Rave Magazine

“You can’t help but feel loss hearing radio be unborn, because over these 99 tracks its value is made obvious.”

dB Magazine

“It’s a schizophrenic, politicised and frankly an exhausting experience, but utterly compelling at the same time. ‘Airwaves’ is a record that won’t be for everyone, but surely contains something for everyone; it’s an exciting, vital and occasionally embarrassing document of our recent past, and is not to be missed.”

The Dwarf

“The record flows best as a whole, for it is a concept album of a sort, but key tracks serve to remind you of the stirring power of speech… Don’t let the ninety-nine track list put you off; it’s a damn treat.”

Courier Mail

“John Babbage’s commissioned score, performed live on stage by his group Topology (featuring Babbage on saxophone with piano and strings), adds another dimension of class and sophistication to the production.”

Critical Mass Blog

“The music from Topology was perfectly matched and not intrusive, supporting the dancers in their duet while at the same time leaving silence to highlight the smallest of sounds from the performers, like the kiss at the end of the scene.”

Ever wondered what it would be like to learn firsthand from or to be on stage with Topology? Now could your chance to find out. Click on the image to read up on the workshops and upcoming concert Topology is producing with young composers like yourself.

We got a great review on the Canberra Jazz Blog for our Healthy performance earlier this month. Click here to read.

When props from Steve Reich and Terry Riley ain’t enough …

The press release for Topology’s Difference Engine makes some hay out of the fact that ensemble member John Babbage “may just be related to” Charles Babbage, the inventor of the difference engine (the precursor to modern computers), while John Babbage’s own liner notes claim there’s no relation and that Charles himself hated music and musicians. It’s a bit of a shame that an act as fêted as Topology – who have received accolades from Michael Nyman, Steve Reich and Terry Riley, for god’s sake – have to resort to these tactics, but it’s also true that it’s mighty hard making a living solely by playing avant-garde classical music, which might explain why Topology have spent their energies in the past working with the Noonan siblings and Savage Garden instead of trying to land a residency at the Juilliard School. Fortunately, Difference Engine shows them at their most abstruse: split across four compositions and ten movements, this is an album of unrelenting virtuosity, each member showing off their not-inconsiderable chops (as a bonus, there’s not a Noonan in sight). Two of the pieces, Lynette Lancini’s Centaur and bassist Robin Davidson’s Exterior, open with spirited first movements and withdraw into more meditative territory soon after. Babbage’s brief piece ?X174 is a light and playful fantasia, but it’s his Difference Engine that is the album’s centrepiece, a complex and dissonant work that runs along on an alien and rigorously mathematical logic, like the steam-powered analogue computer after which it is named. Difference Engine might not sell you on contemporary classical music if it’s not your thing already, but it’s a rewarding listen for those with the patience required for the form.

The piece begins with all five musicians performing at the same piano. While the intertwining melody lines, hypnotic chord phrases and subtle bass figures initially suggest an overtly minimalist direction, Topology rapidly expand the scope of the work to encompass a stylistic perspective so broad and egalitarian so as to effectively dwarf the ensemble’s already considerable legacy of accomplishments. It feels almost fruitless to attempt to evaluate the work on one viewing.

Within the composition’s stylistic make-up, one can discern contrasting musical aspects drawn from modernist classical, third-stream jazz, contemporary electronica, classical romanticism, jazz-fusion and indie-pop (among countless other niche vocabularies). Sub-bass synthesis supports dissonant string arrangements, lush and lyrical melodies give way to densely-layered polyrhythmic flurries and, perhaps most affectingly, upright bassist Robert Davidson’s vocals occasionally leap to the forefront – lending a rough-hewn emotional gravitas to the work’s compositional elegance.

That said – the true achievement of the piece doesn’t actually lie in the breadth of styles Topology explore but how effortlessly the quintet synthesises them into one idiosyncratic language. While there’s a great stylistic diversity contained within Ten Hands, there is actually scant novelty or eccentricity within the piece. It flows beautifully and dynamically from movement to movement and, outside of perhaps an overly loud (but nonetheless compelling) electronic loop, never jars or stalls in its evolution.

This fluidity is made doubly impressive by the fact that Ten Hands avoids overt repetition for the majority of its running time. There is a distinct developmental narrative arc to the piece that sees it expand, explode, retreat and evolve over the course of its 60-minute running time but the quintet manage to accomplish this largely without the standard crutches of heads and themes.

The fact that the entire thing was performed goddamn live with only one noticeable hitch (reedsman John Babbage triggering a sample prematurely – and muttering an amusing curse word under his breath as a result), meanwhile, is freaking unbelievable.

The constant smiles of the festival volunteers, Irma and Ibnu, despite the six-hour return trip to fetch us from the airport, and our groggy disbelief at the gridlocked traffic. The enormous support of the arts; the warm embrace of our music, to fierce applause. Madly practicing our introductions in Indonesian with Ina, the Festival Director, and Rob’s beard dance during You Can’t Touch This. The dedicated young students, staying back after a long composition workshop to continue learning. The honour of working with Ubiet, and the image of Rob frantically arranging at all hours to create the possibility of this collaboration.

I’ll remember the soupy air, the spicy nasi goreng for breakfast, the black skies releasing into afternoon storms. Topologists may have held me back from devouring potentially concert-cancelling street food, but not from the Dutch green bread, raucous durian eating contests, and illegal firework demonstrations! Thank you to Bernard, Brett, John, Rachel and Rob, for being such great travel companions, even during 2am journeys to the airport after only an hour’s sleep. Thank you also to the many people who worked hard to ensure our visit was a huge success. It was a great privilege, and pleasure, to be part of the experience.