Sequenza21/The Contemporary Classical Music Weekly

Alarm Will Sound Plays Aphex Twin at Lincoln Center Festival

The formidable Alarm Will Sound has been grooving away to Aphex Twin (a.k.a. Richard D. James) lately, and Sunday night they shared the spoils of their endeavors at the stunning Allen Room in the Time Warner Center. The program consisted mainly of acoustic arrangements of Aphex Twin�s electronica compositions. These were interspersed with remixes of Alarm Will Sound�s "unremixings" by the DJ Richard Devine. Closing the program was an original techno-inspired composition by Stefan Freund. The results were . . . thought provoking.

Many of the arrangements boasted superb instrumental effects: the arrangers, mostly drawn from the ensemble�s ranks, put accordions, plastic tubing, battered cymbals, Jew�s harps, slapsticks, and other devices to good use. Special mention must be made of Evan Hause�s exuberant arrangement of "Omgyjya Switch 7" which closed the first half. The ensemble � especially the drummers Jason Treuting and Lawson White � proved their virtuosity and enthusiasm over and over again as the evening wore on and negotiated the often fiendishly complex rhythms with aplomb.

But for all the banging around, an odd emptiness permeated the proceedings.

The problem was a lack of artistic integrity. Successful aesthetic experiences result from a mutual appropriateness of art-object, observer, and venue. Just as Mozart�s G Minor Symphony would sound ridiculous if pumped through sub-woofers into a dance club, electronica sounds a bit off when thrust into a concert hall where people can do nothing but sit silently and applaud. I would have enjoyed myself much more had I been allowed to dance. True, the producers attempted to simulate a club-like atmosphere with some special lighting effects, but these were half-measures.

Concert halls encourage concentration and close listening; clubs encourage a more physical response to music. Aphex Twin conceived of these pieces for clubs, and, as such, they�re terrific works. But when isolated from one another by applause and placed in a context in which physical responses are prohibited, the music�s homogeneity (unfairly) becomes all too conspicuous.

It also became clear during the concert that what is idiomatic for electronic realization is not necessarily idiomatic for live performers. Applying a steady backbeat to skittery electronic samples liberates the music; applying the same backbeat behind a chamber ensemble seems to lock players into a straight jacket. Sure, the violinists had opportunities to rip viciously at their instruments and head-bang, but the effect was more visual than aural. Many times, their sound was lost in a barrage of percussion, and, when the percussion would cut out, the music leaked energy like air from a balloon.

These issues became abundantly clear in Richard Devine�s remixes. Far and away the best music on the program, these had an immediacy and fluency that was absent from nearly all the acoustic arrangements. In the second of his four remixes, an electric bassist and trumpeter jammed along with the electronics in a cool, unobtrusive way. It worked because the players weren�t trying to imitate what was originally electronic: they were just being themselves.

But in the end, there was a lot of sound and a lot of talent on stage last Sunday night � but not a lot of substance. Alarm Will Sound deserves credit for going out on a limb and embracing the world of electronica, but, as yet, we await satisfying results.

posted by David Salvage 7/25/2005