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Released : 2001
Label : Cuneiform Records
Catalogue number : RUNE 146
Total playing time : 49’33"
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Tracklist:
Vermillion hue over lake Lausanne (for Nimal) (6’05") / What
makes you think this is a good place to bring a date ? (3’04")
/ Les funfs (3’39") / Jeanne-Marie (3’33") / The breach
(1’34") / Bur di lie town so (4’21") / The Caspian (1’18")
/ Fanfare (0’44") / Vang Vang (4’22") / Bug 2 : the
history of the United States (4’06") / Tick fever (2’29")
/ The turn of events (3’57") / The carrot is a hologram (1’44")
/ Drunken penguin tango (1’35") / The cat song (2’23") /
A reluctant farewell (4’30")
Musicians:
Dave Wiley - accordians, harmonium, melodica, keyboards, piano,
electric bass, acoustic bass, guitarron, cheap electric guitar, nylon
string guitar, mark’s polkalele, jesse’s bouzouki, percussion,
drums, tin whistle, violin
Jon Stubbs - trombone, keyboards, piano, electronica, electric guitar,
electric bass, percussion, jaw harp
Mark Harris - saxophones, flute, clarinet, recorder
Mike Johnson - electric guitar, nylon string guitar, mandolin
Mike Fitzmaurice - acoustic bass
Raoul Rossiter - drums
Greg LaLiberte - clarinet, bass clarinet
Mark McCoin - drums
Ken MacLagan - acoustic bass
Jonathan Bangs - trumpet
Carmel Kooros - vocals
Contact:
dhamster@indra.com
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Each time I put a Cuneiform
release under the laser I seem to automatically make sure I fasten my seatbelt.
It’s very rare that you can put the label "accessible" on a
Cuneiform release, and also, where this Hamster Theatre
release is concerned, words such as "complex" and "jazzy"
have to be taken into consideration. The entire project is based around two
multi-instrumentalists, they being Dave Willey (ex-member of Thinking Plague)
and Jon Stubbs who, next to a wide selection of conventional instruments, also
tries to furnish the music with weird sounds from the guitarron, polkalele,
bouzouki down to propane tubes! In order to widen their horizons they have
enlisted the help of nine friends who mainly underline the experimental
character of the project. Yet there are some joyful moments such as “Les
Funfs” where a typical French accordion gives the right measure for a
North-African rhythm. The entire album is one concatenation of influences that
in a way could be compared with theatre. There on stage, sometimes in less than
a second, an actor has to switch from a laughing face into a crying face. Here
as well you’ll have different atmospheres tucked away in one song. Because of
the instrumental nature of the songs only the titles can give us some more
information. You’ll find wonderful melodic tunes back to back with RIO
influences, an American approach with European elements with
"borrowed" themes from the likes of Satie, Ravel and Albert Marcoeur.
Music for the attentive listener and not for the everyday hamster that keeps on
running in that stupid little wheel of his.
Reveiwed by: John 'Bo Bo' Bollenberg
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