Mara Helmuth, accomplished computer-music composer, and Allen Otte, magnificent percussionist, come together in this CD to collaborate on a great set of percussion-and-electronic works. The distinctive voices of these two musicians merge and bounce off one another with wonderful creative results.
Each of the collaborative compositions has its own distinct personality. In 'Mellipse 2' (1999), crotales, triangles, cymbals, wind gong, tam-tam, and chimes are transformed to create beautiful sweeping sound textures. 'Move!' (1999) is based on a snare drum solo and a tape recorder picking up the experiments and conversations. In 'Implements of Actuation' (1998), a term far more elegant than 'beater', the sounds of an electric mbira and bicycle wheels are transformed, and the delicacy of the texture becomes fascinating. 'Loonspace' (2000), composed by Mara Helmuth, takes the sounds of bird calls and mixes them in a fascinating manner with the sounds of flower pots, bells, stones, and other highly processed organic materials. And 'As An Algebra' (1994), composed by Allen Otte, includes a text by poet Don Bogen and a performance on a mbira dzavadzimu from Harare.
This is a wonderful CD. Highly recommended.
Listen to these MP3 excerpts:
EMF Media => EM123 $16.00
