Disorient

Album review

The melodic explorations of Richard Bone's DISORIENT have the quality of something percolated in dream and pulled from the deeper recesses of feeling. Additionally, the title may be a pun, as the album overflows with references to "the Orient" (though skewed as they pass through the filter of Bone's futuristic electronic treatments). Through the presence of Eastern modalities (and the use of electronic approximations of instruments from North Africa, India, and Asia) the listener may have the impression of strolling through a Japanese tea garden in space. The opener, "In Japa," sends small melodic strains through an ether of celestial bells and chimes. A vaguely tribal rhythm builds under simple piano lines and spectral atmospherics in "Intricate Autumn." Except for its DJ-inspired beat, "Sudanaram" wouldn't sound out of place in a temple in New Dehli, and the edgy, insistent "Arabaya" shows Bone moving away from his trademark calming ambience. Likewise, the closer, "Buddha's in Baghdad," mines a funky, bobbling dance beat. DISORIENT is music for the body and spirit, and corroborates the Plato quote on the album's inner sleeve: "Rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul."
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