Orchestra of Sound

Review by David Cox

We have been attending the Edinburgh festival since 1986 and in those days most shows were based in the New Town, especially round the Assembly Rooms. In more recent years the shift of the festival has moved across the bridge , especially to Pleasance. ( Oddly, we didn't see any shows at Pleasance Courtyard this year, our one show there was cancelled).  

As we have 5 full days this year I thought I would fit in 2 "themed" days to enable us to visit shows and venues we wouldn't normally frequent so today, we were only seeing shows in the "New Town" starting at the Hill Street Theatre for the wonderful "Kinky Boots" before moving onto Greenside for "Orchestra Of Sound".

I always liked the premise of this show with Canadian Paul Snider specialising in playing unusual items to create a unique sound landscape. He calls himself a "sound miner" which is the perfect description of what he does. Most of the show involves him playing a keyboard (the music supplied by the sounds he creates from hitting these strange objects) whilst a video runs behind him.

What this film show does is to show how Paul creates these noises. We see him hammering bridges, an aircraft in the jungle, tanks, walls etc. These are interesting images but can divert you from the music and is a little repetitive. I may have been a little naïve in expecting to see more of his unusual instruments but of course, practical considerations would have made this virtually impossible.

Paul is a highly engaging performer, likeable, funny and informative about the music. I would have liked more explanations about all the visuals, in particular why was there an airplane in the jungle, where was it and how did Paul find it.

The plus side for me was the music. I loved the sound, the melodies provided, the repetition (often referencing Philip Glass, who I love) and the way it built to a swirling climax. This would have been one of the few shows that I would have left having purchased the soundtrack, but sadly, this does not seem to have been recorded.

It takes all sorts to make up an Edinburgh festival audience and I was intrigued to watch a father with his young daughter. It was a bold choice to take a child to but you could see she was intrigued by what she was watching and spent the second half of the show standing in the aisle swaying to the music. You can be a reviewer at any age.

If you want to see and hear something truly unique at this year's festival head to the Lime Studio at Greenside on George Street. This also vindicated my decision to spend a day watching shows in the New Town, an experiment I will definitely repeat next year.