Jon Rose: Fringe Benefits

As a warning up front, Rose announces that "it is not intended that these CDs be listened to in one sitting... and that's a health warning!" He has a point. Only a listener with incredible stamina could sit through his works for cattle train and violin, fly trapped in violin, polystyrene two-string violin, violin played knee deep in the surf, violin with airport taxi and takeoff, and Chinese 1/4 size violin with 50 feeding parrots. And that's just a sampling off the first disc.

The point of this music (as can best be deciphered from the sheer randomness contained within) seems to be to explore every possible geometry, compositional framework, electronic effect, and performance style possible on the violin. Of course that's an infinite list, but Rose makes a striking effort to approach some of the more interesting possibilities. His playing ranges from straight country and western (no kidding) through more restrained 'composed' sounding passages to all-out scratching, screaming noise. No doubt Rose is a virtuoso; plenty of doubt he's sane; and extraordinary doubt that the average listener will enjoy his music. But if you've got an interest in experimental music, this 2-disc set provides a fantastic diversity of material. Fringe Benefits certainly gives a welcome background for anyone interested in the genesis of Rose's current highly-developed interactive electronic style.

Visit Entropy Stereo Recordings and Jon Rose on the web.

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