Drawn from 305 traditional ballads from England and Scotland alongside their American variants, anthologised by Francis James Child during the second half of the nineteenth century, are here sung by Ed Pettersen in the fascinating intersection of traditional lyrics and experimental interpretations of melodies, performed by the 11-piece London Experimental Ensemble.
Label: Split Rock Records Catalog ID: SR19001 Squidco Product Code: 27004
Format: CD Condition: New Released: 2019 Country: USA Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold Recorded at the Pool Studios, in London, England, on March 25th 2018, by Shane Shanahan and Jamie McEvoy.
"Recently we spoke here of an exceptional recording by the London Experimental Ensemble, performing Treatise a composition by Cornelius Cardew. With their new release, recorded in March 2018 in a London studio they decided for something completely different. This time they take their turn to ancient folk songs of the Child Ballads, a collection of 305 songs from the British Isles, as catalogued by Professor Francis James Child between 1882 and 1898. Six of these songs are a point of departure for a free improvised session, where the improvisers leave the melodic material far behind them.
As on Treatise, they work here once again with American singer-songwriter Ed Pettersen. Pettersen sings the original lyrics, staying close to the original melodic structure. It is not unlikely that Pettersen came with the idea for using this old material, as he recorded earlier old Scandinavian and American folk songs. The 11-piece ensemble creates condensed sound-oriented textures that don't seem to interact very much with the melodies Pettersen sings. They move on as drifting sound clouds, embedding the solo vocals by Pettersen. Nonetheless, traditional ballads and improvisations make an interesting couple here and deliver a fulfilling and enjoyable assemble. An interesting experiment that I hope will be deepened in the future. [...]"-DM, Vital Weekly