Newton Armstrong — The Way To Go Out
The Way To Go Out servers up three truly spell-binding & moodily atmospheric examples of modern ensemble works by up & coming Australian-born, now residing in the UK composer Newton Armstrong.
This release presents its self as a CD on the always worthy Another Timbre- with the labels house style white gatefold featuring a great brooding shot taken from above western Australia’s Great Sandy Desert. And I must say this stands as one of my favourite releases from the label this year, as all of the tracks are equally haunting & uneasy-each stands well on the own, with all three making for a consistent release.
Newton Armstrong is a composer, performer, and occasional builder of electronic musical instruments. He’s also a reader in music at City University in London; His work encompassed a wide range of activities, including score-based instrumental music, projects for children, and improvisation projects with dancers, choreographers, and film, video, and installation artists.
The album opens up with “Thread-surface” this is 2018 composition, and it rolls in just shy of the twelve-minute mark. The track sees the Plus Minus Ensemble playing the work- and this takes in Roderick Chadwick- piano, Elsa Bradley- Vibraphone, Katarzyna Zimiòska- Violin, Alice Purton- cello, and Mark Knoop- conductor. The track is built around constant reeling of dramatically gloom piano playing- this is malevolently swooned 'n' creepy bayed by the two string instruments, with the vibraphone added in here & there to build the depth/ unease of the whole thing. In my mind, I’m getting images of shadowy & darkly oily creatures breaking off & descending from a vast & brooding mass, or images of sped up mould running its way through objects.
Next, we have “A Line Alongside Itself”-this is from 2019, and sees cellos been played by the Séverine Ballon. Here the strings are stretched out into a line of very subtly different pitch drones, and this creates a wonderful feeling of woozily melancholia that is extremely tangible & impactful.
Finishing off proceedings we the 2016 title track- it runs for just shy of the twelve-minute mark, and once again it features Plus Minus Ensemble again- with this time the line up been Vicky Wright- bass clarinet, Tom Pauwels- Electric guitar, Roderick Chadwick – Piano, Katarzyna Zimiòska-Volin, Alice - cello, and Mark Knoop- conductor. The piece brings together grimly cascading keys, uneasy clean guitar picks, bleakly hazed/ darkly simmer string work, and hovering pipework- and in the last few minutes we get the decidedly eerier march footsteps recordings. This track brings to mind a wave of biting & freezing rain making its way over a half-lit & muddily barren landscape.
If you enjoy uneasy, at points downright creepy modern composition then The Way To Go Out is most certainly a must-have- and I’ve found my self playing in multiple in the last few weeks, and still have the pull to play it again which really shows how great the album is. I'm Looking forward to hearing more work from Mr Armstrong in the near future.