Archipelago

The free folk improvisational ensemble Archipelago (meaning a grouping of islands, or in Greek, "Master of the Sea", and pronouced ar-keh-PELL-ah-go) has no set lineup, does not promote itself or its players, but includes every member of the Backporch Revolution collective and other guests invited to play. The concept: intuitive absorption and retransmission of sound? An attempt to annhilate the ego through an immersion into pure vibration and space? A bunch or weird noise made by a strange mystery cult? Instrumentation consists of guitars, stand-up bass, harmonium, cello, sitar, dobro, saxophone, tamboura, melodica, xylophone, dan-mo, hammered dulcimer, digiridoo, a rather large gong, and all manner of hand drums, percussion pieces and other noise makers from household implements to home brewing accessories to home-made electronics and circuit bent toys... not to mention live turntablism and other improvised electro-acoustics. Archipelago gets together three or four times a year and records a live session; their eighth recording from early 2007 is now available as Images of Popular Deities.