The
River of Writing
The River of Theater
The River of Body
The River of Action
My
uncle Hughie likes to molest sheep in his spare time. A strange hobby
for sure but as he looks like Shrek after an acid bath I don’t suppose
many women are attracted to him so he has to make do with any substitute
available. I once asked him why he did it and he simply replied he enjoyed
it. To each their own as he says. He also told me how he liked to stick
his dick into jars of smooth peanut butter but that was too much information
even for me. It did get me thinking though.
Music is a very individual thing. What I may enjoy and consider as an
essential purchase many others will dismiss as crap. Take this latest
recording by Tidal. As a follow up to the excellent "Golem &
Man" on the Manifold label the artist D Brownstead has based "The
Four Rivers" on the life of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima who committed
ritual suicide in the early 1900’s. In fact if memory serves me
right there was an excellent arty farty film made about Mishima that was
critically acclaimed on its release and which you’ll find on DVD
if you know where to look.
The music on ‘The Four Rivers’ is semi experimental with ambient
undertones that like its subject matter is very complex and deep but ultimately
very rewarding if you’re willing to go with the flow of artistic
interpretation. Starting with a very minimal piece of ever expanding silence
that is gradually built on by layer upon layer of electronics the piece
has serenity to it undermining the trauma hiding behind the facade. The
following 3 tracks continue along in similar vein introducing new elements
of sound and structure. Although very dreamlike and surreal in places
all four pieces demands concentration from the listener to fully understand
what the artist is trying convey with this music. I personally found "The
Four Rivers" to be an amazing realisation of ideas and found more
to it as I delved deeper into it with repeated plays. What any of you
will make of it though is another matter.
As my sheep shagging uncle Hughie would say… "If ye dinnae
try it laddie you’ll no know if you’ll like it". Very
profound coming from one so twisted.
ANM