Robert Rich
Humidity
The eagerly anticipated latest Robert Rich release is here. And what a beauty it is, a marvellous 3 CD set of three different live recordings from April and May 1998 in California. Patterned after Rich's famous sleep concerts many years earlier, the emphasis is on things dark and droney. Mostly original material, also included are a couple of live interpretations of Robert's work with Lustmord on their Stalker CD - so that gives you an idea of the degree of darkness involved.

Beautiful flutes and deep echoes get things started with ‘Lost Caverns of Caryatis’, a long, flowing, brilliant piece of delicate ambience. A few tribal bleats are carefully placed, but for the most part it is devoid of rhythm. Music doesn't get much more soothing than this, though it might also scare you a bit with the lights out. ‘Bioelectric Plasma’ is noisier and more intense, with giant walls of sound coming right at you. ‘Demilitarized Zone’ has lots of water sounds and strange effects, with an uncharacteristic marching beat running through it. Each track plays with different layers of sound, featuring exquisitely rich tonal complexities. Titles like ‘Ceramic Tincture’ lend themselves to the sense of music with a visible texture. Though the focus is on floating music, Rich's tendency for tribal rhythms surfaces now and again, particularly on ‘Submission to Pele’, a great study in world drumming sounds and patterns.

Disc two strips away nearly all sense of rhythm, leaving long, swirling drones. Simply titled ‘Beyond’, this 47 minute 6 part piece is subtle and deftly executed. With the exception of some jangling bell-like noises in part 5, there is no rhythm at all, leaving the music plenty of space to breathe and slowly evolve.

Disc three shows yet another side of Rich's musical ability, starting with excellent guitar work on ‘Steel Harmonics’. This track is surprisingly accessible, the guitar seeming almost playful compared to most of the darker musical fare. Those wonderful flutes return on ‘Nada’ bringing back memories of Rich's collaboration with Alio Die on their ‘Fissures’ CD. Most of the third CD remains lighter than the first two, but darkness descends again for the last two tracks to close. Dark, visceral ambient music. So palpable you can touch, taste and smell it. (PD)

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