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Michael Giles, Jamie Muir & David Cunningham
Ghost Dance
Piano (PIANO 502) UK 1995
Michael Giles, kit drums, assorted percussion, mouth horns, mouth reeds, bow, voice, keyboard; Jamie Muir, assorted percussion, hand drums, bow, thumb piano, mouthpiece, conch; David Cunningham, loops treatments, guitar, occasional percussion
Tracklist:
1. Ghost Dance 5:41
2. Scratching the Curve 1:35
3. Spillers Village 7:27
4. Cascade 3:52
5. Screenwash 2:51
6. Mouthwork 2:45
7. Snake Dance 2:05
8. The Moving Cymbal 2:51
9. Metalwork 1:29
10. Slow Motion 1:46
11. Cargo 2:52
12. Pascale 2:01
13. Blue Dance 6:01
14. Ghost Dance Reprise 4:55
15. The Trial 6:34
total time 55:38
Links:
see all michael giles, jamie muir & david cunningham reviews at ground & sky buy this cd from amazon.com
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| This primary appeal of this disc will be to get to hear two veteran King Crimson drummers together, neither of whom are Bill Bruford (yet both of whom exacted an influence to some degree on Bruford's development as a drummer). The work represented on this disc, almost an hour's worth, was commissioned as the soundtrack to a film by Ken McCullen (which apparently features deconstructionist philosopher Jacques Derrida). It was actually recorded in 1983 and compiled for release in 1995. As one might expect given who's involved, this is largely percussion-driven. Muir's influence seems to predominate here, and those expecting to hear Michael Giles' recognizable soft-spry kit drumming style will likely be disappointed. The emphasis, instead, is on intuition and improvisation, but the liner notes also convey these musical elements being "molested by technology" of the modern era, thus intended to represent a tension between tribal cultures and industrial cities. At the end of the day, this is an incidental music soundtrack, pure and simple. The thumb piano-dominated "Cascade" represents a rare moment of melodicism, like a more euphonic "Larks' Tongues" intro, and the zombie-like atmosphere of the title track is effective in drawing some chills from the listener. The industrial "Screenwash" also sounds intriguingly bizarre, with honking horns and cymbals crashing. Many of the remaining tracks, however, read as little more than acousto-experiments of basic percussion, of varying degrees of interest. I like the almost vocal effects that are produced through electronic manipulation on "The Moving Cymbal," whereas others ("Scratching the Curve") are just a simple workout on untuned percussion. In short, this is mostly one for the King Crimson completist, though does have some interesting moments and provides an interesting parallel to the work of what Fripp & Co. were doing in the early 80s. review by Joe McGlinchey 2-20-09
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