My (Western) Easter listening happens to be an avant-garde recording put together in the mid-nineties in Italy and just now being released. Imagine works being recorded nearly a quarter-century ago still sounding fresh and relevant. This is the sound of Orphan Sound System. The project features the talents of Jeff Gburek, John El Manahi and John Palumbo. I find it difficult to compare it to an artist of that particular time period, though perhaps I can hear a corollary with groups like AMM, the scores of incredibly talented cassette culture artists who worked with lo-fi conditions to make incredible art, or radical composers like Richard Teitelbaum (eternal be his memory).
This is improv music that never allows itself to become stale. The pieces feel like they are all the right length. The building of pieces, the tension held throughout, and the disintegration make for intriguing listening. As OSS have reunited after a long hiatus, I hope to see what, if any, new works are coming down the pipeline.
