 |
|
JOHN CONTRERAS/ROSE MCDOWALL/NURSE WITH WOUND, "AFRAID 1 & 2/GEOMETRIC HORSEHAIR CAVALCADE"
This CDEP contains three tracks, all featuring the skillful playing ofJohn Contreras, the handsome young cellist and recent Current 93 andCyclobe collaborator. The first and third tracks on the disc areadaptations of Nico's beautiful song "Afraid" (from her classic 1970album Desertshore,one of several collaborations with John Cale), with the singular RoseMcDowall lending her sweet, lilting vocals to the song.
Durtro Jnana
We haven'theard from Rose McDowall in quite a while, that inimitable chanteusefrom Strawberry Switchblade, Sorrow and countless collaborations withCurrent 93, Death in June, Coil and Michael Cashmore, so it was verynice indeed to hear her lovely vocals again. Even though both versionsof "Afraid" are brief, insubstantial and slight, they are still verypretty, and a good showcase for McDowall's voice and Contreras'elegiac, vibratory swells of cello. Sandwiched unceremoniously betweenthese two tracks is an unexpected collaboration between Nurse WithWound and John Contreras, surreally entitled "Geometric HorsehairCavalcade." The horsehair refers perhaps to the rosined fibers ofContreras' bow, and the geometry perhaps to the angularly edited,resculptured strings of Contreras' cello and Steven Stapleton'sprepared piano. There's no telling where the cavalcade comes in. Thetrack, not surprisingly, bears a passing resemblance to Stapleton'scollaborations with another master of the stringed instrument on Acts of Senseless Beauty and Santoor Lena Bicycle.In fact, Aranos AKA Petr Vastl is listed as the engineer for all threeof these tracks, so there's your connection. On the whole, this CDEP israther disposable, but it's still a very nice little souvenir, and I dohope that these four collaborate on more material in the future, as afull-length might be very nice indeed.
Durtro Jnana
We haven'theard from Rose McDowall in quite a while, that inimitable chanteusefrom Strawberry Switchblade, Sorrow and countless collaborations withCurrent 93, Death in June, Coil and Michael Cashmore, so it was verynice indeed to hear her lovely vocals again. Even though both versionsof "Afraid" are brief, insubstantial and slight, they are still verypretty, and a good showcase for McDowall's voice and Contreras'elegiac, vibratory swells of cello. Sandwiched unceremoniously betweenthese two tracks is an unexpected collaboration between Nurse WithWound and John Contreras, surreally entitled "Geometric HorsehairCavalcade." The horsehair refers perhaps to the rosined fibers ofContreras' bow, and the geometry perhaps to the angularly edited,resculptured strings of Contreras' cello and Steven Stapleton'sprepared piano. There's no telling where the cavalcade comes in. Thetrack, not surprisingly, bears a passing resemblance to Stapleton'scollaborations with another master of the stringed instrument on Acts of Senseless Beauty and Santoor Lena Bicycle.In fact, Aranos AKA Petr Vastl is listed as the engineer for all threeof these tracks, so there's your connection. On the whole, this CDEP israther disposable, but it's still a very nice little souvenir, and I dohope that these four collaborate on more material in the future, as afull-length might be very nice indeed.samples:
