Christopher Fox

Abstract

releasing Cosmic Time as an audio-only download, both of these aspects are lost on the listener. With the flexibility of an online release, would it not have been possible to have included some video clips of the performance and a brief explanation of the research process? What I find more satisfying, however, is the skill of the creators and the performers in choosing their sounds carefully, giving each movement time to develop without outstaying its welcome. While this album may not provide anything particularly new, it does what it does very well, without sounding like something you may hear piped through the speakers of a health spa. I am particularly struck with the restraint of the performance – at no point is there a sound or individual performance that intrudes on the atmosphere being created at that time. Each movement is discrete but blends beautifully into the next, making a balanced whole, a reflection of the egalitarian nature of The Sound Collectors Lab themselves, who from the outset have focused on ‘plurality and collaboration’. Without knowing the interdisciplinary context or scientific background to the research, there is little on this release that would particularly challenge the listener. Yet I would highly recommend setting aside 40 minutes to turn down the lights, get comfortable and listen to this album on headphones. Gleave, Cole and Devenish have created a beautiful meditation on time and space, and taking a moment to slow down and join them is a very welcome experience.