Ed Bennett’s latest release My Broken Machines will be launched this Wednesday at 6pm at the Contemporary Music Centre’s Platform for Performance. My Broken Machines is released on the NMC label and will be officially launched by Bernard Clarke, RTÉ lyric fm Broadcaster, Presenter of Nova.
Ed Bennett’s music, which has been described in the press as ‘anarchic’ (Irish Times), ‘manic’ (Classical Music), ‘brutal’(The Guardian) and ‘beautiful’ (Gramophone) is often characterized by its strong rhythmic energy, extreme contrasts and the combination of acoustic, electronic and multimedia elements. In common with a number of composers of his generation, Bennett developed an interest in classical music relatively late, his earlier musical experiences were in bands and improvisation groups and these interests are still evident in his music. A childhood memory of an old fairground filled with ‘laughing policemen, mechanical fortune tellers, tests of strength, ghost trains and an array of other eccentric machines’ is the inspiration for My Broken Machines.
Highlights on My Broken Machines include Ghosts, for amplified viola d’amore, which explores the acoustic peculiarity of the baroque instrument: beneath its seven strings the instrument has seven sympathetic strings creating a ghost-like resonant sound around the bowed notes. Stop-Motion Music applies to music a ‘stop-start’ technique Bennett admires in the work of surrealist Czech animator Jan Svankmajer. This portrait CD features some of the most exceptional musicians specialising in Contemporary Music: Garth Knox, viola d’amore, Paul Roe, bass clarinet, The Fidelio Trio, Decibel and ConTempo Quartet.
For the CD launch, Paul Roe will perform live, Monster from My Broken Machines as well as a new work written especially by Ed Bennett to celebrate this new release.
The CD, which will be available to purchase on the launch night at a special price of €10, will be available to order online or in person from the Contemporary Music Centre as of July 1 at www.cmc.ie and will feature as CMC’s CD of the month for July.
