HR053 - Big City Orchestra - Arc Of Infinity C60 — 1987
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Side One: Brain And Brain Chime Piece Savages Side Two: Mind Robber Aztec Timemaker Face Of Evil Invasion Of Time |
Review by Jerry Kranitz
For Arc Of Infinity, the long running and prolific Big City Orchestra (BCO) is the duo of roBo and das, creating minimal yet varied sound excursions.
‘Brain And Brain’ opens the set with a minimal pattern that sounds like the rotary motion of an electro generator. It revolves and pulsates, modifying the pattern in only slight but interesting ways. Periodically a woman’s voice pops to yell “Brain and brain, what is brain?!!”.
‘Chime Piece’ features a similar pattern, though in this case it’s a clatter percussion ensemble. I like the off-kilter but strangely pleasant groove, which is surrounded by an ambient grating pulsation. The percussion briefly cuts out, leaving only the grating cadence, which is a bit jarring. It’s almost like the sensation of the momentary cessation when driving under a highway overpass in a torrential downpour. File under Music for Machinery.
We’re treated to more waves of gradually evolving machine soundscapes on ‘Savages’. But there are melodic bits that pop in throughout. Like spacey, electronic Phantom of the Opera keys, and a darkly mesmerizing synth bit that brings to mind The Residents “Mark Of The Mole”. I like the contrasting combo of ongoing machine drudgery and strangely haunting melodies. Later BCO throw a wrench in the flow by riddling the machinery with cut-outs, and eventually stopping to leave only an edgy, hypnotic throb.
‘Mind Robber’ travels a different path, sounding like a cavernous setting where we hear the sounds of wildlife, alien spelunkers meandering about, and ghostly howls, swarms and drones wash through. At one point we hear a remote yet bloodcurdling screaming, along with psychedelic noise attacks and a succession of clatters, clangs and bangs. Then near the 10-minute mark the clumping of boots sounds like our spelunkers marching like soldiers through the cave, followed by subtly atmospheric howls and drones. My favorite track of the set, for its sound exploration that conjures up a mind’s eye of wildly varied themes.
‘Aztec Time Maker’ is a rhythm and sound piece, laying down a soldierly, boot clumping “off to work we go” march, along with what sounds like an electronic jaw harp and scratching motions, creating a strange kind of hip-shaking audio art groove tune.
‘Face Of Evil is a cool and strange mixture of car repair garage, spacecraft engine room, and sci-fi themes. Soon a pleasant “Rock-a-Bye Baby’ type melody joins in, propelled by hammer and anvil clangs and rickety echoed pulsations that could be a mad dash for the finish line. ‘Face Of Evil’ transitions smoothly into the final piece, ‘Invasion Of Time’, which follows a similar path but has a more metal and block clanging, spaced out, and noise-psychedelic orchestral vibe.
If this all sounds like a lot of crazy contrasts well… it is. But BCO deftly stitch it all together to create, not so much a collage work as an orderly glom of sounds and themes that create moods, imagery, and come together in interesting ways.
For Arc Of Infinity, the long running and prolific Big City Orchestra (BCO) is the duo of roBo and das, creating minimal yet varied sound excursions.
‘Brain And Brain’ opens the set with a minimal pattern that sounds like the rotary motion of an electro generator. It revolves and pulsates, modifying the pattern in only slight but interesting ways. Periodically a woman’s voice pops to yell “Brain and brain, what is brain?!!”.
‘Chime Piece’ features a similar pattern, though in this case it’s a clatter percussion ensemble. I like the off-kilter but strangely pleasant groove, which is surrounded by an ambient grating pulsation. The percussion briefly cuts out, leaving only the grating cadence, which is a bit jarring. It’s almost like the sensation of the momentary cessation when driving under a highway overpass in a torrential downpour. File under Music for Machinery.
We’re treated to more waves of gradually evolving machine soundscapes on ‘Savages’. But there are melodic bits that pop in throughout. Like spacey, electronic Phantom of the Opera keys, and a darkly mesmerizing synth bit that brings to mind The Residents “Mark Of The Mole”. I like the contrasting combo of ongoing machine drudgery and strangely haunting melodies. Later BCO throw a wrench in the flow by riddling the machinery with cut-outs, and eventually stopping to leave only an edgy, hypnotic throb.
‘Mind Robber’ travels a different path, sounding like a cavernous setting where we hear the sounds of wildlife, alien spelunkers meandering about, and ghostly howls, swarms and drones wash through. At one point we hear a remote yet bloodcurdling screaming, along with psychedelic noise attacks and a succession of clatters, clangs and bangs. Then near the 10-minute mark the clumping of boots sounds like our spelunkers marching like soldiers through the cave, followed by subtly atmospheric howls and drones. My favorite track of the set, for its sound exploration that conjures up a mind’s eye of wildly varied themes.
‘Aztec Time Maker’ is a rhythm and sound piece, laying down a soldierly, boot clumping “off to work we go” march, along with what sounds like an electronic jaw harp and scratching motions, creating a strange kind of hip-shaking audio art groove tune.
‘Face Of Evil is a cool and strange mixture of car repair garage, spacecraft engine room, and sci-fi themes. Soon a pleasant “Rock-a-Bye Baby’ type melody joins in, propelled by hammer and anvil clangs and rickety echoed pulsations that could be a mad dash for the finish line. ‘Face Of Evil’ transitions smoothly into the final piece, ‘Invasion Of Time’, which follows a similar path but has a more metal and block clanging, spaced out, and noise-psychedelic orchestral vibe.
If this all sounds like a lot of crazy contrasts well… it is. But BCO deftly stitch it all together to create, not so much a collage work as an orderly glom of sounds and themes that create moods, imagery, and come together in interesting ways.