Icarus – All Is For The Best In The Best Of All Possible Worlds

NOT013 – Limited edition numbered CD and mp3 download – Release date 25th March 2010

CD and digital via Not Applicable Bandcamp

1 – Tuning
2 – Husky Offset
3 – Specters
4 – Eulot
5 – Uke ‘Em
6 – On The Sunny Sides Of The Ocean
7 – Parallax
8 – On The Sunny Side Of The Oceans

Total running time: 43’28"

Written, performed and produced by Ollie Bown and Sam Britton.

“Specters” features piano by Tolga Tuzun and ‘cello by Lucy Railton. “Uke ‘Em” features trombone by Robin Harris, trumpet by Steve Chadwick and euphonium by Paul Tkachenko.

Press Quotes:

"The progression observed on the ten-minute epic On The Sunny Sides Of The Ocean, from what sounds like an hybrid between a scream and air being let out of a balloon leading first into the mechanical clinks and clanks of a series of metallic percussions, then, as layers of found sounds and noise are progressively added and percussive sounds begin to step over each other, is truly magnificent … (the album) represents another step forward in the particularly fruitful and creative body of work assembled by Ollie Bown and Sam Britton, one that shows their taste for improvisation under a renewed light." 4.7/5 themilkfactory.com

Album Description:

‘All Is For The Best In The Best Of All Possible Worlds’ documents Ollie Bown and Sam Britton’s continued exploration into the world of live electronic music performance and presents new material worked up during the course of their European tour in the summer of 2009 to promote the Icarus remix album ‘Sylt Remixes’.

Probably the best encapsulation of how their music has been influenced by the combined forces of improvisation (in performance) and reflection (in the sense of both compositional techniques and software development to enable such performances), the record itself is perhaps their most incisive to date.

Excerpt from a review of the Cafe OTO performance in London, 13/08/2009:

"On the screen behind insects squirmed and wriggled in close-up, and there was a definite sense of being at some sort of insectoid warehouse rave, full of multi-segmented rhythms and spindly, thrashing beats. The most enduring – and perhaps apt – image from this spectacular piece of film was of one alien, semi-transparent creature grimly clinging on while being buffeted by winds amongst an ever-shifting black grass lattice. As the layers of battering rhythms and complexities piled up around me, I had to grip the edge of my seat to avoid falling off, feeling beaten up and befuddled. The end of the piece featured some more recognisable instruments, albeit in strange new forms. The sound of a trumpet, sliced into pieces, shuffled and rearranged, hinted at the improvisational directions Bown and Britton have been heading in with their Not Applicable venture – ever onwards into uncharted and difficult terrains. Tonight may have been a momentary glance back over their respective shoulders, but they still sounded years ahead of the rest of us." – Bruno Lasnier / Scott McMillan – read the full review on themilkfactory.com

Film:

Martin Hampton has edited some of the superb film he made for the live set to "Uke ‘Em" which you can see below: