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An Occurrence Remembered Reviews
An Occurrence Remembered
© 2001, 2008 Lorin Morgan-Richards
Dark Twin Cities, reviewed by Christopher Roddy
Lorin Morgan-Richards is certainly an intriguing individual. His interests in cultural anthropology and classic literature coupled with his admiration for music as it relates to staged movement have made for some interesting forays in mixed-media art. Having shared stages with The Creatures, Front 242, Pyschotica and Lycia, Morgan's first solo album, 2000's ENKI, took on Zecharia Sitchin's book, The Twelfth Planet, which involves the origins of humanity through Alien intervention in ancient Sumeria. He expressed its complex ideas through electronic soundscapes slightly reminiscent of early Dead Can Dance that still retained a unique and singular personality. Dark-Electro Storytelling is what he likes to call it, and ENKI revealed Richards to be an evolving, creative force.
An Occurrence Remembered is a curious work originally written in 2001. Its source material is that of much lauded, late nineteenth-early twentieth century writer Ambrose Bierce. Kurt Vonnegut, in his book A Man Without A Country, remarked that anyone who hadn't read Bierce's An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge was a "twerp," unfamiliar with one of the greatest works of literature in American history. An inspiration to some of modern society's most memorable filmed works, from a classic Twilight Zone episode to the movies of M. Night Shyamalan, Occurrence has, for generations, compelled men to create and Lorin Morgan-Richards has not only put together an impressive album around it (coupling Occurrence with another Bierce story, Chickamauga), but has also performed it in conjunction with interpretive dance theater in New York City aided by choreographer Nicole Cavaliere and co-producer Valerie Stoneking, just as he had with ENKI, which was choreographed by Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre Group founder Michael Medcalf.
While the storytelling aspect of Richards' works is borrowed from others the music is wholly original, and by taking it a step further and adding the dance element he has elevated electronic music to something that goes beyond barroom risers and clubland floors. There is a new level of artistry being achieved through his exhaustive efforts.
The rhythms are always fascinating and tethered to a plentiful supply of synth atmospherics. "You Hold My Heart" expresses the kind of mood which one often finds in the most warming tracks of Aphex Twin's discography with its slighty off-kilter, distorted beat and soothing waves of ambient sound. Then everything goes dark as the unsettling sound of an unfolding nightmare oozes from the speakers, leading into the hypnotic strains of "Hanging By A Thread." Strings work in tandem with a marshal snare. The mood grows rather heavy and foreboding as the story kicks into high gear.
Even though some of these passages, such as "Was It Time For Me To Go?" or "Was It Something I Said?" might actually be accessible to a standard club audience looking for sounds akin to Clan Of Xymox, the music certainly lends itself more to the theatrical and the choreographed staging of these works have proven to be powerful and moving displays. As you listen to the album you, too, may be inspired to sway along with the entrancing rhythmic pulse.
The only thing that occasionally works against the overall effect is Richards' voice. At times its understated nature can actually add to the ambiance of a particular track, as in the haunting "Lifeless Crawling Shells," but there are a number of instances where Richards doesn't immediately nail the note he's going for, or a monotonous harmony comes across as too one-dimensional in contrast to the enlivening layers within the song structure, undermining the power of the respective track. "Abbey," a percussive, upbeat number is ultimately diminished by a curiously lackadaisical vocal performance.
From Gothic Rock, to Dark Electro to Ambient, a number of styles are incorporated here and An Occurrence Remembered, only now receiving a proper release over six years after its initial staging, certainly warrants interest (Invisible Records did include two of these songs on its 2001 Notes From The Real Underground, Vol. 1 compilation). I would highly recommend this little-known treasure to anyone that can appreciate the depth and artistry that goes into something of such scope. Copies can be obtained through www.lorinrichards.com. Hopefully we'll be hearing much more from this visionary in the future.
Under My Skin-the Darklife Fanzine, reviewed by Gianfri
Another work by Lorin Richards to land on our lucky desks, An Occurrence Remembered was composed and firstly performed back in 2001, but only released on CD last year, 2008. His synth craftery has moved slightly forward as the compositions are slightly more intricate and there is also more emphasis put on rhythms which acquire body and often drive the tracks through their own microcosmo. The general mood is still laid back, melancholic and softly pop and once more I catch elements of the German school in the genre, but, as it is more rhythm driven, there is also room for dancefloor instantiations of many of the tracks, although do not think stomping dances here. More sensual ones. There is also no shying away from a bit of sonic research and perhaps the weakest link on some of the tracks are the vocals, this time round quite dry and left as inexpressive in some instances. Intriguing pop research for Mr Richards on this album. One or two ingenuity mistakes are not enough to shadow the subdued beauty of this work. www.lorinrichards.com
The Ambrose Bierce Project, reviewed by Kyle Zaffino
ONE OF AMBROSE BIERCE’S most important legacies to us is his short story “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” about which students and scholars have penned innumerable pages since its publication in 1890. Lorin Morgan-Richards has added an interesting dimension to the analysis of the famous story; his recently re-issued concept album An Occurrence Remembered offers a musical interpretation of both “Owl Creek Bridge” and “Chickamauga” (1889).
