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about

Though this project emerged from a collaboration with my friend Charles Browning, it ended up being more than just a soundtrack for an installation. At this point I was doing all my recording on a 4-track cassette recorder, and like the Djinn album, Descent was the result of a lot of live recording experiments. Where this differs from Djinn is that the sound sources here are more standard musical instruments, both acoustic and electronic. The first two suites, as well as the two stand alone pieces, are centered around acoustic instruments and sound sources, while the final suite is entirely electronic, an overdubbed improv using primarily my very first synth, an old Korg MS-20. I suppose this album is the closest to the Celtic folk music I've played over the years, but definitely ventures off into it's own territory. - Michael Bentley

From the press release:
The third Foundry release is from The Apiary, entitled Descent (fou.03). The music on this disc began as a commission to provide accompaniment to an installation, created by Charles Browning, titled What are you afraid of? and dealing with, among other things, the tension in the relationship between the world of humans and the world of nature. The issues and concepts suggested by the installation are many fold, starting with the notion that the human animal has somehow separated itself, at least psychologically, from the other animals and from the natural world.

Reviews:

"The music is innately haunting, tender, earthy - elegant." Kirin, Outburn Magazine

"This is a daring release by The Apiary merging Space Music with several ethnic influences, and other, more difficult to place, traits which contribute to endow this release with a great originality." E. Kogler, Amazing Sounds e-zine

"Very recommended if you're in the mood for Robert Rich or Cluster." Matt Howarth, Sonic Curiosity

credits

released November 1, 1997

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The Foundry Berkeley, California

The Foundry was begun, originally, as an outlet for Michael Bentley's chapbooks in the mid-80s. It grew to include audio releases in the mid-90s, and now serves as an umbrella for artistic ventures from Bentley and his collaborators.

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