john butcher
angharad davies
rhodri davies
phil durrant
leena lapelyte
mark wastell
LMC annual festival of experimental music, london bridewell theatre 2006
angharad davies, rhodri davies, giuseppe ielasi, alistair leslie, lee patterson
“Each evening started with the festival commission, Common Objects – a group put together by harpist Rhodri Davies. For me, this group was the highlight of the festival, and having a chance to see them perform nightly was a genuine pleasure. The group managed to embrace five disparate musical personalities without resorting to the quick response style of interplay that characterises a good deal of improvised music. At any one time that might include Angharad Davies playing textures or long single notes on violin; Italian guitarist Giuseppe Ielasi making his guitar chime like bells; Rhodri using his harp to excite the sub-bass speakers; Alistair Leslie injecting a healthy dollop of computer-triggered noise; and Lee Patterson’s more tentative, wild-card interventions. On a good night (three out of five ain’t bad), their lightly-directed improvisations moved from the terrifying to the sublime, encompassing the full textural range in a restrained yet dynamic unity.”