Brass Orchids by Ann Guthrie; Record Label Link: Brass Orchids
Number 31 in the Wire Magazine (@thewiremagazine) Top 50 Releases of 2018.
I can’t believe I had to wade through 30 albums (many of them great) in this roundup to finally get to a fucking outstanding example of abstract electro-acoustic music.
Anyway, Brass Orchids is a fucking outstanding example of abstract electro-acoustic music.
For the first several songs, I wasn’t sure if she was just using samples/field recordings and foley work with treatments, or if there were going to be actual instruments involved.
Not that it matters.
There is drama, there is interest, there is suspense, and there is noise, a lot of pleasantly noisey and abrasive noise.
Anyway, she does break out the French Horn and, I believe, guitar on the last track, Glass, for something like music.
…and as a bonus, the title of the album, “Brass Orchids,” appears to be a reference to Samuel R. Delaney’s SciFi classic, “Dhalgren”.
If this were my list, I’m pretty sure this would be, as they say in the industry, number one with a bullet.
#BrassOrchids #AnnGuthrie #TodaysCommuteSoundtrack #WireMagazineTop50
