Irrealis

Composer and keyboard player Matthew Bourne improvised the seven pieces on the brief Irrealis in a single session at his home, with no overdubs or post-production. He was working on a film soundtrack, and spent a considerable amount of time preparing a piano, placing objects such as nuts and bolts in between the strings in order to radically alter the sounds of the notes as the keys are struck. In a fit of inspiration, he started recording his improvisations on the prepared instrument. On some of the pieces, such as opener "Shri," he sounds curious, delicately exploring the instrument and becoming familiar with the sounds it produces. Once it feels like hes internalized the sequence of sounds and he feels comfortable, he starts testing the limits and making more outlandish music. "Dusan" is fairly melodic, if a bit scattered, but it ends with a note that seems stuck in place as if a machine is malfunctioning. "Laurent" takes a moment to warm up, but Bourne manages to play jazzy figures that one might not expect from a prepared piano. "Alice" is softer and more graceful, and perhaps more conventional than some of the other pieces here. "Armando" is anything but straightforward, with its frantic, scattered notes approaching Conlon Nancarrow levels of sonic overload. Throughout his career, Bourne has proven himself capable of crafting sublime, accessible music as well as more challenging, spontaneous experiments, sometimes on the same album. Irrealis is far from his greatest work, but its certainly one of his rawest, most direct albums, demonstrating his ability to follow his impulses and explore new ideas on a whim. ~ Paul Simpson