Thursday 3 January 2013

Undercurrents (1981 studio outtake)



This is a weird one... An audience recording of a studio outtake :-)
Be forewarned that quality is what it is, and don't expect a studio sound!

Quite well known among PG's students of his most obscure items, "Undercurrents" is a 14 minutes instrumental piece that was written originally as the ambient soundtrack for an exhibition by painter Graham Dean, whom he was introduced to by David Rhodes (if I remember correctly, you can find more details on how this came about in Spencer Bright's biography).
The track was subsequently passed on to the Italian theatre group Assemblea Teatro, which used it on two occasions: the theatrical piece "Le città invisibili", based on Italo Calvino's work, and "Rock Shots", an exhibition by well known Italian photographer Guido Harari. "Rock Shots" had its premiere in Torino, then moved on to Milano (where I went to see it, in the old deconsecrated church of San Carpoforo, together with a couple of friends) and finally to Barcelona.

Though it might appeal to those who enjoy the most obscure electronic genre, the 'music' itself is NOT for the casual PG listener: quite dark and atmospheric, even Birdy-like at times, it almost completely lacks any kind of melodic and even rhythmic structures, with passages that phase in and out without much apparent 'sense'.

PS: To read more about how this recording came about and the troubles it is marred with, just check the video on its YouTube page...