GAVIN BRYARS レコード& CD

Review: A monolithic entry into the canon of longform ambient, experimental classical music, Gavin Bryars' The Sinking Of The Titanic receives the reissue treatment via Superior Viaduct. The record was initially produced by Brian Eno in 1975 as the first release on Obscure, and the title piece found Bryars fixating on the ill-fated luxury cruise liner through the perspective of its passengers. It's a haunting and engrossing piece with imperceptible layers of detail woven into its fabric. The accompanying piece, 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet', is equally important, revolving around a tape loop of a street singer and bringing the work of players such as Michael Nyman and Derek Bailey into the composition which builds into a powerful crescendo. Quite simply, a seminal work.

Review: Celebrated English composer Gavin Bryars has his 80th birthday marked by the release of the magnificent In LA, an all-new album on the Alga Marghen label. The album is the result of a collaboration between Bryars and Italian visual artist Massimo Bartolini. It is music played pipe organ bars, suspended from the ceiling at the Luigi Pecci Centre for Contemporary Art in Prato, Italy. It is an experimental concept that results in absorbing ambient works that very much capture the energy, essence and architecture of the spaces. It's a live, living, real time adventure full of evocative imagery and sombre moods.