Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere – Theta Five

Discus
The Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere‘s fifth outing finds it expanded to an eight-piece and the bulk of the new album’s material being improvised over two days at the end of 2019. Those initial sessions and the subsequent solitary fettling and studio production over 2020 have resulted in an extraordinary odyssey of sound that encompasses structureless, textural drift and gliding, rhythmic hypnosis in equal measure plus all points in between.

Comprising four pieces, the central one of which spans a gargantuan forty minutes, the orchestra builds on Theta Five using subtle palettes and allows the vocalising of Jan Todd to entwine with the assorted instrumentation at her leisure.

There is an unspecified, industrial gloom to the sly droney intro of opener “Obsidian”, with the players all giving hints of their capabilities but without overwhelming at any point. I thought I heard a cello, but as there isn’t one listed, something else is masquerading. The sounds are ruminative and submerged, and the beatless atmosphere is careful and wary. Twenty minutes allows a good opportunity for a piece to unfold and “Changeling”, with eight members all willing to add to the spicy concoction (I can’t say stew, as that infers thickness and there is a lightness of touch here).

The slinky, spacey bass is the foundation over which the tinkle of electric piano and a scattering of shape shifting drums glides as it charms with its ease of movement, the horns measured and gauzey. The beauty of this long form is the gradual change in tone and structure; a groove rises from the gentle tumult along with a hypnotic horn motif, and I couldn’t help but be reminded of a pastoral folk Stereolab — but only for a moment, Jan’s voice evoking a green dream of a golden land.

On the forty-minute “Pillared Space”, there is even less structure and that really suits the light airiness of the vocals that warm the heart. There is a vocal waltz with a flute as scuffling mysteries ebb and flow, generating a feeling of passing through galaxies, the laptop and electronics sweeping and the bass continually exploring the deep recesses. This is all about exploration and discovery, with instruments emerging from behind distant clusters, trapped in the glow of faint stars; a warm vocal, a spiralling horn loop, elastic, growling bass and paroxysms of instruments in the thrall of space.

Bass is king on the final piece, its deep groove playing with hints of piano and the other musicians interjecting, casually showing their presence. The sounds are obscured and obfuscated as they play off one another, the interplay whirling around the listener, keeping them off guard, not knowing what sound may next assail them. The orchestra comes across like a universe constantly expanding, consuming ideas and expelling them with panache and joy. It is a thrill to experience this kind of musical and textural communion, and it leaves other improv groups in its wake.

-Mr Olivetti-