Cover design for the album being discussed (from its Amazon.com Web page)
Some readers may know that I have been following The Living Earth Show (TLES) duo of guitarist Travis Andrews and drummer Andy Meyerson for pretty much as long as they have been performing for the general public. Since that inception, my interest has extended to adding their recordings to my collection. As a result, I am happy to announce that I have just listened to their latest CD, entitled A Kind of Ache, my latest addition. Those following the hyperlink will see that this recording is available only for MP3 download on an Amazon.com Web page.
It would be fair to say that A Kind of Ache is an installation in which performance can take place. The CD release presumably provides photographs of the different objects (not all of which would be classified by others as “instruments”) that are deployed for performance. The audio captured for that performance was recorded at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, which is located on the campus of the University of Maryland in College Park. On the CD the complete recording has been divided into five tracks, which unfold with little evidence of interruption.
As of this writing, I have not yet come to any understanding of what distinguishes one track from another (except for time). However, the entire work was composed by Sarah Hennies. She is also a percussionist, and she joins Meyerson and Andrews for the performance on the album. I have now listened to it several times, encountering new sonorities on each visit.
The CD release provides photographs of the objects deployed for performance. Some of these come from sound sculptures created by Terry Berlier. Most likely, the recording was made during an uninterrupted performance. Information about the date of the recording is limited to December of 2021.
TLES has created a Web page for this project. It includes a video of the premiere performance in Maryland on December 3, 2021. (I have not been able to establish whether or not this has been the only performance to date.) According to that site, A Kind of Ache was conceived for an experience that “deconstructs, reconstructs, and queers everyday objects in the service of creating and investigating the concept and possibility of creating ‘queer space.’” Personally, I have to confess that I am more interested in listening than in sexual politics; and, as far as I am concerned, an hour spent listening to the new A Kind of Ache recording is an hour well spent!
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