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Robert Horton made a monumental splash into the scene of free music in 2005. With nearly 30 years of experience under his belt, the catalog of recordings he's accumulated is enough to make even the most prolific artists blush. After taking a hiatus from releasing music from the mid 90s until now, the dam finally broke in 2005 with the release of "Angel Humming Through Wire" on Foxglove. Ever since, Horton has released albums on Celebrate Psi-Phenomenon, Jyrk, Important, Nosordo, Last Visible Dog and more.
"Dirt Speak" is Horton's first solo CD release under his own name. When he plays with close collaborators Tom Carter (of Charalambides), Yellow Swans, and others, Horton takes on the role of primary curator. He weaves his magic into the sounds of others with mathematical precision. In his solo works, he takes this boundless inspiration and pushes it even further. Organic, insular drones are the backbone of "Dirt Speak," but the heavy tinges of folk, jazz, and musique concrète are equally important to its unique sound.
Horton will use anything that makes any kind of sound as a source for his music. In addition to more traditional instrumentation, "Dirt Speak" also features the use of vibrators, an electric toothbrush, and even the sound of contact mics in a fire. In a world full of copycats and fakers, Robert Horton is one of the most original voices to emerge in music in recent memory.
tracklist:
1. magus
2. long period event
3. haiku bamboo
4. fire
5. decayed time (found objects)
6. musclefish
7. what is left unsaid
8. dirt speak mix
9. tuning emperor norton (audio sample)
Press for Robert Horton:
"Every time I hear this guy I think of Fahey’s America, something about the planet-gobbling breadth of ambition I guess. Either way, this is another necessary installment" - David Keenan, Volcanic Tongue
"Horton seems to derive perverse pleasure in getting pretty sounds of some of the most unlikely sources. Even at his droniest and dreamiest, it's not uncommon to discover he was using vibrators and electric toothbrushes, vacuum cleaners or footwear. And this disc follows suit. He employs the usual array of soundmakers: Boot, sex machine, pump organ, dulcimer, vibrator, turntables, contact mics and on and on. Weaving all of the disparate sounds these items produce deftly into gorgeous dronelike shapes. This record in particular sound especially guitar heavy, one track with buzzing slipper slide, another with repetitive strum, over some deconstructed Appalachia, some weird blown out fuzzy psych, but these 'jams' are balanced by a delicate world of drone, pulses and shimmers, some truly lovely stuff. The most far out track has to be "Tern", where Horton performs solo on a barometer, creating a clattery clanging percussive workout. As always, super stuff!!" - Aquarius Records