- The latest recording on Touch once again features field recordist Chris Watson, this time along with composer Marcus Davidson on one of its two lengthy tracks. Watson opens solo with "Midnight at the Oasis." Creatures like crickets, bees and distant birds assist in Watson's keen shaping of an otherwise seemingly peaceful scene into a meta-hinterland of pure noise. In nearly a half hour we get an eerie restructuring of the natural world in the Kalahari desert. The arrangement celebrates the power of combined tonalities of tiny and towering beasts that become more like sine waves as the piece crescendos at the 20 minute mark with flutter-tronics of singing birds at sunrise. In the final moments cascading waters rise and wash away all but crackle and hiss.
"The Bee Symphony," Watson's collaboration with Davidson, starts where part one ended. Morning birds chirp and the distant hum of a bee swarm gains traction alongside a midground drone that utilizes a throaty, ghostly vocal ensemble to great effect. (The five member buzz-worthy choir was recorded live at the University of York in December of 2010.) The human voice here mimics the delicate and speedy movements of honeybees, and harmonizes as a unit just as a swarm shapes itself in unison like an army. By phasing the fore/backgrounds throughout, Watson and Davidson keeps the bees and the humans dueling, mixing the organic and composed effortlessly.
Tracklist 01. Chris Watson - Midnight At The Oasis
02. Chris Watson & Marcus Davidson - The Bee Symphony