Sunday, 6 September 2009

BARNABY OLIVER – LONG DIVISION WITH REMAINDERS EP VERSION 6 (FRONT AND FOLLOW)


BARNABY OLIVER – LONG DIVISION WITH REMAINDERS EP VERSION 6 (FRONT AND FOLLOW)

The sixth version of the LDWR EP comes from Barnaby Oliver, a UK born composer/sound artist who can currently be found in Melbourne.  The movie On The Beach was filmed in Melbourne and if you are not familiar with the work, it dealt with the fear of the unknown, the fallout that was approaching and the catastrophe inevitable.  Naturally it was a film that dealt with apprehension and dread.  A description that could easily be applied to the nature of these tracks too.

It begins with what could be the sound of wind amplified.  Maybe this is the drifting cloud of radiation as suggested above.  Motion suggests.

There is something quite barren about his version of track 2.  It sounds like the combination of harsh winds and a Geiger counter as it is easy to envisage being lost in the desert and being attacked by insects.  All in all it is quite an uncomfortable listen and experience.  And this all comes from quite a minimal motion where the dynamics rain subtle to the extreme.  This is a man messing with heads.

The barely one minute long version of track 3 exists seemingly in the form of a helicopter assaulting the listener.  This is an exaggerated take on the original track, a real defiant gesture towards the source material.  No whether that be of love or hate is open to suggestion.

It ends with a shrieking version of track 4 that rattles the stereo from left to right and back again.  The disorientation is illuminating, gradual then painful as nothing feels assisted in its wake.

Thesaurus moment: vibrate.

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