60 Buddhas

I wrote Duno on a borrowed 4 track (big thanks Sez) and basically set out to write an acoustic Techno track. I liked the idea of writing on the cello as I’ve always been a bit daunted when working on paper. I’d been listening to a lot of dance music (I think we’d been to Ibiza that year!) and loved the way it built up layer on layer and tried to recreate that excitement in the track. The bass and cello ‘hits’ give the piece it’s four-on-the-floor feel which I love and Andy W added a hi-hat in the second half which really sets it up. Andy N.

Piano – This track came to life with the rolling bass and house piano riff – a hybrid of house and latin with intricate string parts adding to the restlessness. This is heightened by the bass loop having a feel of 6/8 7/8 against the relentless 4/4 of the piano. Catherine

Bathtime – Recognised as Gods of the electronic dance arena, Orbital have been exploring other avenues with their music, composing for television and film. The Hartnoll brothers have been big fans of Instrumental since the group re-interpreted Forever and jumped at the chance to write a piece for them. Their piece is constructed around a melody Paul kept hearing in his head whilst Orbital were on tour in the USA in 2001/2. With this project, the tune reaches its final culmination: I really wanted to hear it in the string environment, performed by a group with such musicianship. This is a great opportunity to put the word “composer” after our name.

Harp – Essentially a simple ascending harp line repeated and layered at different starting points. As the piece evolved I became fascinated and absorbed by what I could hear beyond the written score – the sounds and overtones created by the dense chord clusters. The pizzicato string parts add further layers and textures so that the effect as a whole is, I hope, meditative and hypnotic. Catherine

It’ll Come was written in 2001, squeezed in while caring for 2 year old son Arthur so possibly inspired by him! I think it shows a bit of the Steve Reich influence and the minimalist style generally. I also wanted players to have solos to achieve the “Instrumental” sound. Sally Lachrymosa – A grieving soul sits in open countryside. One obsessive thought maddeningly echoes without variation. The natural sounds soon begin to gently soothe and the emotional pain gradually lessens due to the comforting and curative of mother nature’s salve. Brian

Spacefish – Joby Talbot is one of the most exciting composers working in the UK today. His classical music, television scores and pop collaborations are performed and broadcast all over the world. He formed The divine Comedy with Neil Hannon in 1993 and has also worked with Michael Nyman and Ute Lemper. His piece for Instrumental is called Spacefish which he says was; inspired by a photograph my wife Claire took at the London Aquarium recently. It shows some rather curious looking carp apparently floating in mid air. The piece is very fast and features a ‘viral’ bass line which gradually infects the whole piece. With Ising I wanted a joyful upbeat sound. The Asian feel was a bit of an accident – I love that slidey string sound. It was originally in two sections which we built on while recording, lots of great ideas from Instrumentalists included. Sally

60 Buddhas (for R) – I first visited Cafe del Mar in 1992, when it was a solitary building on the outskirts of San An. Through the nineteen nineties, the chill out ethos, of which Cafe del Mar was a major exponent, grew to global proportions, and now it is one of many pre bars and cafe on the Ibizan sunset strip. Returning with Instrumental to play the sundown set at the 20th Anniversary celebration was personally very special for me. (I must also mention the gig we played at Kumharas, for one of the most receptive and informed crowds we’ve known). I vowed on leaving the island, to write a sunset track and this is it. Catherine

Andy W’s Production Biography – After years of trying to find the right thing to do I suddenly found myself learning how to engineer this album! It was quite a shock but as it grew so did we and the results are pretty good. I found the production side suited my late-night nature and I spent many happy hours fiddling around after everyone else had gone home! The group all added their own stuff to the process and the long days and nights have culminated in an album of music which defies description but is exciting and moving. Enjoy. Andy W