Tansy Davies: (b1973) Spine BCMG ~ Azalea / Christopher Austin, conductor Concordia ~ Samuel Boden, tenor ~ Joby Burgess, percussion Simon Haram, saxophone ~ Darragh Morgan, violin ~ Huw Watkins, piano NMC D176 • Davies was born in Bristol and while studying music in the South East played in various bands, including her own ‘atonal funk’ trio Seahorse and the free improvisation group Moonvelvet Collective.   Discovering the music of Boulez and Ligeti, she shelved her career as a horn player (which included a stint playing in the band for Les Misérables) to study composition. • Tansy joined the composition staff at the Royal Academy of Music in 2012. • ‘A livewire, impossible to pigeonhole’ The Times In her recent work, Davies has found an accommodation between the worlds of the avant-garde and experimental rock, between – in the words of one critic – Xenakis and Prince.   Filled with sounds of cracking, slapping, whipping and scraping, it is music that is utterly contemporary, inhabiting the same urban landscape as industrial techno and electronica. The works on this new recording include make black white, a reconstruction of Dowland's Flow, My Tears performed by viol consort Concordia; the ritualistic Dark Ground for percussion (Joby Burgess); Loopholes and Lynchpins, a reworking – or unravelling even – of Scarlatti's keyboard sonata (Huw Watkins) and the title work, spine, performed by the ensemble Azalea, inspired by the composer's interest in trilobites: ancient creatures of the Paleozoic era.   The large scale structure of the work imitates the way in which trilobites grow: by releasing segments from the front of the tail, and continuing to moult and grow until six segments had been formed. TRACK LISTING 01. Iris     14'47        Simon Haram, saxophone • BCMG • Christopher Austin, conductor 02. Static     2'06        Samuel Boden, tenor • Huw Watkins, piano 03. Dark Ground     8'30        Joby Burgess, percussion 04. Loure     4'14        Darragh Morgan, violin 05. Falling Angel     16'40        BCMG • Christopher Austin, conductor 06. This Love     2'45        Samuel Boden, tenor • Huw Watkins, piano 07. make black white     6'20        Concordia 08.-12. Loopholes and Lynchpins     12'04        Huw Watkins, piano 13 spine     9'53        Azalea • Christopher Austin, conductor NMC Recordings are distributed in Australia by Rockian Trading, P.O.Box 44, Briar Hill, Vic, 3088, Australia Telephone (03) 9432 4149 ~ Facsimile (03) 9444 6879