" is an enhanced CD. It not only features songs from at least 15 musicians, like Charles Levi (My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult) and Thomas Neidhardt (Dead Can Dance), but it also showcases the multimedia artwork of nine artists. Teitelbaum manages to give equal attention to the presentation of the artwork and the music.
    Most of the music is not the industrial sound one might expect from some of these musicians. "Itch" begins with a rhythmic chanting that becomes an anchor for a frenzied piano-based melody line. A few seconds whispered, eerie echoing bisect the track, making the song more insistent when the melody begins again. "Doctor Vestio" starts with dreamy, rippling strings and vocalizations flowing over gentle rhythms like a gurgling stream over smooth pebbles. The lyrics of strange dreams, and their reflective phrasing complement the feeling of fluidity, even as the percussion becomes more prominent. "Mirbat" is a campaign of swelling rhythms deftly woven with otherworldly singing, murmuring and chanting.
    "Happy" starts with a spoken piece about Tibetan kings. The music is then comprised of two "movements." First, gentle ringing, tolling sounds and syncopated percussion consistent with the Tibetan theme, and calm, recitative lyrics. The second movement becomes a clangor with its faster, unrelenting beats. There is an element of white noise in the frenetic music, as the lyrics-delivered in a anxiety-strained voice-speak of a sort of information overload.
    "Prolusion" ends with "Rongo Rongo," a toll of a bell that resonates over sounds of conversation in the streets. The bell continues to ring and resound as the background noises and a monologue comes to the forefront. The effect is like moving through a city square where each element-the crowds, conversations, cars, a radio broadcast, maybe-come into focus for a single instant, and fade as the ever-present church bell reasserts itself. The track is quite striking in its loveliness.
    The enhanced section of the CD includes lyrics; paintings, sculpture, photography, short stories, video art, choreography, illustrations, tattoo art, and more. Theresa Witek's collages are infinitely interesting; every look at them brings some new discovery. The choreography of Anna Simone Levin's "Waves," which may be viewed with QuickTime, is achingly beautiful in its very simplicity. The marine-themed tattoos, as well as the Hindi-inspired mosaics, of the artist Misha show a masterful command of the relationship between form and color.
    All artists featured on this CD-ROM clearly have unique and exceptional talents in their respective mediums. In bringing them together, it seems James Teitelbaum has found another talent in himself, that of artistic director. Left Orbit Temple promises future artistic collaborations, each highlighting new combinations of artists and media.
    Copies of "Prolusion" can be purchased for $12 at the Tydirium Multimedia website (http://www.tydirium.net).