Steve Reich and Musicians Live 1977
This disc delves into New York’s Kitchen Archive for this set of live recordings from 1977. There’s an especially indispensable version of ‘Pendulum Music’, Reich’s composition for microphones suspended in pendulous motion over corresponding loudspeakers. The motion of these microphones is mapped-out by the resultant feedback. The very nature of the piece dictates that each performance will be unique. The idiosyncrasies of the performance space and the equipment used inform both its sound and duration. ‘Violin Phase’, as performed by Shem Guibbory is a duet with a tape recording of his own looped violin phrase, which as the title suggests is continually shifting out and back in phase (Sahko fans will recognise that Mika Vainio borrowed this technique for his track, ‘Twin Bleebs’ from the Metri album). The recording is unusually raw by the standards of most academic music, even featuring some rather heavy background and traffic noise, which only adds to the rawness and live energy of the piece. The disc closes with a magical performance of ‘Drumming: Part Four’, which also utilises the aforementioned phasing device. By the piece’s conclusion, the eastern tonalities of the multi-layered, polyphonic percussion accumulate a remarkable density, yet the performance never feels cluttered or overwrought. Brilliant.
View more
This disc delves into New York’s Kitchen Archive for this set of live recordings from 1977. There’s an especially indispensable version of ‘Pendulum Music’, Reich’s composition for microphones suspended in pendulous motion over corresponding loudspeakers. The motion of these microphones is mapped-out by the resultant feedback. The very nature of the piece dictates that each performance will be unique. The idiosyncrasies of the performance space and the equipment used inform both its sound and duration. ‘Violin Phase’, as performed by Shem Guibbory is a duet with a tape recording of his own looped violin phrase, which as the title suggests is continually shifting out and back in phase (Sahko fans will recognise that Mika Vainio borrowed this technique for his track, ‘Twin Bleebs’ from the Metri album). The recording is unusually raw by the standards of most academic music, even featuring some rather heavy background and traffic noise, which only adds to the rawness and live energy of the piece. The disc closes with a magical performance of ‘Drumming: Part Four’, which also utilises the aforementioned phasing device. By the piece’s conclusion, the eastern tonalities of the multi-layered, polyphonic percussion accumulate a remarkable density, yet the performance never feels cluttered or overwrought. Brilliant.
This disc delves into New York’s Kitchen Archive for this set of live recordings from 1977. There’s an especially indispensable version of ‘Pendulum Music’, Reich’s composition for microphones suspended in pendulous motion over corresponding loudspeakers. The motion of these microphones is mapped-out by the resultant feedback. The very nature of the piece dictates that each performance will be unique. The idiosyncrasies of the performance space and the equipment used inform both its sound and duration. ‘Violin Phase’, as performed by Shem Guibbory is a duet with a tape recording of his own looped violin phrase, which as the title suggests is continually shifting out and back in phase (Sahko fans will recognise that Mika Vainio borrowed this technique for his track, ‘Twin Bleebs’ from the Metri album). The recording is unusually raw by the standards of most academic music, even featuring some rather heavy background and traffic noise, which only adds to the rawness and live energy of the piece. The disc closes with a magical performance of ‘Drumming: Part Four’, which also utilises the aforementioned phasing device. By the piece’s conclusion, the eastern tonalities of the multi-layered, polyphonic percussion accumulate a remarkable density, yet the performance never feels cluttered or overwrought. Brilliant.