Orphx - The Living Tissue -- Hands

I've been hearing good things about this album for months, yet haven't been able to get it (although, I must admit, I didn't try terribly hard as I have been quite busy). Orphx put on a terrific performance at the 2002 Hands Festival, and I was very glad to be able to see them perform again, after first hearing them at the Vromb/Silk Saw/Orphx show a few years back. They captivated me then, and still continue to do so.

What can I say, but this is damn cool. For my first listen, I put it on and then lay down on my bed to relax. I was, at the time, a bit tired, so happened to fall asleep (this, however, has no bearing on the quality of the CD, for I assure you, it didn't bore me to sleep!). I woke up to the sound of footsteps and the jingling of keys. I looked over at my clock, it read “10:30pm”. “Odd,” I thought, “My roommate doesn’t usually get home from work until almost midnight. I wonder why he is early.” I travelled upstairs to see what’s up, only to find no one there. Confused, I returned to my room. Upon sitting down again, I realized the source of my confusion: It was the music.

Compiled using sounds found in and around Hamilton, Ontario, Orphx have created an album of soothing melodies, odd blips and mellow rhythms. One can definitely hear nature in this album. Ranging from sand falling to footsteps to water running to breath, heartbeats, and voices, a wide range of sounds is used. A lovely booklet is attached to the inside of the digipack detailing the source of the sounds used in each track, which gives a nice synopsis of what we are hearing and helps to provide a little background.

When presented with the problem of having to take the CD over to a friend’s house, so they could hear it, I almost felt like the CD was screaming in protest as I tore it from my CD player and placed in back in its case. Needless to say, since its return home, it hasn’t left my CD player and has been a nightly listen for me.

-- September 2002

 

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