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review by Dene Bebbington Here we have a re-release from the man responsible for the brilliant ambience of The Listening Room. The album title Imposed Order comes from the fact that harmonically related material is re-used on several tracks. Kerry likens it to the imposing of order on a room by arranging furniture. Some analogue equipment is used on this album which dates back to 1983. That surprised me as it doesn't sound particularly dated or like any number of retro albums that have been doing the rounds in recent years. The opening track "The Human Condition" is predominantly rhythmic using synthetic hand beaten drums, these are used in a percussive manner and are backed by various synth effects fluttering a little frantically over the soundscape. At this point you can be forgiven for thinking that the whole album will be rhythmic, but it proves to be a mixture of styles including some fairly relaxed pieces lacking melodic or rhythmic structures. The non-rhythmic pieces are cleverly done so that they tend to be both relaxing and attention drawing at the same time because their structures keep one interested at an intellectual as well as emotional level. A good example of this is "Three Forms of Decay" where puffs of sound make an appearance only to gently fade away after a short lifespan. On some tracks there is distinctly oriental feel to the music, the most salient of these being "Water Music" which sounds as though it's played by a small Chinese orchestra accompanied by gentle synth pads. Think of a more sedate version of J.M.Jarre's "Fishing Junks at Sunset" (from the Concerts in China album) to get a hint of what "Water Music" is like. Imposed Order sits towards the abstract end of the ambient spectrum, in a strange way it sounds evocative but of nothing in particular. If you don't mind the slightly awkward juxtaposition of styles then it's definitely worth getting hold of thanks to being an album that stands up well against work by other artists two decades after it was first written. |
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