Mysteries Of The Night
Resonant sound chambers around the world, such as the Taj Mahal, Great Pyramid, and famous cathedrals, provide a sonic balm, resonating peace and inspiring musicians. Paul Horn, of course, was one, along with Bruce Odland and Pauline Oliveros, whose aptly named “Deep Listening” was recorded in the Fort Worden Cistern with its 45-second reverberations.
Alive Inside the Tank explores music recorded inside one of the world’s most intriguing sound chambers. The Tank’s uncanny resonance swells every note into a swirling sea of sound. Deep spacious flute tones, luxurious fluid vocals, and earthy percussions vibrate into the body, creating a moving, sensuous, intimate journey. The duo Mysteries of the Night has released the first full-length album recorded there into worldwide mainstream distribution. Both a “call to prayer” and a “call to the light of space,” these are sounds enveloped in shadows, a source of illumination. Alive Inside The Tank is a profound exploration of reverberant music making, featuring James Marienthal on Native American and silver flutes, and Sarah Gibbons on wordless vocals and percussion. Together they have mastered the fine art of playing space and hearing silence.
The Tank Center for Sonic Arts rivals other resonant spaces with its unusual way of vibrating sound and drawing out overtones from a single note. Music played inside The Tank takes on a life of its own. The Tank has a long and interesting history, but only in the past two years has it become accessible to the public, through the efforts of a non-profit group called Friends of The Tank and the city council of the small town of Rangely in Western Colorado. Since its opening, The Tank has hosted numerous events and concerts and garnered high-profile publicity such as a feature on CBS-TV “Sunday Morning, and articles in the New Yorker magazine and the L.A. Times. Dive in and savor this moving journey. TankSounds.org
—LLOYD BARDE (LLOYDBARDE.COM)