WORDS

THE DRUM MEDIA - Review of CD "OoloO" - 15th September, 1998

For an outfit consisting of only keyboards and drums, The Bird's sound is not only remarkably BIG, but also expansive in effect as it soars over territories traditionally controlled by electronic despots. Unarmed, these local sonic freedom fighters bare no mechanical loops or sequences as they launch passionate raids on the realms of drums 'n' bass, techno, industrial, trance and more. But not content to emulate these genres The Bird opens up borders on this CD with six tightly executed tracks of rythmic wizardry where synthesised layers fly in and out of attack formation. Something of the cover's exotic imagery is also captured in the improvised trips the two make, especially in the EP's opener which is somehow middle eastern in both flavour and tumoil. Something different and well worth checking out.

"OoloO" 1. Magid Kahn 2. King Tide 3. Lord Zoobie 4. Circuit 5. OoloO

LIVE PA PROFILE - Story by PARIS POMPOR

"All the things that we learn are through listening. It's just purely from listening and meeting musicians and sharing...everything I know is sort of learnt from playing with other musicians and listening to albumns.."

So says drummer Ben Walsh, one half of the unique, electronically influenced Sydney outfit, The Bird. On the eve of their new CD release, we're talking about the perceived differences in formalised musical study and what we all agree to be equally legitimate; the education gained from live performance and hands on experience. Keyboardist Simon Durrington chips in: "(Its) just as valid (as formal study)..We haven't stopped learning the whole way and that's one of the main objectives I think ...that's what we're into.. just experiencing and developing something...whether some people enjoy it or identify with it, or not, is irrelevant in a way- I mean it's different and speaks for itself and so I think people can sort of appreciate it for that alone...."

So far the appreciation has been clearly audible, including an invitation this week to perform on Triple J's morning show. Quite a feat, considering the band's sound is made up of keyboards and drums alone, but their adroit emulation of electronic  music genres and their improvisational approach to recording and performance seems to be winning friends in many camps.

"...As a drummer when I heard...stuff like drum 'n' bass, where people were getting computers to do unbelievable shapes and speeds and tempos- it was the most exciting thing I had heard for ages... So that's what I set out trying to do,deal with those structures. But what we ended up coming up with I don't think you could really call drum 'n ' bass,or you could call trip hoppy-ambient-trancey whatever ....all those things have been fun to try and mimic and learn from..."

While a facination with dance forms may have been an initial impetus, their passion for improvisation - a term not often associated with the music they are influenced by, seems to be a primary motivation now. Turning on its head the old criticism of electronic music being a poor imitation of accoustic based genres. The Bird use technology as a starting point and then apply concepts more akin to spontaneous idioms, putting a fresh spin on things.

".. We have heaps of tunes," explains Ben "similar to jazz concepts or any improvisational concept where you have a rough skeletal structure to work within. But  what actually happens each time is completely different. We can lengthen sections, shorten sections, make up new ones, throw them in... you'll hear the same beginnings and endings and changes but sometimes we have versions of certain songs that go for like ten minutes..."

Not only have they opted to recreate the sounds of electronic music and navigate them in new directions ( even building a kit which contains a bass drum made from a chemical barrel which Ben describes as a" huge tunnel of sub") but they do it all without  the aid of sequencers, drum machines or mechanical looping effects. It's enough to make you wonder whether they have made a pact to do things the hard way!

" No it's not like really rigid," explains Simon..." I think basically (when) we started out we didn't have any of that equipment- so we just improvised and we're really into creating things that are very different. You know when you have a sampler you tend to sort of grab samples here there and everywhere which is great, but with the keyboard I have to soundsmith everything completely.."

" I think too ", continues  Ben"... I've seen a lot of acts ... that get up and press buttons, which is great because it's them actually being on stage displaying it; 'here's the music that I've created in my computer and in my sequencer' - and ther's nothing wrong with that...But what I think, just in terms of an audience perspective is better about seeing purely live- what we do- is that we can actually read them. So we can actually sit there and go ' oh the're dancing really hard to this section. let's extend it' or ' let's cut it back'. We can actually play to them and play with them - you know total integration (and) interaction..."

"Yeah that's the sort of beautiful thing about a duo, it's really quite easy with communication." adds Simon.