No small triumph: Carla Rees & Scott Miller – Devices and Desires

Electronic music provides community/comfort to the initiated much the same as any other genre to its “fan”. In becoming genre, however, it embraces the expectations (prejudices?) of genre. In this respect, I have to agree whole heartedly with the reviewer. I also agree that what Rees and Miller have done is create a sound landscape as refreshingly varied as it is beautiful. Each piece’s shape and sonic blending speaks of advanced compositional technique that everyone from jazz to classical aficionados (perhaps, even some rockers) should find engaging. The shame (and here I hope I’m wrong) is that market labeling will assume/insure the choir will be preached to (more or less), while the uninitiated will dismiss a very soulful body of work as noise or intellectuality. Given half a chance, this type of musical inventiveness has enough timbrel, melodic, and rhythmic richness (dare I say it again, “soul”) to successfully cross over marketing’s often inflexible boundaries.