John Butcher Group / Somethingtobesaid

Hour-long electroacoustic piece (divided into tracks on cd) composed by Butcher for a festival; it's an octet of improvisers (including amazing local Gino Robair) who are mostly matched up into smaller formations. Definitely in the "lowercase" vein. Lots of drones, mostly slow tempo, not much fireworks. There are occasional disembodied, prerecorded voices, which I believe are Butcher's doing. For the most part the CD indices correspond to natural breaks in the piece.

All are good but I like best: 3, 5, 8

1. Soft swelling drones, gradually increasing in intensity, passing among the players. Polwechsel-like.
2. Loud electronic washes, clatter of cymbals, into abstract sax/bass duet.
3. Pretty & sparse piano-led improv, into a threatening, rumbly ensemble section.
4. Background drone with reedy squacks (may not be caused by reeds!), becomes kind of blissed-out backdrop for Robair's weird percussion tricks. Very sparse last third.
5. Slow-paced bass dominates the track (it is almost a bass solo); very *considered*-sounding playing. Sax and the prerecorded voices finish the track.
6. Piano/electronic swirls. This is one of the more active/dynamic tracks, and it seems as if most of the ensemble gets in on the act at some point. Piano stays to the fore for the most part.
7. Plaintive sax over ominous effects. Short!
8. Slow abstract buildup (interesting in itself) to sax solo
9. Soprano/piano duo, Polwechselish outro.