Steve Maclean

Steve is back with a truly original and unusual CD; very different from his other work - featuring, as the title proclaims, frogs and insects - recorded in the field - and guitar -, all subtly and intelligently processed (which is where the computer comes in); not to alter the sounds so much as to lock them together into complex rhythm and pitch relationships. The result sounds somehow 'natural' but yet spookily integrated. Then MacLean treats each track, or episode, differently, coming at them from different angles, sometimes even letting the computer add 'its own' percussive parts to the mix. This work, while bearing the hallmarks of complexity and chaos, has a deep underlying order that never quite gives itself up to the analytical side of the brain. A quiet landmark in the fusion of soundscape, performance and computer mediation that breaks new ground in the pursuit of open but organised form.