Alarm Will Sound: Acoustica: Alarm Will Sound performs Aphex Twin

In a time when sampling, remixing and reinterpreting past acoustic works in an electronic fashion are commonplace, revisiting electronica in an acoustic environment may be the most daring move of all. And that's exactly what the 22-piece ensemble Alarm Will Sound—whose debut recording Tehillim/The Desert Music (Cantaloupe, 2002) put a fresh spin on two of minimalist composer Steve Reich's more well-known works—do with Acoustica: Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin. The result is an album that, like its predecessor, demonstrates just how far creative minds can go in sourcing material and providing a bold new outlook.

Aphex Twin—the shop front name for Richard D. James—represents one of the more enduring artists to push electronica/techno to the forefront with albums including I Care Because You Do (Sire, 1995) and Richard D. James Album (Elektra, 1996). Aphex Twin was also one of the earliest, along with The Orb, to blend techno and ambient music into a new amalgam, proving to naysayers that the term "intelligent techno" is not an oxymoron. But even James' forward-thinking intellect could not have imagined a contemporary ensemble more closely associated with the classical world taking his material and audaciously renewing it in ways that, by removing (for the most part) the dance floor element, prove him to be a surprisingly compelling and detailed writer.

What's perhaps most remarkable about Alarm Will Sound's approach to Aphex Twin is how they mimic processing through purely acoustic means. "Cliffs" is a minimalist-sounding piece which finds the various instruments playing repeated phrases and, by gradually reducing the attack, emulates delay processing. The frenetic drum beat of "Cock/Ver 10" is subtly processed to lend an electronic ambience; but the horns and strings that begin in a cacophonous manner before settling into the song's more memorable theme are pure and untarnished. Odd appliances including curtain rods, duck calls, plastic tubing, air pumps and hose horn create out-of-the-ordinary textures that turn Alarm Will Sound into something sounding less conventional and, consequently, an intriguing fit for Aphex Twin's music.

"Multiface 6" demonstrates just how well Alarm Will Sound adapts to Aphex Twin's electronica elements. A dance rhythm and popped electric bass create a backdrop over which various instruments layer. Some hold long tones, others emulate electronic squawks, squeaks and squabbles. The rhythm breaks down into ambient-like passages that even suggest elements of dub.

The thirteen pieces are arranged by various members of the ensemble, but everyone reveres the rich construction of Aphex Twin's multi-layered writing and broad sonic universe. Dennis DeSantis' two remixes end the disc proving that there is, indeed, a meeting place between Alarm Will Sound's acoustic approach and Aphex Twin's electronica.

While Alarm Will Sound possesses more inherent complexity and textural capabilities, fans of Bell Orchestre's recent Recording a Tape the Color of the Light will find clear commonality. Acoustica proves that good music is where you find it—and that, for those open-minded enough, it's all just part of a larger continuum that eschews the artifice of musical boundaries.