Stimulating musical experience
Frank Ettenberg | Wien, Austria | 01/15/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Take Your Time by Blue Gene Tyranny (2003)is the first piece I've
purchased by this composer. I knew him over 40 years ago in Ann Arbor
when he was already composing and was associated with alternative
composers from the Once Group. As Tyranny, aka Robert Sheff ( birth name)
always seemed to be a loner, with his own quirky style and preferences, he
obviously has remained true to his person and his individual style. It interests me that amidst all the very obscure and 'detached' expressions coming from his still-active Once composer- Robert Ashley, Gordon Mumma-contemporaries, this music significantly aspires to be something lovely and emotionally espouses a kind of nostalgia. As I listen to it, it reminds me of Eric Satie, whose statement similarly departed from that of his Parisian conetemporaries Debussy and Ravel. Like Satie, Tyranny
remains cavalier, even irreverent when it comes to playing schmalz. His
embrace of technological wizardry is smartly used to create a kind of disembodied, artifical expression of something emotional ( esp in tracks
7 and 9 ). At their root, there is something deeply personal and compelling about many of these pieces. Like it or not, I find his statement truly expressive. I wish this music could find its
way to less obscure venues so it might be heard by more music enthusiasts
( instead of so typically being linked to an obscure creative 'scene,'
headed by Robert Ashley ).
"