Oren Ambarchi’s Cooked brings together a wide cast of avant-garde luminaries, shaping improvisations into two sprawling, side-long pieces. The roster includes frequent and longtime Ambarchi collaborators such as Jim O’Rourke, Johan Berthling, James Rushford, and Will Guthrie, in addition to Eiko Ishibashi, Michiko Ogawa, Isak Hedtjärn, and others. “Hidden Tableau” starts the album out on a rather discomforting note, with an abrasive synthetic voice (courtesy of Konrad Sprenger) that brings to mind a malfunctioning, bit-crushed version of Robert Ashley’s Automatic Writing. This unnerving vocal texture continues to creak over sustained pianos and faintly glowing drones, with other instruments gradually taking form in the mix.

You need to be logged in to view the rest of the content. Please .

« »