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REVIEWS
from Ampersand Notes 2004_11 written by Jeremy Keens http://ampersandetc.virtualave.net/ampersand.html Jonathan Hughes Fluidities Various Artists Bibimbap Collaboration The Foundry (www.foundrysite.com) has always had a strong interest in collaborative albums more than merelyı compilations, they involve artists working together on related material such as Mote, 360 degrees, Sub.terra or Zero Point. And the two new releases continue this approach. Fluidities is Jonathon Hughes latest album (a double, fou.20) and contains 11 new pieces from him (some collaborative). But in addition, there are 11 pieces by a range of other artists. Each track is 6 minutes long, and described as having minimal beat and all in sympathetic keys. While the two disks can be played sequentially, the aim to create combinations by playing the two simultaneously, on separate players, using random play to create 121 new collaborative tracks. And in fact, if you rip the albums, you can play them through MP3 programs to allow collaborations within tracks on one disk, doubling the same track with slight delay, or even playing multiple pieces (I tried one by eM (April, a delightful piano pieces, which worked nicely as a three piece). Hughes admits not all combinations will be totally effective, but suggest giving it a go, which can be fun. But what do we have for the normalı listener? Basically an album of varied ambiences. Hughes opens it with Snowdrift, something of an indicator as it starts with floating keyboards that sounds very Eno but slips into blips and backwards tones and returns: so ambience with an electronica edge. With 22 tracks I donıt want to run through them all, as they are hard to describe and very varied, within a geography of shared ambient visions, often with a fluid feeling. Hughes himself, as stated, has some collaborations which add edge and variation to his largely keyboard and guitar ambience, often with an appropriately aquatic feel so with Mussen he gets an industrial edge, complexity with Padmanabha, or simplicity of layered tones with Bentley, fascinating samples on Dictaphone salesman, 1956 with Hussalonia. At times it sounds as if Hughes has Fluiditied these collaborations as parts seem to be laid experimentally against each other. The other 11 include many well knowns such as Inoue, ATOI, DreamState, Santomieri, Interstitial amongst others, all of whom take the concept and run with it: Stokes shimmers and twitters, Susanne Brokesch has delicate shimmering and flutes; some pieces are quite active and varied, others more laid back, layering. Names I havenıt heard before creating pieces as impressive as the familiar. As you listen to tracks, you try an imagine how they may work together some whose narrative trajectory are very different (I have diagrams to show this!) But, without rushing off to play duelling cd players, you can seriously enjoy the 132 minutes of ambience on here: its good to have a concept album which works so well divorced from the concept. & A different collaboration on Bibimbap, from members of the Archipelago. The rather cybernetic sounding title is actually a Korean meal, based on mixing food with rice. The link is that the artists shared leftoverı ingredients unfinished and unreleased tracks, fragments and sounds. While the resultant tracks are very different, they have a shared aesthetic heightened by the overlapping (but not really obvious) sound material. Ben Swire shimmering beats and clicks, long string tones, an Asianı gong melody with big drum in the middle part, vocal piece in the last segment dramatic. Saul Stokes varied synths tones and a slow tick, sqrls and long blowy tones, a beat joins, violinish tones, dense then easing back to swirls and tones stately. Forrest Fang mysterious woodblocks, scrapes, voicey whoops with metally tones, twinkles and tones developing under, a rapid layer of percussion, bubbly twinkles colourful. M Bentley/eM chugging loop and long ringing tones, pulsating guitar, voices wash, slow beat, solemn tone, building, an Eastern mood meditative and cinematic. Earwicker distant tones, skitters, a voice, percussion, echoing, sqwirly eruptions drifting ambience. Chris de Giere crackles, backwards computer gong tones, longer tones under contrasting. Thermal big ringling swell, shimmering echo and guitar, beat in, builds dense swirls, easing to sizzling simmer psychedlic. Dean Santomieri juddery choppy sliding collage, industrial voices creak concrete. Whether the title influenced the musicians or the listener, there is an Eastern flavour to many pieces, but mixed with Western ingredients and sensibility. A dish to savour and enjoy. |