Spike: Works from Beast - Vol. 1

Album review

The nine works on this CD were created in the Electroacoustic Music Studios at the University of Birmingham, where Jonty Harrison teaches and established the Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre (or BEAST) in 1982. These composers were "up-and-coming" at the time (meaning they had recently graduated and had only a piece or two released or performed). Such compilations can be dreadful, but Spike: Works from BEAST, Vol. 1 is surprisingly constant. Most of these works are average to top rate. The mentor's influence can be witnessed in each of them to various extents, and that factor probably accounts for the cohesion of the whole. Now, cohesion doesn't translate in homogeneity or conformity, but the composers all wrote "standard" pieces of musique concrète following a generally similar esthestic. After good but not stellar pieces by Iain Armstrong and Simon Scardanelli, things take a small dive. Dugal McKinnon's sparse "Horizont Im Ohr" misses something, although it is hard to assess what or why (maybe it could work better in another context). Antti Saario's "B-Side" can be skipped altogether. The treats come right after, with Derek Thompson's "Sportster" and Steven Naylor's "I Wish" providing strong highlights. The latter uses female vocals (Rita Rankin) to create a seductive ghostly piece. James Bentley and Jamie Bullock's contributions take more formal shapes, but bring the disc to a nice close, not far from Harrison's "Klang."

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