An Occurrence Remembered is Morgan-Richards’ 2001 sophomore effort, following the success of the concept album ENKI in 1999. Both albums are entirely electronica, reminiscent of the more recent efforts of the well-known Norwegian unit Burzum. In fact, Morgan-Richards’s website remarks that he is “an author of dark literature and music. . . . that is, the lights are often out when he writes” (www.lorinrichards.com), a tart statement Bierce himself would have admired.
Contrary to Morgan-Richards’s analysis, however, An Occurrence Remembered is upbeat to a point. In fact, several songs (notably “Was it Time for Me to Go?”) could easily find their way into a TGI Friday’s, providing the pleasant background music to which diners voice their own stories. Morgan-Richards’s vocals are frequently distorted, always gentle. Wisely, the artist does not overpower listeners with his vocals.
This feature is both a strength and a liability. The distant, echoing vocals offer the dreamlike quality Bierce wove into “Owl Creek Bridge,” and they are eerie enough to capture the surrealism of “Chickamauga.” However, the singing is often blurry enough that one cannot discern the words without a lyrics sheet, which is not provided in the cover slip. Morgan-Richards was kind enough to provide me with the lyrics on request.
The music is just as befuddling at times. On first listen, the CD is smooth, soothing. It is roughly fifty-five minutes of fluid ambience. The synth and keyboarding flow well, Morgan-Richards taking his time to keep the same chimerical quality present in his voice. The percussion is excellent, with the pace brisk like a war march, but not cacophonous. Musically, the album is well done. However, often the music is barely (if at all) connected to the album’s lyrics. The most glaring instance is “Was it Something I Said?” The song is almost cheerful, certainly uplifting, but the lyrics are cryptic and gloomy. Note the refrain:
Was it something I did that made you hate me?
I see behind you there’s a doorway.
Sitting silent now the paper says;
“Hours we laughed in vain and cried all over and again.”
Morgan-Richards’s lyrics are regularly scattershot like these. “The Escape” is an excellent rendition of Peyton Farquhar’s swim as he evades the Union troops, for instance, but for every well-written song, there is a ditty like “Was It Time for Me to Go?” that reads like the highfalutin rambling of a high-school poet.
I also spent the entire instrumental track “Warmth” wanting at least a brief verse, perhaps making it similar to the pseudo-instrumental “Alone in your Presence” on Vehemence’s 2004 album Helping the World to See. The latter song has a scant four lines, but those few words magnify the song’s meaning a hundredfold.
For me, the lyrics were unfortunately the album’s weak point. While I am not in favor of erasing the vocals, as they add an invaluable dimension to the work’s sonic quality, the writing often seems to lack focus. I have no idea what the song “Abbey” is about, for instance; there are no clear cues connecting it to either of the relevant short stories, and it does not tie in with the surrounding tracks at all. I realize that Morgan-Richards was not adhering strictly to Bierce’s work when he wrote the album, but on several occasions I found myself wanting a stronger tie to the literature.
I was hoping for a work like Mastodon’s 2004 release Leviathan, which is more or less Moby Dick set to music. Before I read the lyrics to An Occurrence Remembered, that is what I expected. Contrary to Morgan-Richards’s linguistic experimentation, Leviathan bursts out of the gate with
I think that someone is trying to kill me
Infecting my blood and destroying my mind
No man of the flesh could ever stop me
The fight for this fish is a fight to the death
White whale - holy grail
and never misses a beat, right up through the haunting closing instrumental.
I cannot fault Morgan-Richards too extensively, however. Before I read the lyrics, I thought the album did a fantastic job of conveying the moods of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and “Chickamauga.” Moreover, the music captures the plotting of the respective stories, with titles like “Peyton’s Dream” and “The Battle” showing a logical progression from the beginning of “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” to the end of “Chickamauga.”
For fans of concept albums, An Occurrence Remembered is a good choice. Just don’t try to sing along.
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