From Scratch

Press, 5 March 1984, Page 8

From Scratch

From Scratch, presented by the Christcharch Festival at the Town Hall Conference Room, March 3 to 6, 8.30 p.m. to 935 p.m. Reviewed by Philip Norman. One does not need an understanding of the geometric shapes and patterns that motivate much of the work of From Scratch to appreciate their performance. Visually, the black-and-white-attired trio of Philip Dadson, Wayne Laird, and Don McGlashan create a fascinating image as they weave spatial designs in and around their stations of Kussion instruments, [thy PVC tubes, stacked like felled organ pipes, dom-

inate and direct the setting; bamboo, chimes, roto toms, cymbals, metal bars, and rattle jackets (slivers of metal and wood suspended from a harness worn round the performers’ shoulders) add lustre and help form the complement of the intriguing sound sources. Aurally, the impact of From Scratch is stunning. Theirs is a high-intensity, high-energy music in which complex polyrhythms interlock with limited-pitch ostinati and gradual changes of textures to create large and intricate webs of sound. Two 30-minute pieces comprised the programme presented by the group on Saturday evening. These

were the abstract, circlebased “Drum/Sing” and the powerful “Pacific 321 Zero,” a searing protest work about the nuclear testing in the Pacific. Both worked well, demanding and achieving a high level of concentration from the spellbound audience.

In its melding of rhythms and chants from ancient Pacific and Asiatic cultures with the technical and intellectual vocabulary of twen-tieth-century society, From Scratch speaks with a language relevant to the time and geographical placement of the contemporary New Zealand condition. In this, their art is refreshing and vital.