Tim Hodgkinson's new album is an intense fusion of contemporary classical music and rock energy. Perhaps best known as a founder member of seminal avant rock group Henry Cow, Tim has since displayed many personalities: as an angry post punk Hawaiian guitarist in The Work, as post-noise/end of the world jazz explorer in God, and as a "free" improviser in many situations, such as The Goose (with Ken Hyder and Valentina Ponomareva). In 1994 he released an album of compositions "Each in Our Own Thoughts", which partly drew on material originally conceived for Henry Cow, and introduced new pieces composed with sampler and computer.
Pragma builds on the territory suggested by "Each in Our Own Thoughts". It is a unique form of electronic-but-acoustic contemporary music which has excitement and spontaneity of improvisation, tempered by the rigour of structured composition. There are six substantial compositions focusing on horns, violins, percussion, voices and small orchestral ensembles. It packs a hefty punch as it scrapes, whoops, clangs and smashes its way through the program.
Scores do exist for some of the pieces, so the music could be performed in concert, but on this recording everything is constructed out of samples. Tim's own playing provided the source material for much of the recording, including clarinet, bass clarinet, lap steel guitar, percussion, viola and prepared piano. He also specially recorded the violin of Chalres Mutter, the 'Cello of Albert Markos and the trumpet of Marion Coutts, and processed samples of the singer/composer Ana Maria Avram.
The sonic pleasure of Pragma is an exhilarating experience for all listeners of adventurous new music. Dare to be engaged.
"Not all great composers are dead. Some of them even appear in public as rock musicians. Tim Hodgkinson is such a composer" BOSTON ROCK
"Experimental music at its most urgent and exciting" THE WIRE
source: RéR promotional onesheet