Hazard/Fennesz/Biosphere "Light" Touch Tone 13 2001 (23:24)
Hazard "Meteostat"
(5:52)
Fennesz "C-Street"
(5:00)
Biosphere "When
I Leave (Finely Tuned Version)" (6:48)
Biosphere "Algae & Fungi (Candelaria Version)" (5:44)
UK fixture Touch are celebrating 20 years with a special UK tour and CD featuring four exclusive tracks from Sweden's Hazard, Austria's Christian Fennesz and Norway's Biosphere. The "Light" title is left unexplained and I can't offer any further insight. Hazard's "Meteosat" builds upon a constant, thick wall of sound with subtle slow motion explosions, spacious pings and a thin metallic clattering. Fennesz's "C-Street" is much more difficult to explain ... a machine carving out an alien melody? Whatever it is, it's fairly unnerving until it relents near the end revealing a softer, more pleasant foundation. Biosphere's two tracks are remixes from last year's "Cirque". "When I Leave (Finely Tuned Version)" builds a mellow groove with subtle shifts in the background ambiance, the incessant low level samples of a woman talking hindering the effect. "Algae & Fungi (Candelaria Version)" is beat less but keeps time with gentle pulses over gently plucked string notes and an airy drift. What? It's over already? At just 23 minutes, this disc doesn't do any justice to Touch's extensive and richly varied catalogue. The T Zero Sampler series is much more thorough and interesting. And on it's own merits, these tracks aren't too terribly moving for me. But, then again, "Light" is meant more as a celebration than a retrospective so be thankful for Touch's much appreciated existence, go see the shows throughout May and rejoice!
Where did I get this cd? - mail order via Riouxs Records.