Rhys Chatham - Crossing the Sword Bridge of the Abyss

Well here's something different. You may know Rhys Chatham from his formal no wave classical crossover pieces such as his Guitar Trio, or perhaps from the massive guitar orchestra of A Crimson Grail. If you do, you probably think you know his music. So did I, until I heard his 2011 album Outdoor Spell. It contains music that is far more mysterious, far harder to classify. Crossing the Sword Bridge of the Abyss is the sound of a fire parade, marching through the smoke-filled night. It's magnificently pagan, and sounds more like an ethnographic recording than something that came from musicians in a studio. This is something that Chatham has become increasingly familiar with over the years, using his experience of hundreds-strong parading bands. I should warn you now that some of the keyboard sounds here are a little on the farty side, so it's probably best not to approach this one if you're in the mood to find this risible. Invigorating and primal.

[Links removed by request. If you'd like to hear something from Outdoor Spell, you can listen to Corn Maiden's Rite on Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/northernspyrecs/02-crossing-the-sword-bridge ]