Annea Lockwood - Tiger Balm
(Black Truffle)

Over the last few years the Australian record label Black Truffle has proven to be a haven for the avant-garde by releasing works from important composers while making sure to highlight works by lesser known artists. Their latest release is no different, a compilation of pieces by Annea Lockwood entitled Tiger Balm. Annea Lockwood is a New Zealand born composer who specialized in natural found sounds as well as pieces of music that rely on their location, such as a piano in the forest, or even a piano on fire. Tiger Balm takes its name from the title track which is a somewhat legendary piece of music that debuted in 1970. Lockwood's intention was to make a piece of music based on found sounds with little to no manipulation of the original recording but with several elements strung together, based on a theory of evoking ancient communal memories through sound. The foundation of the piece is the purr of a tiger which over time effortlessly morphs into the sound of heartbeats, passing planes, and other sounds of both organic and artificial origin. There is a dialogue that begins to take shape between these found sounds and a haunting melodies of a marimba which serves to solidify her concept that music occurs in nature just as it occurs in an orchestra. What's most impressive about this piece is how it fits so easily into the canon of electro-acoustic music but with little to no electric elements, naked sounds free of any sort of processing. The second side of this LP contains two never before released pieces composed by Lockwood. “Amazonia Dreaming” is a piece of music that once again is intended to evoke scenes of nature and “Immersion” is a more percussive based piece that nicely rounds out this snapshot of Lockwood and her aesthetics as an artist and composer. This is the first time Tiger Balm has been available on vinyl in over 30 years and is a must have for anyone who enjoys exploring the world of tape based music. LP design by Stephen O' Malley and liner notes by Annea Lockwood herself. Mastered and cut by Rashad Becker. (Adam)
Check out a track here.