That… says it all!

It has come to this Monk’s attention that a new, 10-CD boxed set of experimental music by The Clarke & Ware Experiment will be unleashed upon the waiting world after a suitably long gestation period. The box encompasses the two albums that Clarke + Ware originally delivered in 1999 and 2001. Namely, “Pretentious” and “Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle.” But what of the other eight CDs of music? Presumably, these were the efforts of The Illustrious Company, the pair’s 3D sound installation/event company whose claim to fame is a “holophonic” soundfield production using the Huron Processor that not only swirls sound around you in a 360° circle, but it also moves it along a z-axis as well!

The pair have provided immersive sonic environments the world ’round over the last 13 years, and with this boxed set, stand ready to let their fans hear more of their ambient soundscapes than the lucky few who might have managed to make it to locations as far removed from each other as New York City, Sao Paolo, or Geneva. The box is released on November 26th, 2012, and will exist in an edition of just 1000. Ware and Clarke have signed each numbered copy, and the outlay for this luxury is a surprisingly affordable £79.95 [$128 in Nov. 2012]. The two previously released albums are in binaural format for serious headphone listening, Presumably, the entire lot is. Now just what does that amount of scratch get you?

The Clarke + Ware Project: House Of Illustrious UK 10xCD Boxed Set [2012]

Disc 1

1. The 4th Place (63:26)
2. The Game of Their Lives (07:45)

Disc 2

1. Knots Pt 1 (04:53)
2. Knots Pt 2 (03:59)
3. Knots Pt 3 (03:59)
4. Knots Pt 4 (04:11)
5. Knots Pt 5 (04:49)
6. Transparent Mirrors (10:42)
7. Virtual Wishing Tree (14:39)
8. On Public Display (09:25)

Disc 3

1. New Ages of Man (06:12)
2. Town and Country (14:33)
3. Helios Suite (10:00)
4. Imagine a World… (16:00)
5. Timepiece (16:00)

Disc 4

1. Shine (61:00)

Disc 5

1. Everytime I See the Sea… (11:37)
2. Diaspora Magnet (12:09)
3. Tokyo Soundscape (02:17)
4. Vegas (06:26)
5. 2007 FPS A London Conversation (06:54)
6. Ghost Machine (10:03)

Disc 6

1. Starbirth (23:08)
2. Futurescape 1 (08:38)
3. Futurescape 2 (08:46)
4. Futurescape 3 (08:37)
5. New City (07:22)

Disc 7

1. SoundLife London (30:00)
2. Kubla Khan Soundscape (03:13)
3. Feelosophy (24:33)

Disc 8

1. The Sound of Diamonds (17:46)
2. Sparking Reaction (24:00)
3. Remote Experiments (05:42)

Disc 9 – Pretentious

1. Music For Multiple Dimensions (14:17)
2. Open Our Eyes (07:52)
3. Too Deep For Tears (09:24)
4. I Think I’m In Love (09:01)
5. The East Is Falling (09:35)
6. Wilderness/Turbulence (08:01)
7. Disappearing Breakthroughs (06:39)
8. The Light Far Away (07:43)

Disc 10 – Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle

1. White [you are in heaven] (12:37)
2. Yellow [you are on a beach] (12:01)
3. Red [you are in the womb] (12:39)
4. Blue [you are underwater] (12:20)
5. Green [you are in a forest] (12:03)
6. White [you are in heaven again] (12:15)

Phew! That’s quite a lot to digest! But perhaps even more fascinating than how it sounds is how it looks. The duo have spared no expense in packaging the project in a manner that befits its caliber. Ware has spent 18 months consulting with H17 designer supreme [and one of The Monk’s graphic design heroes] Malcolm Garrett as well as packaging designer Tim Milne. This meeting of minds has resulted in the “almost fetishized” package of clear acrylic plastic, granite-like foam, topped off with a stainless steel spindle upon which the individual CDs rotate freely; etched with the all-important legend “Made In Sheffield,” as seen above. Hmmm. It sounds like the line may have been crossed into full bore fetishized territory, if you’re anything like me.

Preorder now or live with the shame and regret, as Clarke + Ware promise that this is the only time this music will be available in a physical format. The beleaguered [and well nigh invisible] Monk entertainment budget is sorely vexed at the appearance of items such as this! Time will only tell if a package containing this will ever cross the threshold of my Record Cell or not.

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