Sudden Rooms in Different Buildings by The Remote Viewers

10 Aug

Written by Craig W. Hurst
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Sudden Rooms in Different Buildings by the London based avant garde improvisatory ensemble The Remote Viewers, is a collection of music that transcends musical boundaries, expands the imagination, and wrings out a range of feelings from peaceful to painful. Certainly, the name of the group may infer that the listener is going to experience music reflecting an altered state of consciousness or some other musically paranormal experience. Or the group’s name may just be an "inside" bit of whimsy on the part of the musicians. Comprised of Adrian Northover, and David and Louise Petts, The Remote Viewers use vocals, soprano, alto and tenor saxophones, electronics and pre recorded material to weave a rather other-worldly, musical landscape that at times sounds much like the soundtrack to psychological thriller genre film.

The ethereal nature of the music and the titles of some of the pieces on Sudden Rooms in Different Buildings certainly brings to mind a soundtrack for warped subconscious images or as accompaniment to the distortions that can occur during nightmares. This music is not about catchy melodies or rhythms. This music is an exploitation of different timbres and musical textures that when woven together form a sonic mosaic that, depending on the individual listener could conjure in the mind different scenes or mental pictures that could range from the macabre or painful to simply bizarre and weird.

Sudden Rooms in Different Buildings will not be a recording that will match the tastes of many listeners. Upon initial exposure, many will dismiss the recording as "more avant garde electronic noise" and painful listening. There will be those detractors that will insist that this is not music at all, but rather some attempt at sonic chaos passed off as modern art. The CD certainly did not match the expectations of this listener initially. However, just as people enjoy viewing motion pictures that elicit strong emotions because the subject matter deals with horror or distorted images as a result of a character’s mental state, so too it was found on repeated listening that this listener began to enjoy the mental scenes conjured as influenced by the music of The Remote Viewers’ Sudden Rooms in Different Buildings.

Additional Info

Artist / Group Name: The Remote Viewers
CD Title: Sudden Rooms in Different Buildings
Genre: Free Jazz / Avante Garde
Year Released: 2003
Record Label: General Ear
Tracks: Ghosts, Eroding the Dead Wall, External Securement, Inside the Unwanted Bond, The Unlistening Vent, The Frontier of Presence
Musicians: Adrian Northover (soprano saxophone, wind synthesizer), Louise Petts (vocals, alto saxophone, electronics), David Petts (tenor saxophone, electronics, pre recorded material)
Label Website: -
Rating: Three Stars