Sutekh - On Bach (CD)

Sutekh, aka Seth Horvitz, has been producing and performing dumbfounding electronic music for well over a decade on labels such as Leaf,  Soul Jazz, Force Inc./Mille Plateaux, and his own Context Free Media. He is also one half of the spastic dance-theatre duo Pigeon Funk with Joshua Kit Clayton. The seeds of this project were planted in February of 2009 at the historic Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where Sutekh was invited to perform at a special event entitled "Bach To The Moon." Sutekh had the honour of being the only electronic musician in the programme, performing alongside an impressive roster of classical musicians. With so many hit-or-miss attempts to unite 'electronica' and classical music in recent history, the challenge of creating a Bach-inspired set was daunting, but the results were such a success that Sutekh decided to develop the material further into a full-length album, his fourth overall, and his first since 2002. Creaked is proud to present this micro-opus which is at times dark, mysterious, meditative, funky, demented, and playful - an album that will reward careful headphone listening and sound system shaking alike. Those who know Sutekh's work know it is rarely easy to classify, and this album is no exception. Rather than "remixing" recognizable Bach works or creating electronic cover versions a la Wendy Carlos, Sutekh decided to treat Bach more like a symbiotic growth, or perhaps a fungus, bubbling up from the depths of his twisted sonic cauldron when you least expect it. Manipulated MIDI data of Bach's chorales, audio recordings of period pipe organs, demented baroque-style arpeggiation, shuffled Swingle-beats, and a noisy homage to Glenn Gould's curious habits, all make appearances. While Bach may be the messy glue that holds the pieces together, Sutekh reaches far and wide for influences, in this case connecting the dots between the quirky 'paradoxical' techno he is known for, the cosmic musique concrète of Parmegiani, and the dissonant clouds of Ligeti. And every so often, between the strands of this noisy web emerge traces of Bach.

Tracklisting:

01. Let There Be Night   02. Bitter Tails   03. The Lips Of The Foolish Way   04. Repulsion By Slit And Roundabout   05. The Glorious Day Has Dawned   06. It Is Certainly Time   07. All Men Must Die (For Glenn Gould)   08. The Puzzles Of Babylon   09. The Last Hour

Be the first to review this record.

Name: *

Email address:

You don't have to provide your email address, but without it we can't give you a prize if this is the month's best review!

Rating: *

-- Please rate this item -- 1* - Utter shite! 2* - Must do better! 3* - Average 4* - Liked it! 5* - Loved it!

Review / comment: *

Keep it civil, please!

Please enter the following code *

Submit this review / comment