Combat Astronomy - Time Distort Nine 2 x CDs
SKU
Zond 06
"The ambition and invention on Time Distort Nine shows a band continuing to expand its horizons. Songs such as the seismic "Hypogeous" give clues that the destination is both earthly and alien: a post-transcendental reconfiguration of Self, Space and Time far from the myopic distracted world we now live in. Combat Astronomy is mining a deep vein of transcendental ambiguity: the broken, beguiling, dissonant soundtrack to a particularly haunting J.G Ballard novel.
With a freer and more dynamic production than on previous outings, the boundary between improvisation and structured composition becomes hard to untangle. Archer, Fairclough and Huggett act as a trio of master alchemists; melting down fifty years of jazz, metal, music concrete; then gleefully creating new golems from these elemental pieces of tone and timbre. Fairclough brings a fluid expression to the drums, narrating around Huggetts stubborn, epic riff mongering and Archers multifarious hornwork and electronic mischief.
The underworld soul inhabiting this two disc set has an urgency and exuberance that is rare: though born from a twilight dimension of imagination this is very much the stuff of life - intoxicated, creative, rythmic, senusal, subtle, challenging; Dionysian thrill laced with sublime terror.
MARTIN ARCHER
Organ, electric piano, software grand piano, mellotron, laptop, software trumpet, baritone, alto and sopranino saxophones, bass and Bb clarinets, glockenspiel, tuning forks, handclaps, snorks
PETER FAIRCLOUGH
Drums and percussion
JAMES HUGGETT
Five string fretless and fretted basses, guitar, programmed drums, production, concept.
Voices:
KELLI DENOYER, JULIE ARCHER"