The title of keyboardist/composer Chris Campbell’s latest release comes from Aristotle’s famous teaching. Using that theme, Campbell brings together a collection of artists that use instruments from all over the creative map, mixing and matching genres and creating a sound that sounds at once familiar yet also brand new. Shorter pieces such as “Form-Express,” Emptiness-Form” and the title track have a Brian Eno ambience that is sophisticated in its simplicity. On the other side, “Lord Byron” with a mix of percussion and strings that have a National Geographic index, have a busy but not chaotic attractiveness, while ethereal voices as well as avant gardish strings going into the background and foreground on “Torso of Bodhisattva.” Percussion trickles fascinatingly on the frenetic “Water Variations” and mechanical rhythms feature singing bowls on “Water Mirror.” Unobtrusive but also kaleidescopic, Campbells’ album, while short on time at barely over a half hour, brims over with intrigue.
Innova Records