Clarinet and Piano: Selected Works Vol. 1

Now on blue vinyl. Group Listening is a new project by Steve Black and Paul Jones. Piano and Clarinet: Selected Works Vol. 1 is a collection of ambient works - from the likes of Brian Eno, Arthur Russell, Roedelius and Robert Wyatt - arranged for clarinet and piano. Piano and Clarinet: Selected Works Vol. 1 is the spontaneous, beguiling culmination of this friendship. Cutting out the post production and keeping overdubs to a minimum, the clarinet and piano were passed through guitar stomp boxes and other analogue effects to enable processing and manipulation directly in performance. The result hums with the ghostly energy of sound pioneers Joe Meek and Martin Hannett, while mbira and drum machines are sparingly deployed amid enveloping folds of space echo.
Like Virginia Astley or Simon Jeffes, Group Listening tread the overlap between classical and experimental music. Perhaps most startling here is the breadth of material arranged as one atmospheric whole. The pieces range from the ever-spiralling, fractal phrases of German composer Roedelius to the haunting rasps of game and Hollywood soundtracker Diasaster piece and the pioneering sonics of early electronic inventor Raymond Scott. Somehow, shot together through Group Listening's electro-acoustic lens, these works evolve into something supremely calming, poignant and new.