New ears The primeTime sublime Community Orchestra - reviewed by ROBERT HUGILL '... this whole disc is about horrifying purists.'

The primeTime sublime Community Orchestra was formed by Paul Minotto in 2000 to perform and promote multi-genre new music. The group, which mixes members from a variety of musical and non-musical backgrounds, creates music which resists being confined to a particular stylistic label.

Added to the mix of instruments is a batch of computers which are used to balance and mix the sound and introduce entirely new sounds. The final mix exists in its own, rather wacky, sound world. The music, with its abrupt stylistic changes and collage-like effects, blends wit and humour with seriousness of purpose. At times the tracks on this disc sound as if they are sound-tracks for an unwritten film or even a cartoon.

A quote from the group's web-site, is perhaps helpful here :

'A butcher, a baker, a mortician, a housewife, a plumber and other nonprofessional musicians dressed up as clowns performing contemporary classical "new music"? Well, yes. Why not? The primeTime sublime Community Orchestra is not really a community orchestra; that is, if you think of a community orchestra as a group of Sunday musicians who play in tune most of the time, getting together to murder "The Classics" for the shallow entertainment of unenlightened listeners. This group plays original "tunes" or rather "pieces" that cover most of the major genres of twentieth century music and then some, all encapsulated in a contemporary classical, "avant-garde" (is there such a thing?) framework. From popular music genres to various folk musics to film score and cartoon soundtracks -- any style is fair game'

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