The Consent Of Sound And Meaning
New Focus, 2023
9/10
Listen to The Consent Of Sound And Meaning
The inimitable composer Eric Richards took an unusual route of deconstructing music for these 8 iconoclastic tracks, where a tape recorder was used to flesh out these avant-garde and artistic ideas that take some exceptional help.
“A Fanfare For Diebenkorn” opens the listen with loadbang’s Andy Kozar, who brings his expressive and eloquent 3 trumpets to the quick, warm climate, and “Wingsets” follows with 9 instrumentalists and 9 singers who emit much mystery, atmosphere and unpredictableness as Steve Hrycelak’s baritone is quite memorable.
At the halfway point, “Rocks; Gardens” pairs bright trumpet from Kozar with atmospheric keys thanks to Steven Beck to elicit a contrasting climate, while “Owls, Too” showcases 6 female voices that present excerpts texts from an Edward Elgar song with incredible attention to detail.
Approaching the end, the buzzing of “Hymn To Santa Muerta (Rotting Christ)” recruits Jeffrey Gavett’s baritone pipes and Jude Traxler’s cuica for the darker spirit of the rumbling, distorted bass and lower registers, and the title track exits with Robert Black’s basses and Kozar’s trumpets for 16+ minutes of violin recorded to tape that was reversed, looped, manipulated and meshed with 10 double bass parts and 7 trumpet parts for the meditative finish.
Richards passed in 2020 due to renal failure at the age of 84. He artistic and collage oriented view of experimental sounds made him a luminary for decades, and he inspired legions of other musicians. This late period body of work carries on his legacy perfectly.
Travels well with: Stephanie Lamprea- 14 Récitations; Christopher Cerrone- The Air Suspended