western review

Free Radicals, a CD of music for voices, percussion and didgeridoo will encourage even the most leaden footed (or hearted) to get moving.

Originally conceived during a two month collaborative workshop between Sydney Dance Company choreographer Graeme Murphy and four top-notch percussionists (lead by Michael Askill), the album unfolds in nine unnamed, continuous and mesmerising tracks.

An apocalyptic beginning, with howling wind, swirling surf, and deep breathing (suggesting the dawn of time), leads to eerie, Aboriginal chanting and didgeridoo interjections from David Hudson. Blended with this is an inventive, minimal marimba pattern, reminiscent of clicking bones - played energetically by Askill (or possibly Alison Low Choy or Alison Eddington, as individual efforts from the percussionists are not acknowledged in the liner notes.)

Constantly varying musical moods, the team experiment with instrumental addition and subtraction using a fairly small battery of equipment. Starting with a simple, improvised drum rhythm, for instance, they slowly accelerate, adding cow bells, drone bass and voices, building to a climax before gradually removing elements as the composition winds down. Part four borrows from Eastern culture, with chimes and gongs accompanying a variation on the opening Aboriginal chant, while part six synthesises West and East as performers hypnotically count from one to ten in Cantonese and English. Free Radicals is a best of both worlds album - approached with musical sensitivity and taste, yet brimming with devil-may-care spirit and invention.

For anyone remotely interested in adventurous percussion, this disk is essential listening.

• Naomi Millett