Review of For Myria [12k1043]

Vital Weekly (NL)

12k’s compilation Blueprints (see Vital Weekly 550) was supposed to be the stepping stone of a bunch of newly signed artists. Pjusk was the first to do their debut (Vital Weekly 575) and now it’s time for Jodi Cave from the UK. Unlike Pjusk, Cave did leave an impression on the compilation, with some musique concrete inspiration composition. On For Myria this is continued, but incorporated in a more musical setting. Cave is capable of handling many instruments, such as harmonium, clarinet and guitar, which he waves along side field recordings, stones, scraps of metal, some of the recording at close range: the musique concrete element. Seven pieces, somewhere between nine and two minutes. The good news is that Cave plays some mighty fine music. The combination of the music side with the concrete sounds works fine. The downside is that there is not much difference between this and so many others. It’s almost if there is a blueprint (pun intended) out there, follow these seven stepsto create this type of music. As such I really didn’t hear much new in the work of Jodi Cave. But as someone recently asked me wether it’s really necessary to have something new going on all the time, or that it’s my own person who wants that (perhaps as a result of hearing so much of everything). That is a valid question, I think, and one I can’t answer too easily. Indeed it might be the overkill of this (as well as other kinds of music, say noise) kind of music that makes me a bit harsh on what is released as such, but I realize one can’t always be original. Perhaps for some people, and maybe Jodi Cave is such a person, it’s good enough to make some music which is just nice to hear. Cave certainly made such as CD. It’s well made, sounds great, but alas is not the most original one. (FdW)

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