Glasgow, May 2005
Recently rediscovered after being hidden on hard drives for 15 years, Two Down to Eight was Recorded the original, world class Cava Studios in Glasgow who recorded everyone from Mogwai to The Black Eyed Peas with the aim of producing an uncompromising document that took their collaboration into new sound world. Recorded at a particularly fertile and creative moment in their collaboration, this record is a precursor to a series of recordings Lamb and MacDonald made for Nicolas Winding Refn’s dark experiential feature film ‘Valhalla Rising’ where they pulled together 7 musicians creating a musical sound world which became part of the award winning desolate soundtrack, each track, is a snap shot of a 3 hour improv session.
Raymond MacDonald plays sax (occasionally piano) and Giles Lamb on Piano (occasional vocalisations) as they weave a path between brutal angular rhythms, prepared piano Sax soundscapes, and freewheeling breezly melodic passages. Sometimes the music teeters on the edge of collapse and other times, rapturously builds with syncopation and energy. The whole work is infused with a passion to collaboratively and spontaneously uncover inner musical truths . The recording features a beautiful Bosendorfer Concert grand piano (With the extra black keys in the bass) in CaVA’s main studio only weeks before the space and the piano were sold to make way for a luxury flat development. The quality of sound speaks for itself.
Giles Lamb studied music psychology with Raymond MacDonald, now professor of music at Edinburgh University, author of numerous books and co-founder of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra. Two Down to Eight was a natural progression from their previous collaborations which involved creating live improvised soundtracks for television shows including Taggert, playing in a cult Glasgow Funk outfit Elias and working in the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra together. There first album ‘Asylum Sessions’ which was conceived in order to create atmospheric sound design for the feature film Asylum, by David Mackenzie which Giles Lamb, now established as a soundtrack composer, was working on at the time. MacDonald has worked with David Mackenzie since on live installations and his film Young Adam under the direction of legendary Artist David Byrne.
After a 10 year Hiatus with the occasional coffee catchup - the duo are working on a new recording project and this time they won’t wait 15 years to get it released.