Machine For Making Sense

Over the many years of their existence, Australia's Machine For Making Sense have had many members. They play hurdy gurdy, vocals and electronics and wind instruments and electronics. Here they are together with Amanda Stewart (voice and text) and Rik Rue (analog and digital manipulation). As a 'band they explore relations between linguistics, poetry, speech, music, notions of sound, science and politics.' To that end the conversation is important - be it the conversation between instruments, the conversation of techniques applied as well as the multitude of voices that they use and which come to the listener in all sorts of appearances, many of them not to be dissected as voices. Above and beyond all doubt Machine For Making Sense is a group of  musicians who play improvised music. Even when this was recorded in 2001, the group
uses extended techniques, anywhere for regular playing of their instruments to the 'instrument as object' treatment from the world of silence improvisers. Text bits fly about, and the whole thing requires a lot of attention. Despite being inspired by the onkyo posse, Machine For Making
Sense make a lot of sound, constant, densely layered and one has to keep the full attention span as not to make loose anything that is going on here. Not really easy listening, laid back improvisation, but sturdy and powerful. Peal off some more layers, and more beauty will unfold.