UEM

William C. Harrington
Nuclear Menace
Tanatone CD

Keyboard tech for Gentle Giant and Zappa, briefly appearing in the Baby Snakes vid, this guy has street cred and his third release was mastered by Scott Fraser, who issued the impressive Natural Histories before working with Kronos Quartet. Merely by those facts, though, the CD mightn’t be what you’d expect. A cross between Craig Leon, John Wiggins, Conrad Schnitzler, and Bill Nelson’s later output, the disc is a cross-blend of pastiches, noodling, and melodic miniatures with no narrative threadline nor even a seeming wisp of intent but plenty of aesthetic pleasures, from stripped obliquities (“Syd”) to a Riley-esque Arabian mosaic (“Rajilli: They Have the Bomb Too”) to loopy experiments (“The Long Descent”). The rather abrupt shifts in setting can be a trifle disconcerting, but one can’t help but feel it was part of the plan, instilling an intermittent sense of sensory alienation and dislocation. Synths comprise the majority or voices but Harrington also plays sax and guitar while inviting several guests in. The longest of the 15 cuts are just seconds over five minutes but “The finally Did It” and several others prick the desire for much lengthier extrapolations. Nothing is demanding but repeated listens begin to unfold subtleties not immediately graspable. However, don’t invite the neighbors over for the sound test, as they mightn’t understand, never having quite understood why you insisted on blasting the soundtrack to Forbidden Planet at midnight last week.

Mark S. Tucker - Signal to Noise

The artist uses a wide range of tools to create this sonic reality. Of course there's the ROLAND and ARP but also we get soprano sax, electric guitars, glass salad bowls, bells, a bugle, vocalizations, and more.
To me the album is beyond electronic--it is experimental, avant-garde, and artsy in places. Harrington explores various themes, sounds, moods, and does some strange musical combinations. Oh sure some of this stuff has been done before but WH brings his own style and approach to the project. Those that like electronic, experimental, and more might want to give this a listen. Interesting listening.

Copyright 2006 A. Canales - The Critical Review - A. Canales

Hello Jeff,

The Harrington CD is brilliant. Highly entertaining yet uncompromisingly experimental. Never boring or pretentious either. Very, very well done. Airplay coming assuredly.

happy easter,

Don - KKUP 91.5FM Cupertino California

"UEM Live" Reviewed 2007-02-07
- Your Imaginary Friend, KZSU Stanford University

Kick ass experimental analog loops, drones and collage for fans of Eno, NON, Reich, Cage, electronic music (by its traditional definition), even tribal King Crimson. Recorded live, this is really one long track split into many tracks with distinct flavors and themes. Well done. My picks:
2, 7, 8.

1) chorus of feedback, tasteful and somehow melodic

2) a nice drone, a crunchy tape loop, and echo'ed trumpet cant go wrong

3) clarinet and other horns become more apparent, tape loops and noise grow bold

4) flute and racket, still looping hypnotically

5) mechanical somehow, robotic voice buried at times

6) briefer, like a computer on a space station

7) a lovely drone starts this and evolves nicely, staying chill and narcotic until end where moog tones appear

8) an eastern tabla flavor to this, cool

9) a little more electronic but incorporates some treated guitar

10) developing a definite rhythm, tribal but not trite, still on a foundation of excellent drony noise

11) beat continues, less rhythmic, cool looping guitar Frippish guitar work

12) brief, dominated by feedback and a square wave

13) guitar feedback symphony again, like in intro reminds me of tones The Residents used a lot in their early days ("on any other street"), midway loops like crashing and falling appear, at end theres some backward voice sample

14) classic Tomita'esque analog synth sequence, trippy and composed, pretty actually
Players: William C Harrington (electronics, sax) Jilli Dart (guitar, guitar/sitar, effects) - Your Imaginary Friend, KZSU Stanford University

Players: William C Harrington (electronics, sax) Jilli Dart (guitar, guitar/sitar, effects)

Jilli's Intro and Syd from "UEM Live"

Harsh, electric guitar walls of sound. Magnified side-product noise becomes a partially demolished sound mass, excessive and yet teeming with microscopic changes within constant, deafening envelopes. Occasionally, the simple outlook gives way to complex overlays that express their statements in an equally forceful manner.

http://www.modisti.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6564
- modisti.com

"I’m not what you’d call a “big-city” person. So when the Angry Vegan Records release “Urban Electronic Music” by William C. Harrington arrived, you’ll have to understand that the title didn’t conjure a whole lot of positive images for me. In my limited experience, “urban” is too many people, too little privacy, not enough green– all the best excuses to live somewhere less intense. “Urban” is somewhere I’d visit, but wouldn’t want to stay.


If Harrington’s intent is to capture this feeling, I think he does it well. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the album quite a bit. It’s a fascinating trip to take! Like any good-sized city, Harrington has populated his album with a diverse set of voices– Arp 2600, E-mu Classic, and VK-7 keys clamor for attention alongside bowed guitar, cell phones, loops, saxophone, salad bowls, and a host of other unlikely objects. Within many tracks, like “I Slept Through Vespers” or “Cuckoo to You,” distinct sound events play a lesser role; with more of a blended, futuristic, electroacoustic feel. However, some tracks, like “One for Nick,” sound dated– I had some similar synth percussion presets on my old Casio– but isn’t part of the “urban” experience the contrast and layering of old and new? Would a city like St. Louis or Chicago (or Memphis!) retain any of its flavor if it stayed “updated” all the time? Oddly enough; one track on the album, “Enola Gay,” really is dated– 1973, to be precise– but fits so well you won’t suspect a thing.

“Remnants” seems to best reflect this layering, with Harrington providing a real hubbub of activity. This track best reflects the vibrant “aliveness” present in a city like New York, where the pattern and activity of the city itself seems to take on a life of its own. For a one-man album (composed, realized, produced, and engineered by Harrington) it’s a marvelous accomplishment." - Startling Moniker

Exactly as I expected from this fine work from William C. Harrington. Not that it was predictable, it was not, but because I enjoyed Bill's performance at Electro Music 2006 and knew about his electronic music composing styles. I had to purchase his latest release!

U.E.M. is a nice mix of electronic sound, sampled/treated glass bowls, cell phones, and many other suprises! A expert weave of electronic sound and samples.

Well done Bill ....

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!] - electro-music 2006

This CD is beyond brilliant...words fail to express the level of genius present on this album. It is a rich, gorgeously textured, dynamic experience.

- David Cosgrove

"...this 14 track live recording of his performance at Nova Express, in LA, in Sept 2006 with special guest Jilli Dart of spacekitti. This free CD features him on soprano sax and electronics and Jilli on guitar, sitar and effects and travels the corridors of improvised experimental/electronic, spacing from drones to noise, occasionally pointing in the direction of more rhythmically-defined patterns and flirting with some weird free-form of obscure guitar-impregnated idm. Keep an eye on UEM as I feel they'll have more in store for us pretty soon."

Marc Urselli-Schaerer
http://www.chaindlk.com/reviews - Marc Urselli-Schaerer