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Craig Armstrong, a Scottish composer of modern orchestral music, electronica and film scores and AGF (Antye Greie) collaborate once again. In 2001, Armstrong invited Greie to contribute a song to his second solo record As If To Nothing (2002); subsequently, both artists collaborated on Piano Works (2004), The Dolls (2005 with Vladislav Delay), Memory Takes My Hand (2008) and now Orlando. AGF is a digital songwriter, sound composer and poet and has released 20 records and numerous collaborations under such aliases as AGF/Delay (with Vladislav Delay), Greie Gut Fraktion (with Gudrun Gut), and The Lappetites (with Kaffe Matthews and Eliane Radigue). Greie has produced records for numerous other artists, including Ellen Allien (Sool (BPC 175CD/LP). Orlando - The Play: In 2010, AGF composed and performed original music in the Cryptic theater company's staging of the Virginia Woolf masterpiece Orlando, directed by Cathie Boyd. This staging features live vocals and electronics by AGF and an original soundtrack by her and Craig Armstrong. Orlando - the CD: For this CD, these two very different composers scored this theater piece, combining their work and writing compositions in a cohesive flow following the narrative of the book. This work is meant to take the listener on an inspiring journey. Field recordings and recordings of classical cello, voice and digital processing are the key elements here. The music is lush, clever and beautiful -- the combination of Armstrong's melodic strength and Greie's delicately-voiced electronic inventiveness working together like a dream. AGF composed and recorded a piece about writing to introduce the nature of Orlando, sitting in his oak tree, secluded from the world, building his own powerful and wonderful universe in nature and fantasy. Craig wrote the opening theme on cello, and AGF used words from the text as well as recordings of her feet breaking dry wood and a sub-bass frequency. Pieces like "The Tree," "Betrayal," and "Sleep" see AGF and Armstrong incorporate drone and digital processing. The poetry pieces "Yearning Years," "I Held A Queen," "You Sleep On," "Sex At Thought" and "Rain Falls" are deconstructed texts, as recognizable as any of the poemproducer pieces AGF has written before. The core of this CD bears the mark of the outstanding book which Virginia Woolf wrote 100 years ago, though with a 21st century sound score of magnificent, compelling fragility.
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