Reviews

BOX #11 - 24 March 2002 - Rauri Rochford - A Short Journey

Review by Rigel Sirus

Sunday 24 March, 7pm-10pm Metro Arts Theatre
Rauri Rochford & A Short Journey.
by Rigel Sirus.

In my mind it was some strange knife taken to the gizzards of the ambient electronic underbelly of Brisbane. My first bias is that I believe that A Short Journey are Gods that walk on the earth amongst us... well perhaps that is taking it to far, let?s just agree that Matt and Daniel Gordon (A Short Journey) have a communion with the ebb and ethereal flux of both our consciousness and the energy of awareness that strongly comes through in their compositions. So, I eagerly awaited their next live performance.

Kettle introduced the night with the frightful prospect that it may be a battle... a playful contradiction that enlivens most Small Black Boxes. I hadn?t heard of Rauri Rockford previous to SBB and had only heard of Hexadecimal in the Rave culture emails that I get, so i was  excited to learn of a new name and be open to his work. Rochford deftly plunged into the deep immersible waters of a dark ambient soundscape.

Throughout the night I continuously thought that the events strength was in the combination of these two acts. Rochford claimed the darker chasm of ambience in which dwells many a local beast whilst a Short Journey took us to the clouds and cosmic planet rotating spheres. If this was a battle it was typical ambient style.

Small Black Box should be comminuted for developing a space that invited emerging artists (and who isn?t in an emerging artform)  to explore new works and does not tread the path of so many other events that seems to be a ?mates of the organiser? type event.

Rochford transformed the studio space into a dark submerging machine complete with red flashing lights, the only part of him that I could see, kneeling on the floor. His use of wafting repetitive structure, somewhat essential in ambience, where subtly textured allowing the listen to explore and consider moments of  subdued thoughts. The rapturous moment in a Short Journey?s performance was when I realise that my mind has drifted off in thought and I don?t know  how long I had been thinking each particular thought or how I had started thinking of Newcastle wharf when I had been thinking of the minimised performance of fingers on keyboards. A Short Journey put me in a state that can be best described as ?awake sleeping with a soundtrack?. I was fully aware of their sound, never forgetting to listen, but my mind was adrift in thought, not needing a ?spectacle? of a performance to watch, my eyes closed , listening and thinking. It would have to be the most rewarding ?sound? event I have been to, that captured the idea of consuming sound in itself.

On a side note, it should be mentioned that the studio seating seems more comfortable, whilst retaining some formalism in it?s setting as a theatre, it doesn?t seem as stuffy as the theatre on opposite end of the building. The PA that supported the night was an improvement as well.

I mention the comfortable seating as it was crucial to this night, had I been uncomfortable for the hour long performances on the night, it would have had a definite effect.

One surprise for the night was the inclusion of Matt Gordon?s poetry in A Short Journey?s set. It had been a while since I saw them last, SBB last year in fact, and they have improved, their tag-team approach at times during the performance has given a definite individual feel to the movements of each artist. Whilst I don?t think they where doing ?I?ve gone in this direction, lets see where you will that it? the gig did cover a large territory.

On another side note, I heard that some people from the alien cult, Rael meeting in the basement ventured into the door to ask what was happening during the Rochford act, only to make a hasty retreating remark that ?It was weird?. Weird, well only from a certain perspective. Had they stayed they would have gathered a good education in local ambient electronic music, the harsh and the dreamy. To use the inevitable comparisons, think of Scorn v?s The Orb. Does that make it better?

Having frequented a few SBBs I now gather that each night can be completely different. Had I only seen one night I would have  a totally biased view of what was trying to be achieved. Tonight was bloody good ambient, next month the excitement grows for something else completely unexpected.

I should mention the visuals, so it?s a experimental music night concerned primarily with sound. Having attended a few of these ?darkness? or ?blindfold? events and found them somewhat disturbing, I am in a way glad that SBB has taken the route of using completely irrelevant visuals. The video games projection was initially humorous, then somewhat annoying, but reached a height of uberty with a man swinging on a vine for nearly half an hour, it was digital glitch in another way, it?s a bold statement for eyecandy, with an enjoyable serving of visual static that swarmed around on the screen. Anyhow, I had my eyes closed and watch the fluctuating light from behind my eyelids, it worked well.

The entire night was worth it. Both artists should be proud, the audience should feel joyous that this is Brisbane. I bought a CD.