Jon J Muth & Dave McKean
Adrift & Salient
(Allen Spiegel Fine Arts, 1993)

Produced by Jon J Muth and Dave McKean

Jon J Muth - keyboards, sampling, guitars, harmonica, chimes , gong-gong, iron bells; Jeffrey Alan Muth - keyboards, programming; Brian Bolten - double bass; Dave McKean - piano, eps, voice, vocoder, breath, whistle, rain stick; Dick Jude - drums, percussion;Tony Osborne - double bass;
Steven Knight - harmonica, tenor saxophone, guitar; Clare Haythornthwaite - violin samples; Stacey Woolley - violin

This is one of those recordings you never think your going to find, the sort of thing that regularly goes on eBay for astronomical amounts of money. I found it in the $4 bin at CD Warehouse. Muth and McKean are both well known graphic artists, esp. well known to readers of more literate, non-superhero comics. This disc is a pretty obscure release, put out by their agent/representative in 1993 featuring music composed and performed by the two. The disc breaks down pretty evenly between them with only one song actually featuring both performing together.

If you're a fan of their work, as I am, this collection of songs offers a different window for viewing their graphic work. Both artists are accomplished musicians, Muth working more in the electronic vein and McKean generally in a piano trio setting. As with their artwork, there is a lot of genre blending and juxtaposition of sounds and styles within the songs; both artists feature a lot of samples in their music-scapes, which is perhaps a better word for what is included here than "songs". Definitely not a pop album, it's also not an all out experimental/avant garde outing either.

I'm reminded a lot of ANOTHER GREEN WORLD, not so much in how it sounds but in how each song is a small musical microcosm that, while not formally related to what comes before and after, manages to create the illusion that all the pieces are connected.

On the whole, I prefer Muth's textural and atmospheric cuts to McKean's jazzier compositions. It's interesting to note that on the final cut, "The Elephant's Afterlife", McKean uses an extract from a recording that sounds very much like the yet-to-be-composed-and-conceived Mirrormask soundtrack.

All in all, I'm not sure this recording would resonate with folks not familiar with the artists but maybe I'm wrong - it could be that it just resonates for me in a different way. A fascinating recording.

Posted 20 June 2006.