Back To Artist
THE SHADOW ORCHESTRA : THE SHADOW ORCHESTRA
Log in to add to your wishlist
Found sounds, crazed junkyard percussion, deep dark bass lines, cello, harp, glockenspiel and melodies that rise up like half-forgotten memories, the Shadow Orchestra is a sumptuous mix of electronica, folk, jazz, and acoustic instrumentation.
Genre: Electronic: Breakbeat/Breaks
Release Date: 2006
THE SHADOW ORCHESTRA
THE SHADOW ORCHESTRA
Record Label: THE SHADOW ORCHESTRA
  • Buy CD - $16.95
  • Download Album (MP3) - $16.95

Share This Album

| Share
Preview Song Name Time Buy
1. Sweet As a Nut 3:59 + MP3 $0.99
2. Mentalist Mandolinist 5:25 + MP3 $0.99
3. Plucking and Bowing 3:47 + MP3 $0.99
4. Creaking and Bowing 3:17 + MP3 $0.99
5. Spring 2005 6:25 + MP3 $0.99
6. Feedback No. 2 5:02 + MP3 $0.99
7. Rain Music Feat. Amy Duncan 7:02 + MP3 $0.99
8. The Biggest Animal of All 6:03 + MP3 $0.99
9. Dark and Sweet 5:56 + MP3 $0.99
10. Theme From Backpacker Orpheus 7:47 + MP3 $0.99
preview all songs

Album Notes

Found sounds, haunting melodies, crazed rhythms, tricks and surprises make up the music of The Shadow Orchestra, AKA producer and composer, Chris Bangs. A distinctive mixture of Electronica, Post-Rock, Jazz, folk and Classical instrumentation, including cello, harp and glockenspiel, The Shadow Orchestra is about exploring the joyous possibilities of melody, rhythm and texture.

‘…I see sounds as objects with their own innate texture and feel, so for me writing a tune is like creating a perfectly balanced sculpture or installation, with no element redundant, and every element supporting the other…’

Two years in the making, this stunning debut album features, amongst other highlights, a heart-breakingly beautiful collaboration with new Scottish singer-songwriter and double bassist, Amy Duncan on ‘Rain Music’, the theme to ‘Backpacker Orpheus’, a play about the Asian Tsunami which premiered in London’s West End, composed using recordings taken from a Javanese Gamelan and a celebration of the lost art of whistling on ‘Spring 2005’!

Chris describes this album as ‘a creative homage to my many musical influences, from the experimental electronica of Aphex, Four Tet and DJ Shadow, to the multi-rhythmic playing of Ali Farka-Toure and Toumani Diabate, from the emotional expressionism of Van Morrison’s early releases to the experimental compositions of Charles Mingus, Moondog and The Penguin Café Orchestra.’

Chris has provided music for both film and theatre and previously worked alongside Graham Massey (808 State) in composing music for the play ‘Backpacker Orpheus’ by BAFTA award winning director Tinge Krishnan, based around the Greek myth of Orpheus descending and set during the Asian Tsunami. He also acted as musical advisor to the production, and is currently working with Thai classical musicians at the Mahidol University in Bangkok, on a live version of the soundtrack. He is also working with visual artist Anna-Lucie Feracci on a set of musical pieces, which take shapes present in architecture and transcribes them to music box score. He is assembling a band to perform material from the new album and aims to be touring in the spring.

Read more...

REVIEWS

Nice music with interesting gamelan-like structures
author: Julian
                            
Very nice CD by a group who deserve to be much better known. Plenty of interesting gamelan-like structures, although I wondered if some of the pieces would have been better given more space to develop. I'm glad I bought it, I will try to see them live now.

                            Read more...
Just as expected
author: Phil de H H
                            
Having watched THE SHADOW ORCHESTRA at a couple of events over the summer I have been searching for a album release and finally found this one (thank you CD baby), As soon as i recieved it on it went and was I not diappointed beautifully written music electronic floaty riffs and some funky beats to boot. Stick it on and chill in the afternoon or slap it on at a party to get people jumping quite simply love it!!!

                            Read more...
Superb, rich and energetic album
author: Jamie Riehl
                            
The Shadow Orchestra album shows an exciting depth of style and mood through the diverse but cohesive tracks. Shadow Orchestra strikes a pleasing balance between stimulating complex beats and soothing melodies emerging from inventive textures. Think a marriage of Feed Me Weird Things and UFOrb - chill without being dull, experimental without being unpleasant. A must for any fan of intelligent electronica.

                            Read more...
Sensational
author: secret
                            
I was listening to internet radio and encountered some nice and smooth vibes in ambient genre. After that I decided to look for some new not necessarily commercial sounds. I was bouncing from site to site and after few hours found cdbaby. Then I spent another 2 hours listening to almost every album from electronic genre here. I do not know
to how many I listened to but as soon as I played samples from “Shadow Orchestra” I knew that this is what I was
looking for. It's hard to write review that will be so convincible that make you buy CD especially because every review is more or less subjective. But just listen to samples and you'll probably be as blown away as I was and just buy it. I enjoy this album every day. And this is the best 20$ I've spent on music by now. And I spent a lot, music is so additive, but you know that You wouldn’t be here...

                            Read more...
Sell your music on CD Baby and iTunes! Minimize this Tab Open this Tab