Randy Greif "War of the World" Soleilmoon Recordings SOL 109 CD 2001 (54:43)
part one - exhale
octopus robot (3:56)
the dead silence (really impressed him) (7:56)
let us pray (4:59)
part two - meeting
grover's mill (2:43)
an extremely angry man (7:59)
2X2L (5:18)
part three - aftermath
nostalgia (4:42)
folding into light (7:24)
the soothing data waves (9:46)
Having recently taken in the delightful "Alice
in Wonderland" box set re-issue, my first (massive) taste of Greif's
quarter century plus back catalog, I became eager for more. And just in
time comes a new project using another classic as inspiration. Subtitled
"An Emergency Broadcast", Greif specifically borrows from Orson
Welles panic inducing radio broadcast version of H.G. Wells "The War of
The Worlds". But the idea is expanded, metamorphosed into a
metaphor for humanity's wars with ourselves (note the change to
singular in Greif's title) and technology: disinformation, technological
"advancements" and organic versus digital life. And
ultimately, someone or something out there will receive the signals we project
into deep space and come to dispatch of us with ease. The 55 minutes is conceptually divided into
three 3 track
parts - 'exhale', 'meeting' and 'aftermath' - but it flows as one continuous
piece. Greif's approach here is
similar to "Alice", only far less narrative and far more obscured as
his sound collages characterize the data glut. Often fractured bits of
reports, speech and Conet
Project style number station transmissions are folded into found sounds,
static interference and electronic textures. At times it's disorienting,
frustrating and confusing for you, the listener, as if you were desperately
trying to tune in a frequency to find out what the hell is going on.
Other times it's soothingly ambient and carefree such as the culminating
liquid gurgle fade, as though no matter what, even if they wipe us out or we
wipe ourselves out, it won't much matter. Another great idea skillfully
brought to fruition by Mr. Greif ...
Randy
Greif at Swinging Axe
Productions
Where did I get this cd? - borrowed from a friend, he got it from Riouxs Records