Matthew Herbert & London Contemporary Orchestra – The Horse 2LP Warner

UK producer and electronic musician Matthew Herbert’s journey has seen him traverse dance music, jazz-imbued electronica, and some of the most daring experimental approaches to physically making music we’ve heard of. Herbert’s latest collaboration with the London Contemporary Orchestra is perhaps the wildest yet, swinging boldly between minimalist classical to full-blown techno, and enlisting some of music’s most twisted talent such as members of Sons of Kemet, Kokoroko, and Polar Bear.

Challenging his considerable legacy with one of his most extraordinary projects to date, celebrated British artist, producer, composer and experimentalist Matthew Herbert presents The Horse. Based around a full-size horse skeleton and working alongside the London Contemporary Orchestra and an expansive cast of special collaborators, this is Herbert in full flight, restlessly curious and culminating in starkly original, ritualistic music loaded with intent.

As well as the consistent presence of the LCO, The Horse features contributions from world-leading soloists across generations, including Sons of Kemet’s Shabaka Hutchings and Theon Cross, Evan Parker, regular Wayne Shorter collaborator Danilo Pérez, Polar Bear’s Seb Rochford and Kokoroko’s Edward Wakili-Hick. Additional sound design work was carried out by Rana Eid in Beirut and Ella Kay in Manchester. Their respective instrumental and textural touches fold in on the work of the London Contemporary Orchestra, a collective celebrated for their unusual and extended playing techniques and regularly called upon by Jonny Greenwood, Thom Yorke and others. On this record they particularly worked with immediacy, recording raw samples in one session and then playing along to themselves in the next, creating a circular composition style against the grain of classical convention.

While staying true to Herbert’s storied legacy in thoughtful, experimental music, the scope of The Horse is even broader than his past work. For all the many streams of input and styles reaching from classical minimalism to vibrant, organic techno, it’s a focused album crafted to be experienced as a whole body of work in one sitting, and yet each sound comes loaded with Herbert’s inquisitive purpose. The sonic onus is on the work of the collective and their unlikely muse, and the result is a living, breathing exercise which veritably brings this unknown horse back to life.

Tracklist

1. The Horse’s Bones Are in a Cave
2. The Horse’s Hair and Skin Are Stretched
3. The Horse’s Bones Are Flutes
4. The Horse’s Pelvis Is a Lyre (feat. Jali Bakary)
5. The Horse Is Prepared
6. The Horse Is Quiet
7. The Horse Is Submerged (feat. Evan Parker)
8. The Horse Is Put to Work
9. The Rider (Not the Horse)
10. The Truck That Follows the Horses
11. The Horse’s Winnings
12. The Horse Has a Voice (feat. Theon Cross)
13. The Horse Remembers
14. The Horse Is Close
15. The Horse Is Here (feat. Danilo Perez)