Musicworks 90
The Canadian Musicworks magazine/CD continues to set the standard of documenting those soundmakers who go where few or none have gone before. Some field notes:
1. “Dreamspin” for recorded and processed voices suggests
the furies pursuing a Greek tragic figure. Highly evocative and captivating.
2. “Panagia” -electroacoustic choral work- is a vibrant, rich piece that’s defiantly modern yet has an ancient underbelly.
3. “Priestess Aria” Somewhat reminiscent of Meredith Monk, this electroacoustic vocal work attempts to evoke female archetypal energies, avoids any New Age hoo-hah it stated intent might suggest, does marvelous mythical things anyway and finally reaches a deeper human level quite beyond gender.
4.”Journey” Streams of pointillistic, microscopic bells evoke what you might feel if you slid over into a parallel universe. Subatomic sound never sounded so good.
5. “Terraincognita” Electric remaking of Balinese gamelan makes for trans-ethnic electronics that techno pop can only dream of.
Musicworks always challenges me with their high standards. They deliver the goods. They are a great argument for government-subsidized arts.
Richard Grooms