When I was a kid, my family and I would go swimming in the summertime--not in a pool, but in a man-made lake. It was a large lake, and fairly deep in the middle (at least from a child's perspective). One of the most memorable aspects of swimming in a lake, though this effect is also present in pools, is the temperature shifts one experiences while swimming. A patch might be extremely cold in one area, and yet pleasantly warm a foot or so above or below. This made swimming something of a surprising experience--you never knew what the temperature would be like ahead; you were forced to enjoy each experience as it came.

It is in this spirit of constant exploration and surprise that I review the limited edition release of Repercussion by ARC/Aidan Baker. Repercussion is a live document of a performance by ARC, with additional material added later by Baker (who is a member of ARC). While live recordings of ambient and experimental music are usually not quite my cup of tea, I can say with certainty that I would not have known this was culled largely from a live performance unless I was told in advance. The sound is clear and well balanced, equal to many "at home" recordings I've heard in the genre.

The opening track "Transform" begins with muted percussion in a tribal vein--this gradually melds with guitar and other chiming sonics, signaling the beginning of a strange ritual. The feeling here is that of Popol Vuh's seminal In den Gärten Pharaos, with its furious, though muted, percussive elements intertwined with backing ambience. An ancient feeling pervades, somehow ominous yet inviting. We are in a colder section of the lake during this section, a section that gives way to the warmth of the later minutes of the track--waxing and waning guitar ambience that overtakes the chaotic percussion. The final moments of the track still maintain the Popol Vuh power, but channeled more directly with ambient guitar and tablas joining in a satisfying harmony. Track two, "Arise," is a harmonic guitarscape, warm and somehow reminiscent of Danny Fischelscher. It is beginning to seem as if Popol Vuh's early albums are actually the mythical starting point for all music; if this myth is so, ARC have made a conscious decision to recreate the ancient music of Popol Vuh brought forth into the twenty-first century. The effect is like floating on a lake mirroring the deep blue; this warm area lasts seemingly forever. Track three, "Writhe," brings the percussion back, but this time with a trance background that sounds like an analog synth texture (though it clearly is not). This track has a distinctly improvisational tone to it--including some interesting tape loops, perhaps done on the fly--these are intuitive musicians, however, and the sonics never meander. A cold patch of the lake surprises, as "Writhe" takes a highly experimental sideroad, all jagged textures and frenzied percussion. The strange cacophony continues, the ambient analog to shredding it up. The end of the track descends to deeper into the lake, echoes of previous coldness but somehow more comfortable. Finally, "Slight Return/Raze" is a mammoth twenty minute track, somehow more lo-fi sounding than previous cuts on Repercussion. Jangling sounds, tablas, and reversed tape noises remind the listener that this release is not done by newage aficionados--a casually nightmarish landscape, perhaps with more bark than actual bite (I am a notorious sissy when it comes to darker ambient works). Cymbals and low vocalization enter the fray, along with an almost Roy Montgomery-sounding guitar, somewhere between dark and light. The track quiets, the tapes now sounding like chirruping crickets, accompanied by Baker's terrific guitar playing. Creaking sonic manipulations remind me of Mandible Chatter--always a nice feeling--we are deep in the lake now, and it's cold down here, very cold. There's a sax down here too, and the player isn't sure how it works--but it works, if you know what I mean. I'd imagine this is the "Raze" portion of the track, because any warm water we might have been swimming in before has surely turned to steam; wafting away and probably not coming back. It gets downright spooky towards the end, but the satisfying finish (which sounds like a mellotron, oddly enough) lets us know that we are not drowning in the lake, but merely here for recreation. The juxtaposition of spooky leading into starkly beautiful (the later portion almost sounds like early Tangerine Dream or Fripp & Eno's Evening Star) is masterful. The fire has clearly led to a rebirth, and the rest of the track is like a gorgeous dream you won't want to wake up from.

Repercussion is a damn fine recording--one that surely deserves a larger audience than the 311 copies printed will permit. While Piehead records should be given great credit for bringing this work to light (I'd never heard Baker or ARC prior to this release), it seems a crime to limit the audience to such a small number. I'm positive all who hear this (and who have the prerequisite interest in ambient music from the likes of VidnaObmana, Robert Rich, etc) will absolutely love it. It's surprisingly varied, and always somehow lovely, just like the lake I swam in as a child. My only regret is the cover artwork, a picture of apple pie (in keeping with Piehead's theme that year). The music within deserves a visual context on the record cover, in my opinion. But it's a small quibble--and who doesn't love pie, anyway? I highly recommend Repercussion; and you can be sure I'll be on the lookout for more ARC work in the future.

Available from Piehead as a limited edition CDR.

since July 15, 2003