Transgression (Graham Bowers album)

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Transgression
Transgression cover
Studio album by Graham Bowers
Released March 1997
Recorded 1996
Genre Experimental music Avant-progressive rock
Length 48.53
Label Red Wharf
Producer Graham Bowers
Professional reviews
Graham Bowers chronology
Of Mary's Blood
(1995)		 Transgression
(1997)		 Eternal Ghosts
(1998)

Transgression is the second album by Graham Bowers avant-garde British composer. Released in March 1997, it is the second work of a trilogy, the first being Of Mary's Blood and the third Eternal Ghosts

Contents

[edit] Overview

As an Overview the following is much the same in format and wording as Of Mary's Blood the first work in his trilogy, and similarly so for Eternal Ghosts.

Bowers’ approach to musical composition tends to bypass the usual conventions of musicality, placing more emphasis on what he describes as “associative listening” (the association of sound related to life experiences) and “Sound Theatre” where, and I quote “if a sound is produced either intentionally or unintentionally on a musical instrument, or is a found sound, if it has relevance and contributes to the assigned and adopted identity within my approach to a composition, it has validity”.

The album consists of one continuous 48minute 53 second track which is divided into three sections ‘By thought’ ‘By word’ ‘By deed’. The music and sounds are multi layered and in the main acoustic instruments heavily treated with digital audio effects, positioned within the stereo perspective to enhance and illustrate the presence and interactivity of identity.

The artworks accompanying the CD are reproductions of Bowers’ figurative and surrealistic paintings.

The album received critical acclaim and examples of reviews can be seen at the website of Red Wharf (See External links)

The concept behind his thinking is best described by Bowers, so again; I quote, in this instance from the transcript of a radio interview for a Canadian broadcast. “In the case of the Trilogy, which is Of Mary's Blood, Transgression and Eternal Ghosts, there was an element of forethought in that I wanted to create three separate pieces, where all pieces made some form of reference to each other, not so much in the musical content but in their overall statement. The concept is an attempt to illustrate through music a ‘snapshot’ of where mankind is at this moment in time in terms of his evolving development with respect to his knowledge, his mortality, morals, and spirituality. This snapshot is my own objective view based on the fact that I am a product of a society and culture based around the Christian religion. Of course it is a gross over generalisation and not meant in any way to pass any intellectual or social comment, it is an audio ‘snapshot’ for the photograph album. Whether I would have seen the world in a different way had I been Jewish, Muslim, Hindu or whatever I just don’t know. I am an atheist, but the product of Christianity, so for me a good starting point was the fertilisation of Mary, with the introduction of 23 chromosomes from God almighty to join the 23 chromosomes waiting in the egg within her earthly body. The message of the resulting DNA’s blueprint for life and intrinsic spirituality, possibly being ‘Always is’, ‘Always was’, ‘Always shall be’, which are the three sections that make up Of Mary's Blood”.

The sleeve note on Transgression, ’Change by the exercise of will, through choice, necessity and coercion’ sums up for me the trials and tribulations of living a life on both the physical and spiritual levels, again this is made up of three sections, in this case ‘By thought’, ‘By word’, ‘By deed’

[edit] Track listing

  1. "By thought ~ By word ~ By deed" – 48:53

[edit] Personnel

Performed by
  • Graham Bowers - vocals, piano, synthesizer, hammer dulcimer, violin, cello, saxophone, clarinet
  • Peter B Gallagher - guitar
  • Mark J Porter – saxophone, bass guitar
  • William Henshall – vocals
  • Jim Keddie – percussion
  • Mary Heathcote – vocals
  • Annie Billington – cello
Mixed by
Engineered by

[edit] External links