In C

Adrian Utley (Portishead) brings together an orchestra of electric guitar players to interpret Terry Riley's ‘In C’. Written in 1964,‘In C’ is one of the most influential pieces of music from the 20th Century, it established minimalism as a music genre. In C's simple musical rules – 53 musical phrases in C and no duration – allow for infinite variations. Utley's impressive Guitar Orchestra is augmented by organs and a clarinet making for a mesmeric sound experience. The Guitar Orchestra consists of 24 musicians from Bristol: 19 guitarists including John Parish (PJ Harvey), Thought Forms, and Jim Barr (Portishead live band); 4 organs and a bass clarinet. The effect is an organic musical experience very much created in front of the audience both fragile and thunderingly uplifting. “I've been exploring the sonic possibilities of massed guitars for a while now in various contexts from pure noise to the sacred choral music of Arvo Part. So it was interesting to see what would happen if we had 20 electric guitars plus organs playing ‘In C’. It is an amazing piece of writing and original thought. A new free idea of organised group playing. The beginnings of what we know as minimalism." Adrian Utley Invada Records will release this specially recorded live version of ‘In C’ by Adrian Utley’s Guitar Orchestra on 14th October 2013. The album was recorded live at St Georges Hall, Bristol, one of Britain’s leading concert halls which is known for its astounding acoustic and unique atmosphere. The core members of the orchestra will tour later in the year (2013) augmented by musicians from the countries they visit including England, France and Poland. Review: Composer Terry Riley's landmark 1964 composition of canonical minimalism is given grand explorative treatment here by Portishead's Adrian Utley and an all-Bristol orchestra composed of 19 guitarists (including John Parish and Jim Barr), four organists, and a bass clarinet player. Riley's composition is defined as: “53 musical phrases in C, no duration.” These skeletal parameters, with the work all played on a single note in varying modulations, allows for maximum exploration and improvisation. While the Bang on a Can All-Stars' version from 2001 is perhaps the most satisfying one on record after Riley's own hypnotic version split over two sides on a Columbia LP in the mid-‘60s, it was also done beautifully by Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O. and released in 2002. Utley's ver­sion, recorded in St. George's Hall in Bristol, is unique due to its sheer number of guitarists. This is not the case of a guitar orchestra like Glenn Branca's, where maximum volume and distortion reign supreme in order to discover new combinations of microtones. This recording is crystalline, the volume restrained, the hall's natural acoustics offering natural balance in sound and timbral expansion. Utley's group commences slowly: they begin to wind the work out, the musicians allowing modulations to increase and decrease; the dynamics rise as they pulse, elevating and releasing tension casually. The intricate interplay of lines – in single notes, triplets, and eighth notes, as sequences shift seamlessly – creates alternately sparse and busy fragments. Oftentimes, this creates stirring beauty, when guitars exchange single-line runs with organs playing chords and vice versa. That said, sometimes the guitar tones are too uniform and become too texturally restricted to allow for any real variety – in the cases of the Bang on a Can All-Stars’ and AMT's versions, percussion instruments created an additional dimension. That small caveat aside, this long-form work, with Utley's care and gentleness at the helm, allows for subtlety and nuance to move Riley's adaptable masterpiece in a new direction with no horizon in sight. All Music Guide – Thom Jurek Track Listing: Disc 1: In C