Bell, Clive & Sylvia Hallett / Geographers, The
Album: Geographers, The   Collection:General
Artist:Bell, Clive & Sylvia Hallett   Added:May 2006
Label:Emanem  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2006-05-28 Pull Date: 2006-07-30 Charts: Classical/Experimental
Week Ending: Jul 23 Jul 2 Jun 18 Jun 11 Jun 4
Airplays: 1 1 1 3 2

Recent Airplay
1. Jul 21, 2006: Memory Select
With The Book Propped Against The Horse's Mane
4. Jun 09, 2006: Rock in a Position
With The Book Propped Against The Horse's Mane
2. Jun 29, 2006: Baptism of Solitude
Tantamount
5. Jun 07, 2006: the evils twins
The Sweet Potato Festival At Fudomae
3. Jun 13, 2006: America's Least Wanted
Shrugging Into Spring
6. Jun 06, 2006: Radio Of Imagination
Birthmarks

Album Review
mike
Reviewed 2006-05-29
Clive Bell & Sylvia Hallett – The Geographers (Emanem)
Intimate duo free improvisation on many, many different instruments. This CD covers a lot of ground, from prickley sparse percussion sounds to nice drones from a bicycle wheel and khene. I love the match of these two. Bell, in general does reed or pipe instruments and Hallett plays saws and bike wheels. These live acoustic sounds are often captured, looped and turned into drones and ambient backdrops. If Bicycle wheel, saw, whirling bat drum, sarangi, Cretan pipes, stereo goat horns and a handful of other instruments interests you give this a listen.
1. Sounds a bit like what I imagined by the title, “Shrugged into spring”. It sounds like a handful of small animals, waking up and wandering into spring time. Placing the sounds is difficult. Is that the shakuhachi making the horn-like sound? The percussion comes in short bursts. Patient with long drawn out sounds from viola and a few other instruments that progressively gets busier.
2. Sparse duo of shakuhachi and sarangi. Patient and meditative.
3. Slightly discordant (bicycle wheel) and khene have a nice patient conversation bordering on drone.
4. Minimal sound, drawn out notes. Viola shows up for the last couple minutes mostly solo.
**5. Percussion and violin.
**6. Very quiet for the first minute or so and then the something starts sounding like a cow mooing and the violin scrapes away. Then some instrument sounds like an animal, like the last track. More obvious loops as the track gets dense.
7. Quiet shakuhachi and violin with the violin often being plucked.
8. I can’t place the percussive bell-like sounds is that the mbira…oh I think it is.
9. Distant discordant sounds that fluctuate in volume multiple times.
10. Includes some voice and field recordings. Vocals are mostly acapella.
Good stuff. -mph

Track Listing
1. Shrugging Into Spring   6. Tantamount
2. Flying On The Landing   7. The Sweet Potato Festival At Fudomae
3. With The Book Propped Against The Horse's Mane   8. Notes To The Milkman
4. The Weald   9. Rolls Over The Plain
5. Birthmarks   10. Love For Shale