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| Random Touch - Alchemy “When we play, it's like entering a trance. Visual elements and even drama materialize of their own accord, as if I've fallen into a waking dream. At times I have no conscious awareness that we are making music,” says Christopher Brown of the experimental music troupe Random Touch. The band are preparing for the release of their innovative new CD/DVD package entitled Alchemy. Everyone finds comfort in categories. Stringing together a list of musical styles or genres - say modern classical, free jazz and acid rock - provides a general basis for discussion and understanding. Most music is created around a structure that is a direct descendent of one or more such musical styles. With Random Touch, however, structure is sourced internally, so that the unconscious takes center stage. The result is a dreamy, hypnotic, and otherworldly sort of music that seems to float, free of gravity, continuously on the verge of cohesion and collapse. Random Touch founders Christopher Brown (drums) and James Day (keyboards) have an old and synergistic relationship that began with collaborations in high school (an original rock opera) and college (commissioned multi-media piece “Broken Glass” among others). Brown and Day first collaborated with member Scott Hamill (guitar) in 1978 and member Matthew Ebbin (camera) in 1998. In addition to music, the visual arts have been an integral part of their work over the years. The eclectic ensemble's previous releases have received consistent praise from fans and critics worldwide, setting the standard for the band's new offering. On March 20, 2007 Random Touch's seventh CD (and second DVD) Alchemy will be released on the band's private label Token Boy Records. Cinematic, emotionally charged music fuels the all too short 68-minute CD. Echoes of Pink Floyd, Zappa, Can and early Tangerine Dream resonate throughout the recording as it takes the listener on an emotional journey through uncharted musical territory. “Perhaps Frank Zappa might have made such music if he were alive today. At any rate, Edgar Varese would certainly have listened intently and been thoroughly changed by what he heard,” touts Ragazzi magazine. Haunting, dreamlike music videos, live performances and talking heads inhabit the 2-hour DVD. Several of the video shorts from the Alchemy DVD are screening at film and video festivals. Random Touch's Alchemy is music for the mind, body and soul - the listener plugs in and the music takes control. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |