Ross Bolleter – Crow Country
Crow Country is a collection of crudely-rendered, avant-garde classical works spanning the years 1987-99 from the Australian composer Ross Bolleter (born 1946). “Unfinished Business” is played on a weathered, ruined piano and features a cacophony of plinks and plonks strewn about over a fat futon of thunderous tones supplied by pulling the bass (piano) strings. “I took hold of the fall to lift it. It was so rotten it came away in my hands. As I played, ants came out and journeyed in concentric circles on the front panel of the 1920s Jackson piano. I knelt to pull back the bass strings and released them—like firing off huge arrows. The piano roared and groaned…” Fans of John Cage’s prepared piano pieces may enjoy this.
“Under Rookwood” is a lengthy double bass workout with many layers of spontaneous grating and groaning overdubbed—perfect for fans of Motoharu Yoshizawa and Barre Phillips. “That Time (Simulplay II)” is a lengthy work for piano / prepared piano and double bass—“an intuitive piece for two musicians on opposite sides of a continent, playing at the same time but unable to hear each other. There is no prior consultation as to the style or content of the piece. The two performances are transmitted by radio signals and landline to a concert audience listening via two separate broadcasts in one location.” “Labyrinth Tango” is a live performance of solo accordion improv. The disc closes with “Piano Dreaming” for degrading pianola, a piece full of squeaks and rattles amid a melange of flubbering low-end string plucks and general musty, far-off atmosphere.
Label: Pogus Catalog Number: P21021-2 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel case Tracks: 5 Total Time: 72:13 Country: United States Released: 2000 More: Discogs, Mode, Pogus, WARPS, Wikipedia
Text ©2003 Arcane Candy
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