Nice article about us by the Institute
http://icmp.co.uk/news/institutes-experimental-orchestra-launches-debut-album

Very excited about this! We'll be playing material from the CD, plus a hint of some new original material we're working on. CDs will be on sale. But you can order CD and ticket together at a discount from our site. Follow the links! And students from ICMP just pay £3 on the door to get in. See you there!

Engaging with an in-depth exploration of experimental sounds, We Are Children (We Make Sound) started out as a contemporary music orchestra based in the college of Kilburn. Students after hours would sit and ‘jam’ with a variety of instruments including guitars, bass, mandolin, drums and percussion, flute, clarinet, strings, piano, vocals or anything anyone came along with. Maintaining the outlook that there would be no fixed style during sessions, instead they would all collaborate in exploration of the realm between rock, experimental and contemporary music. It didn’t necessarily matter whether the instruments fit together properly – this was the whole point, to dive deep to the core of the experimental and find some middle ground where harmony and bliss would be found. Under the guidance of Audrey Riley, cellist and arranger, they managed to begin stringing together some absolutely divine musical pieces, leading to them playing live gigs and eventually deciding to record their repertoire for release. These would be based on Audrey’s label, AR Records, which would be the perfect way to release some of the contemporary music the group had managed to produce.
Through his involvement in the orchestra (playing guitar), Mentha helped bring forth the idea that dubstep could harbour itself in such a place and that he had the knowledge and imagination implemented to do this. This would be an exception, featuring 3 remixes from Mentha (One including Murk) which would feature on vinyl, all holding that original and interesting feel yet ensuring the tempo was fixed at 140.

‘Gaved – Electronic sound-world meets piano, cello and flute in a dubstep instrumental.’
‘Gaved’ captivates you straight from the first second, calmly soothing through a distant soundscape, slowly developing through piano notes and cello chords as the track draws you into a cacophony of cicada sounds. The drop belts you with a smooth surging bass line and a technical drum pattern, still maintaining the original sounds taken from the orchestra’s instruments, placing them acutely throughout the structure of the song. I especially love the use of the orchestra during the mid-break, in which the cello and piano are left to resonate, birthing absolute atmosphere to the song until the track leads to its penultimate point.

‘Circles - Five acoustic guitars merge and morph into an oneiric soundscape with evolving polyrhythmic shapes.’
‘Circles’ begins with a heavy bass kick amidst dwindling atmosphere, until the track leads into the drop. At this point complex percussion is released, holding a swaying feel disrupted momentarily by polyrhythmic textures. More of the guitars begin to engage and feed into one another between the enhancing layers of sound, making this track perfect for anyone who likes escapist music, as you can really lose yourself in the sound.

‘15:15:15 – Contemporary fuses with rock and electronic, a wide sonic mixture of live and programmed elements.’
I’d personally have to choose ’15 15 15’ as my favourite of the three tracks, as I absolutely love the build-up and arrangement of the guitars during the introduction. It brings an element of paradise as the chords engulf your mind and the flowing bass line ties the track into a journey of sound, with the percussion lacing the track with that dubstep feel and swagger.

We Are Children (We Make Sound) and in particular this release from Mentha, depicts exactly what we’re about here at Spectrum. For Audrey, this was completely uncharted territory as she’d had no previous experience with the dubstep sound, so on her behalf we thank her for making this happen. The release isn’t something you come across every day, deviating away from the general style of minimal dubstep and has involved a lot of effort for years from everyone involved in the orchestra. Every song is beautifully constructed by Mentha and of course Murk and we strongly suggest that if you’re going to support anything right now, this is one of those things. These remixes and the originals will be available for purchase on 12” vinyl via Rough Trade East Store from Tuesday 12^th November and is available on digital via iTunes.