Weeks, James / Signs Of Occupation
Album: Signs Of Occupation   Collection:General
Artist:Weeks, James   Added:Oct 2016
Label:Metier  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2016-11-02 Pull Date: 2017-01-04 Charts: Classical/Experimental
Week Ending: Nov 20 Nov 13
Airplays: 1 2

Recent Airplay
1. Nov 16, 2016: Brownian Motion
Signs Of Occupation
3. Nov 08, 2016: Waste FM
Digger
2. Nov 08, 2016: Magnetized Toner
Three Trios: 2 - February '11

Album Review
DeVoss
Reviewed 2016-10-28
– General Description:
Very experimental and not for the faint of heart. Track 6 is worth a play. Tracks 5 and 6 set a poem by James Wilkes, 'Approaching Cleavel Point', from the collection Weather A System (London, 2009).

Signs of Occupation was first performed by members of Plus-Minus Ensemble at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London, on 24th June 2016. It has been recorded here using James Wilkes (speaker) and Andrew Sparling (clarinet).

From his bio: James Weeks (UK, 1978) is a composer based in Gateshead and London. His work is typically focused on small groupings of voices and instruments, exploring elemental or primary musical materials and processes, either left bare or layered into polyphonic structures of considerable density.

– FCC Compliant: YES
– Recommended Tracks: 6
– Track Reviews:

1. (13:21) - sounds like bicycle horns arguing for first 6:07 the dramatic drop in volume to very very quiet
2. (9:19) - very quiet, pulsing strings
3. (9:48) - block piano chords and droning strings, then very quiet, kind of relaxing
4. (8:39) - more quiet block piano chords and droning strings, some piano tinkering (and a cat? baby?)
5. (12:38) - spoken word about artifacts over pulsing droning woodwind, abrupt starting and stopping of sound, some piercing and painful straight tones
6. **(6:08) - guitar appears under more spoken word about equality of man and making that earth’s foundation
7. (10:33) - pulsing atonal bowing, strumming, plucking on strings, some low level percussion

Track Listing
1. Looping Busker Music   4. Three Trios: 3 - November '11
2. Three Trios: 1 - July '10   5. Signs Of Occupation
3. Three Trios: 2 - February '11   6. Digger
  7. Common Ground