In her recent work, Tansy Davies has found an accommodation between the worlds of the avant-garde and experimental rock, between – in the words of one critic – Xenakis and Prince. Filled with sounds of cracking, slapping, whipping and scraping, it is music that is utterly contemporary, inhabiting the same urban landscape as industrial techno and electronica.

The works on this new recording include make black white, a reconstruction of Dowland’s Flow, My Tears performed by viol consort Concordia; the ritualistic Dark Ground for percussion (Joby Burgess); Loopholes and Lynchpins, a reworking – or unravelling even – of Scarlatti's keyboard sonata (Huw Watkins) and the title work, spine, performed by the ensemble Azalea, inspired by the composer's interest in trilobites: ancient creatures of the Paleozoic era. The large scale structure of the work imitates the way in which trilobites grow: by releasing segments from the front of the tail, and continuing to moult and grow until six segments had been formed.

Contents:
1. Iris
Simon Haram, saxophone
BCMG / Christopher Austin

2. Static
Samuel Boden, tenor • Huw Watkins, piano

3. Dark Ground
Joby Burgess, percussion

4. Loure
Darragh Morgan, violin

5. Falling Angel
BCMG / Christopher Austin

6. This Love
Samuel Boden, tenor • Huw Watkins, piano

7. make black white
Concordia

8. Loopholes and Lynchpins
Huw Watkins, piano

9. spine
Azalea / Christopher Austin