Audio By Carbonatix
We drown out the white noise of daily living: too-loud conversations, grumbling automobiles, and the low hum of electronic trappings. With its new CD, afterglow, RPM Orchestra engages us to listen more closely and think more deeply about all that hits our ears. The album is filled with compelling aural collages forged from decaying found recordings, various incidental noises, and purposeful dronings. The pieces are spliced from a disparate range of sources – a single composition might feature bursts of Sousa from the turn of the 20th century, electronic pulses, and snippets of vintage vocal ramblings. Instead of a collection of sprawling and jumbled experimentations, afterglow is an awakening to the latent vibrancy all around us.
On Friday, July 24, an ensemble representing the RPM sound project performs at The Firehouse, 1015 North First Street, in celebration of its CD release on the onewordlong label. During the last live RPM show, the ensemble transformed spectators into participants by asking them to open envelopes on cue, which revealed live butterflies that fluttered away during the noisy, surrealistic finale.
Fri., July 24, 8 p.m., 2009
