British composer and improviser Martin Archer performed live in Krakow's Solvay Arts Center on September 9th, 2006.
During this almost 80-minutes long performance Archer presented a blend of deeply structured electronics and improvisations for sopranino saxophone.
Described by The Wire as bright eyed and cleverer than a thousand other contemporary musicians, he proved his talent and was enthusiasticly applaused by the audience.
This release is an audio documentation of his performance. Feel free to download and enjoy it.
All tracks written by Martin Archer except where indicated.
Recorded live on September 9th, 2006 in Solvay Art Center in Krakow.
Cover design & photos: Piotr Bujas
Reviews:
At the end of August 2006, prolific painter of many sounds, Martin Archer,
played his debut concert in Poland at Krakow's Solvay Art Centre. He managed
to exceed all expectations with a captivating array of molten lunar-scaped
electronics, gloopy marshland squelches and poots, a dash of ur-skronk and
some bore holes teeming with the kinda sonic flotsam maybe early Tangerine
Dream or even The Orb might have cast aside from their own interstellar
noodlings for possibly straying a little too closely to the universe's
furthest seams.
Beginning with neatly looped "All wars are lost" vocal sample refrain, as
much a statement on global politics and the 'War on Terror' as perhaps one
about the battles apparently going on in Archer's music, the thirteen songs
here capture the performance perfectly. Or, well, certainly as well as I
personally recall it, anyway (if not better, even). Which may in itself not
count for much, of course, but my memory's not completely gone the same way
as a melting ice cap just yet.
From the almost industrial-crunched, yet pleasantly melodic, 'Koreish',
through the respectful throwings of two of Archer's guiding forces Bert
Jansch and Anne Briggs into the lava-streams on four other songs, to the
healthy streak of carefully shrouded humour which courses through a lot of
the work here, this release makes for a listen as grand and downright worth
investing some time in as anything else made available via his own Discus
imprint.
Now, if this doesn't seem like a recommendation, may I suggest you book
yourself into the nearest music rehabilitation clinic. Now. And, heck, in MY
world, they WOULD exist.
