This album highlights the musical development of a young American composer. The Ornithopter is bass player and composer Nathan Fox's latest 2010 release. From a dramatic display of pyrotechnics to subtle linear melodies, the Ornithopter twists and turns through broad musical styles and ensemble arrangements. Nathan made his mark over the past decade as a touring musician in the midwest, sharing the stage with hundreds of musicians, recording music for Television and Radio, arranging music for over 200 groups, and impacting the lives of over 50 private students across the country. He is indeed an unusual person; Nathan has Asperger's Syndrome, one of the Autism Spectrum Disorders. His stage personality is a mix of hyperactivity and musical-acrobatics while wandering back to the drummer to recount, "where was the one?" Have you ever been to a concert where you thought the music was just a bit too loud, and you just wanted to cover your ears? Nathan is not afraid to do so, even when his own instrument is too loud. Despite his quirks as a performer, Nathan's recordings show his versatility as a performer if not his future direction as bandleader. Nathan performs virtually all the instruments on this record from the Electric Piccolo Bass, Mandolin, and Hand Percussion, to an unorthodox application of voice: have you ever heard Heavy Metal Beat-Box? This record offers an organic looseness mostly forgotten in an age of electronic music inundation and heavy editing. His one electronic contribution on the album, "Beyond Good and Evil," features a frightening spoken recording of Nathan's friend, Vinnie as he recounts an assault in the dark side of Muncie, Indiana, before he met his fateful end in 2008. The album is eerie and dark, dissonant, and at times barking with cheer and subtle musical humor. A must-have for anyone seeking a bit of the lunatic fringe.
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