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This new release, featuring K Barley (AKA Bambooman), showcases a knack for taking an archival micro-sample and working in layered clean production, to produce a creative and compelling mini-album.
The EP grew out of an invitation from Open Music Archive to the talented Sonic Router signed Leeds based producer, to create an experimental set of new music for their 1960s chart hit 45s inspired Auditory Learning project for British Art Show 8 in Leeds.
First performed in November 2015, in the spectacular Victorian Tiled Hall of Leeds Art Gallery, the live event was part of the world-renowned Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.
K Barley performed a complicated, meticulously constructed live set of music, created entirely from an Open Music Archive collection of archival micro-sounds gleaned from copyright-expired elements from chart hit records from 1962. The live results were so successful that a release followed.
As with many Open Music Archive projects (previously they have worked with Graham Massey, Karen Gwyer, Leafcutter John, Beatrice Dillon, patten etc.) the duo defiantly stick to the conceptual framework of working solely with copyright- expired material. Conversely, for a producer, the limitations of the commission offer freedom to innovate. K Barley’s new release contains the unmistakable sonic quality of the 60s sound, with spluttering vocal snippets and interjections emerging over complex multi-layered textures and mesmerising beats.
The EP is released on the occasion of British Art Show 8 opening in Edinburgh on Feb 12th 2016