Eyvind Kang and Tucker Martine ~ Orchestra Dim Bridges
Seattle violinist
Eyvind Kang has previously collaborated with producer/musician Tucker Martine
on the latter's Mount Analog project, but this is their first release as co-leaders.
Together they have created an album of glorious melodies and strange soundscapes.
The gorgeous Horizon sits firmly in the former camp, it’s an effulgent
meditation upon summertime lit by a slowly setting sun which draws the listener
away out onto a crystal blue sea. In the latter camp, Elegy Elegie’s
rhythm sounds like unsteady progress along a gravel path and The Echoing Green
comprises a battle of slurred and sampled percussion presided over by serene
piano. Orchestra Dim Bridges is a little reminiscent of Daniel Lanois' classic
productions for the likes of Emmylou Harris and U2, although there's something
grainier, and more experimental here. The strangeness of this music appears
unexpectedly from burnished surfaces. The effect is cinematic, as if one has
been granted privileged access to watch flickering, half-remembered memories
on a hazy screen. Kang’s playing, notably on Baseer Ornamental, is eastern-tinged,
pecked and worried by Martine’s tinkling, chiming percussion. Orchestra
Dim Bridges is located at the interstices of psychedelia, ambience and folk
musics from east and west. Mixed in with these influences is a sense of home-made
experimentation and an attention to the darker edges of experience which marks
out this singular music.
Colin Buttimer
January 2005