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Not just outside the box, but denying the existence of boxes.
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Reviews

Eleanor Hovda / Prism Players — Ariadne Music
(OO Discs oo46, 1998, CD)

Various Artists — Desde el Otro Lado
(OO Discs oo45, 1998, CD)

by Jerome Schmidt, Published 1999-11-01

Ariadne Music Cover artDesde el Otro Lado Cover art

These two released by the witty label OO Disc are good representatives of the label's overall sound directions. The compilation begins with an ‘electroacoustic samba’ which puts in relation Brazilian rhythms with synth works in a new perspective; a funny and delighting attempt. The album continues in the same vein with some arid pieces close to concrete music and more oblique and melodic parts which are more evidently linked to South America for the common listener. All in all the coherence is surprising and it is both a good and successful album as well as a very original and quite easy to get into disc. Eleanor Hovda’s direction is more into postclassical vein, another musical form which Joseph Celli’s label particularly likes. And Hovda’s release is a brilliant sound chamber ensemble playing fully innovative avant-classical music which reminds me of Japanese composer Akira Ifukube, another creator in the same musical field. The music here is really symphonic, mythological, and powerful with lots of tension and emotion but not at all falling into easy clichés. It is avant-garde music which is just open to anyone because of its open-mindedness; this could summarize our feeling regarding Hovda’s project which is for sure a real treat for all those who liked Zorn’s chamber ensembles or Zeena Parkins’ Isabelle, as Hovda operates in the same fields but with more ideas and a more powerful ensemble. Astonishing.

Filed under: Archives, Issue 18, 1998 releases

Related artist(s): Various Artists

 

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