Near the Bear

Soundscapes built from nature -- a patient take on "noise" calling attention to the Arctic region's fragile eocsystem. Tracks hover and drift, with sounds becoming tranquil or ominous depending on your thinking. Useful for setting a abstractly meditative or spooky mood.

Cheryl Leonard makes music on natural objects: bones, driftwood, sand. Here she combines that work with field recordings from the Arctic, conjuring images that both celebrate the region and mourn the environmental damage being done there. The instrument lineup includes some human-made objects found in that region.

See the CD booklet for specific instrumentation and descriptions of accompanying films.

Recommended: 1,3,5

1 - Starts with clackety driftwood and shells, then low flute-like sounds. This is a tribute to walruses, with guest Phillip Greenlief imitating walrus calls on Leonard's kelp-built flute.
2 - Water and quiet rushes of sound over the faint rumble of a ship's engine. Ends with chimes and kelp flutes. The least 'icy' track.
3 - Ringing wine-glass sounds (actually Pyrex beakers). Builds into an eerie gathering of tones, surging and pulsing.
4 - A suite of stillness, inspired by an abandoned Soviet settlement. Starts quietly: Buzzing, scraping, like sound out of focus. After 6:00, crisp sounds of rocks, metallic scrapes, and water. After 10:00, a coda of muffled chimes (played on a metal handrail) and bowed resonant sounds.
5 - Raspy, breath-y sounds ranging from airy to metallic. A slow meditation on sila, the Inuit concept that 'links the individual.