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LOCKETT, Mark. Hollowed Ground. 12 pieces. Wriggly Pig Records, 101 Summerfield Crescent, Birmingham B16 0EN. WP1 G001 [64:21]

 






And here is something different. As the magazine Avant wrote, "This is a stunningly good album ... impossible to categorise, and all the better for it.

Prejudice can lead to dismissiveness and unfair criticism and an artiste or recording can suffer at the hands of inequitable comments. When I saw the name of the record label and also that, among his many activities, Mark Lockett was into experimental rock music I approached this CD with preconceived ideas and therefore a wrong attitude. I will not be the only one to do so.

First of all, Mark Lockett is a professional musician, not a Top-of-the-Pops-type performer. He was born in 1956, studied piano with Kathleen McGrath at the Royal Northern College of Music and with Paul Crossley. After receiving his BA, he was awarded a Fullbright Scholarship and studied at the University of California in San Diego achieving his MA and studying 20th century piano music, composition and ethnomusicology. In 1983 he received his PhD researching the American free jazz movement. That year he became a founder member of the English Gamelan Orchestra and composer-in-residence at Dartington. The list of his activities is almost endless. He currently teaches world music at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

The disc is of twelve pieces some using a gamelan ensemble and there are also some solo piano pieces such as Mono Lake 1. Some of the pieces are thorough-composed. For example, you could acquire scores of the piano pieces and play them as on this CD. There are some improvisatory elements in the ensemble pieces.

The gamelan ensemble pieces are extremely attractive. The material may be minimalistic but the composer varies the accompaniment and employs effective crescendo and diminuendo elements to prevent ennui. This is a really wonderful sound world and yet it is not just that. The piece Alcatraz perfectly conjures up the island prison with the pounding waves of the sea. It is marvellously visual music!

There is a wonderful warmth in this music, a splendid representation of Oriental culture and it has a terrific message. Music is a universal language and we ignore the music of other cultures, perhaps through prejudice or ignorance, or both, and miss precious experiences and are sorely impoverished as a result.

There is so much variety in these pieces and some delightful surprises such as the wordless voice in the fifth piece and the humorous Rejang reyong.

Something different ... impossible to categorise ... a stunningly good album ... yes, all these things and more. Only the narrow-minded and prejudiced will ignore it.

Go and buy it!

Very warmly recommended.

Reviewer

David Wright

Performance

Recording


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Reviewer

David Wright

Performance

Recording

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