Bleep

CARBS contains multitudes, as the kaleidoscopic artwork might suggest. The debut collaborative album from British contemporary classical composers Robert Ames and Ben Corrigan doesn’t seek to create something singular, with a cohesive thread running through, but rather to explore as much as possible. CARBS travels playfully through countless musical worlds, as both artists have been witness to throughout their careers, with Corrigan’s award winning podcast “excuse the mess”, and Ames’ work in co-directing the London Contemporary Orchestra.

Echoes of their collaborators creep into the exquisitely cinematic soundscapes and dense leftfield dance sequences offered throughout, making CARBS a microcosm of modern orchestral and electronic music. The detuned synth odysseys of Rival Consoles, the woozy esotericism of Actress, and the encapsulating desolation of Galya Bisengalieva (whose debut Aralkum was co-produced by both artists) combine forces in infinite and imaginative ways.

As composers, Ames and Corrigan give their electronics the flair of being conducted and orchestrated rather than programmed, eschewing the conventions of dance music with beats that move fluidly through the chapters of their synth space opera. ‘SILT’ begins with a maze of left turns, strings stretching from eerie to lilting in seconds. ‘cu@the party Richter’ and ‘Asteria’ find sparse yet affecting electronica met with rippling synths and sounds manipulated and filtered through rays of light. The 14 minute monster ‘Chrome Ocean’ closes with organs collapsing under textural tidal waves.

Robert Ames and Ben Corrigan’s careers so far have been focussed on guiding other artists to achieve their visions, but with CARBS as a highlight in their discographies, they find their own distinct musical voices.