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Ora was Andrew Chalk and Darren Tate with Jonathan Coleclough, Lol Coxhill, Colin Potter, and Daisuke Suzuki. Final, released in 2002, was to be this group's final album, but there were five pieces that never made it to that record because they had been lost; After Rainfall collects those five pieces and, with varying degrees of success, shuts the door on Ora.
The atmosphere is a strange mix of synthetic rhythm and environmental grandeur; "Gnome Culture" is a strange crunch of musical crystals sparking in and out of the perceptible realm. The cascading rolls of sound play throughout the background and collide with a heavier churning, creating a pulsing and lively but anxiety-filled tension that simply floats away and dies. "Darkness" is, on the other hand, a mostly environmental piece composed of water drops, a cat's meow, and the rolling about of some kind of metal object. This is Ora at their best: the most simple of elements are combined in a satisfying meditation on sound painting. Clearly this is an old hut in the middle of a rainforest that is inhabited by a monk and his cat, both of whom find serenity in the sounds that creak and slither by their home. "Attribution To Memory" is amazing for the same reasons; the calls of summer birds herald the coming of a thunder storm. Wooden boards rattle and creek and the water splashes down on stone pathways, clear and pristine bells echo through the clouds, the line between natural music and composed music becomes blurred, and Ora proves that melody is everywhere. It's unfortunate that every piece on this album is not like "Darkness" or "Attribution To Memory." The synthetic sounds used on the other three tracks sound pale in comparison to the peace that is reached in the organization of natural sound. What this record has done, though, is make me want to go find more Ora to listen to. "Attribution To Memory" is, by itself, reason enough to find this record. It's a shame that Ora will no longer be making music; After Rainfall is a record that makes me want more and the only way I can find more is by looking backwards and digging for those limited releases and ultra-rare productions. 
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This rapturous disc is the result of a live improvisation conducted under an aqueduct in Zürich, a 40-foot-tall acoustic space that perfectly matches Momentan's simulation of poised ebb and flow. Not standard microsound fair, of minimal movement or painfully obsessive blip-bending, the piece ingests each members' contribution, Korber's threadbare guitar scratch, Müller's increasingly spartan percussive manipulations, and Steinbrüchel's grainy drone cycles, lifting all in an undulant, misty passage across the broad hollow, action that plays perfectly on the disc's punning title.
The piece seems obsessed with "momentum," full of sweeping static washs and low-level machine hums that arrive quickly and pointedly as if to establish motion, but are consistently buffered by contrastive elements more indicative of detail, or a particular "moment" staking its claim within the sinuous whole. Sections of Müller's inventive hitting and surface-testing frequently occupy both ends at once, coalescing into strands of rhythmic interference that are quick to fold under the weight (or lightness) of each stroke. Often Korber or Steinbrüchel will introduce thunderous or ominous sounds via processed feedback or laptop, as if only to watch the colored noise fade into the pale complexion of its surroundings. The level of communication between players that allows this pause-less dialogue to proceed is astounding. Any back-and-forth that appears in "momentan live" (the 30-min. improv session is accompanied by 3 remixes, one by each contributor) occurs underneath the opaque surface of the piece, and a dominant "voice" never comes to the front. The fluidity and graceful progression will recall Müller's recent solo work and Poire_Z's + record, but the real heroes of Momentan are Steinbrüchel and Korber. The young guitarist is a master of beautifully tempered feedback tones and frail note clusters that run nicely alongside the former's synthetic drones and microscopic click-tracks. Their combination allows for the darkly expressive sheen that coats this work, full of intricate, fleeting gradations. The three remixes are equally successful, if more single-minded pieces. Korber introduces a surprising amount of rhythm, his process more additive and loop-based than the others', crafting a bottom-heavy gem of post-technoid atmospherics. Steinbrüchel's is less engaging, a minimal reconstruction consisting of one deep, droning waveform that sounds directly pulled from Korber's feedback and layered with digital crickets and crackling fire. Müller's mix is the most sympathetic to the original, combining the churning pulses and short loops of Korber's take, with the Steinbrüchel's textural achievements to produce a highly differentiated piece that shares "momentan live"'s preoccupation with issues of drift and stasis. While not a landmark recording, the disc stands as a welcome addition to the catalogs of three artists at the top of their respective games. - 
- Korber/Müller/Steinbrüchelmomentan live (03:00-04:00)
- Korber/Müller/Steinbrüchelmomentan live (10:00-11:00)
- Müllerdef. rmx
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Concept albums in general are a bit troublesome. Like "Music from and inspired by the motion picture," they are sometimes not at all relatable to the subject at hand, and often they get overshadowed by some lofty sense of purpose that ultimately falls flat. When I saw the roster on Seasons, I was willing to ignore the fact that the compilation was a concept album just to hear new work from these bands. So, I must say I was pleasantly surprised to find that the music does, in fact, have a fine correlation with the concept, making this the best theme-based compilation I have ever heard.Ochre
Each artist was asked to compose music that, to them, represented the four seasons. Most took this at its literal meaning, composing four tracks for the four seasons, but a couple, namely Stylus and 90° South, chose a different way, combining different elements to represent more than one season and the change between them. Altogether a fascinating listening experience, the album features emotional reactions of the artists to the states of the year that are sometimes not what you'd expect. In The Land of Nod's tracks, the traditional perception is challenged on "Summer-house": a drone with frog/cat noises that almost sounds like someone being trapped in a warehouse all summer, baking in the heat — not exactly the prettiest image. It's a nice switch of roles, though, with the more traditional interpretations on their other tracks making for lovely chiming guitars and the deafening worry of the winter track, "Light Fades Fast." Longstone's electronic elements are a sharp contrast upon their entrance, and their tracks fade together and contain similar elements, allowing for a nice shift between them to represent the overlap from summer to fall to winter. It's a nice take on the theme, even though some of the sound effects and pitch bends towards the end grate on the nerves. Lakescene, aka The Land of Nod's Ant Walker, keeps the electronics going, with beeps and static washes breaking for crickets and guitar. His tracks were my favorites, making the most of different elements while painting the most lifelike pictures of the seasons. 90° South manufactured one track that shifts with common elements, as well, and with the guitar and keys being joined by thick percussion and swirling noise, it's a fantastic ride, even though the track pushes the fourteen-minute mark. Stylus makes typically odd compositions that expound on odd beginnings, like tribal drums and chanting with bubble noises. His tracks are most "out there," and therefore I was thankful for his inclusion, as he brings a bit of the left field to the proceedings. All in all, though, I was impressed by all contributors, and hope to see more compilations that can truly flesh out a theme with such success. 
samples:
- The Land of Nod - Season of Decay
- Longstone - A Singing Frog Beneath the Ice
- Lakescene - Fall
- 90° South - Seasonal
- Stylus - Icicle Tricycle
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- L'Enfant déshérité s'enivre de soleil
- Retrouve l'ambroisie et le nectar vermeil
- Et l'Esprit qui le suit dans son pèlerinage
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