Bow Gamelan Ensemble - Great Noises That Fill the Air [Cold Spring Records - 2018]Dynamic, physical, and explosive, Bow Gamelan Ensemble have mixed art and noise since their inception in 1983. Using ordinary objects as well as specially made instruments to create their works, Bow Gamelan Ensemble have made their mark on the performance art world with vivid, compelling performances. Noisy and chaotic, Cold Spring released the 30th anniversary edition of Great Noises That Fill the Air, and did this in conjunction with the Cooper Gallery Dundee's Bow Gamelan Ensemble retrospective of the same name. Consisting of 12 tracks from their 35 year career, Great Noises That Fill the Air captures many different vibes and performances of the group, along with guests such as Z'ev, Thames Steam Launch Co., and Eel Pie Marine. When sticking closest to the percussive Gamelan style that gave the ensemble its name, they seem most to be in their element. Pieces like "Two Marimbas," "Horse/Bells/Hubcaps," and "Massed Percussion" work very well in a physical noise sense, and despite their chaos, have a nearly hypnotic quality. Moving from this style in a few spots, Bow Gamelan Ensemble finds their most appealing sound in the more sparse, rudimentary industrial structures. Sweeping and distant, with booming percussion, "Take III" feels like a ship washing ashore on a foggy night. The high pitched, screaming fury of "Whistles" is fiery in its intensity and has enough background spread that it remains so throughout. Not just shock loudness and dazzle, "Whistles" has lasting creep. For more foggy dread, "Pyrophones" slowly creeps its seaside darkness forth (and I think I heard a few coughs in there, too haha). While there are some pretty solid numbers on Great Noises, there are a lot of moments that don't quite work for me. I'm not a fan of noise/sound that boils down to someone just slamming something to make sound. I get that it's basically all noise is and appreciate that it exists, but I don't like to listen to it. If I wanted to hear random smashing of stuff or horns honking willy nilly, I would have had kids. The performance art world is fairly lost on me, so there are a number of tracks on Great Noises that I will not be returning to after this review.
Building a long career out of noisy, energetic performances, Bow Gamelan Ensemble has earned their retrospective along with a 30th anniversary re-issue of Great Noises That Fill the Air. With the latter coming from Cold Spring, it is sure to reach a great number of folk looking for that extra bit of noisy chaos. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but there is something honest about their work and their commitment cannot be denied.    Paul Casey
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