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Random Touch: Turbulent Flesh

Random Touch: Turbulent Flesh

Experimental/Musique concrète
Rating: 3.0/5.0

Token Boy Records
www.randomtouch.com
www.myspace.com/randomtouch
Review: Craig Hartranft,  07.05.2009

Random Touch, Illinois purveyours of progressive rock and other things eclectic, have pushed the boundaries of their collective experiences with their new release. Turbulent Flesh is a pure experimental escapade into Musique concrète (French for "concrete music" or "real music") is a music(?) that utilizes acousmatic sound (a sound one hears without seeing an originating cause) as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of traditional musical instruments or voices, nor to elements thought of as "musical" (melody, harmony, rhythm, metre and so on). (Wikipedia)

Random Touch abandoned their own instruments for whatever they could 'pound, pluck, stroke, scrape, caress, etc' at hand whether it be an oil drum, scrap of plastic, shelving rack or a host of other items. Even the recording and mixing (with no dubs or edits) was rudimentary. Imagine three older guys, with influences as diverse as Zappa, Sun Ra, Pink Floyd, and Hendrix, entering the warehouse of the Myth Busters SFX dudes and performing like Stomp with no attempt at melody, harmony, syncopation or the like. Now you have a slightly better than vague idea of Turbulent Flesh. This is totally eclectic and unconventional music or noise depending on your perspective. Add to this the fact that the recording is only available on virgin vinyl and you truly have something avant garde.

But, you may ask, is it any good? Certainly, but only if you have a mind open to the avant garde, bizarre, absurd or simple music experimentation. Otherwise, your conclusions could be as eclectic as their music: Random Touch is an highly imaginative and innovative band expanding their horizons; or merely three dudes who are experimenting with other substances of an herbal or chemical variety; or they are three fellows who have way too much time on their hands for useful pursuits. Or you can buy the LP, listen, and draw your own, more novel, conclusions.

In Short

Imagine three older guys, with influences as diverse as Zappa, Sun Ra, Pink Floyd, and Hendrix, entering the warehouse of the Myth Busters SFX dudes and performing like Stomp with no attempt at melody, harmony, syncopation or the like. Now you have a slightly better than vague idea of Turbulent Flesh.

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