Insect Groove

Sarah Peebles: Insect Groove
Label: Cycling ‘74

This is an interesting experimental CD produced by composer Sarah Peebles – one that extensively uses an ecological theme (hence the title, I suppose). Much of her electro-acoustic work involves the use of nature sounds/settings and animal/insect samples. In some pieces she uses an ancient Japanese mouth organ called a “sho”. The pieces are mostly sound collages that express ideas about a certain environment. I think the most compelling pieces on this CD are: 2,3,6,8.

1. Ambient noise, electronic clicking, animal screechings, bell tones, water sounds
2. More screeching & ambient noises, cut-up electronic effects & film-soundtrack samples, like someone changing channels really fast on a TV and mutating those sound
3. Sampled insect & bird sounds, a rumbling of a herd, blowing of Japanese mouth-organ (sho)
4. Spoken word echoing over a collage of ambient sounds & effects
5. Very mechanical – multi-layered hi-pitched drill-like sounds & other effects/samples laid in
6. Heavily altered electric guitar manipulations – whoa, bad LSD…
7. Water burbling and a variety of animal/insect screeches & sounds
8. Like an underwater drama – deep ocean tones w/ distorted ambient effects & a clanging metallic sound