Cane 141 – Lost At Sea
(Micropolis Records 2007, Mic001)
From Aural Innovations #39 (May 2008)
Cane 141 is Galway, Ireland experimental musician Mike Smalle and various
collaborators who join with him along the way. This outing was created originally
as an accompaniment to an art installation done by Róisin Coyle. The
theme of the art exhibit was the ocean, in all its vast loneliness, and the
music evokes this, not just with its spacious, watery sounds, but also with
the voices that drift in and out of the mix, specifically the voice of some
salty old sailor telling his tales of the sea. This is ambient music that is
sometimes as minimal as it gets, with a single simple sound floating along,
but other times it is quite rich and complex, with multiple layers of music,
found sounds and voices (some singing wordless vocals), as they shift and change,
with emergent rhythms and haunting melodies. Granted, I did occasionally find
the voices a little distracting, especially when I want the music to drift in
the background of my consciousness. The stories pull you in, which I suppose
is what is intended, but that seems a little contrary to the concept of ambient
music to me. Still, when they do draw you in, they are interesting, and add
an emotional layer to the sonic seascape. They fascinate because they aren’t
just drony voices reading from a printed page, the voices are real, memories
and snapshots of people’s lives. The samples are used tastefully, but
would be nothing but samples if the music didn’t hold up. Gladly, it does,
providing the listener with a unique experience. You will feel lost at sea,
and not mind at all.
For more info, visit http://www.cane141.com
and http://www.myspace.com/cane141
or e-mail: cane141
Reviewed by Jeff Fitzgerald