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TAKING IT TO THE STREETS: DRAWN FROM LIFE

Taking Tiger mountain Echoes of Brian Eno's recent work permeate Drawn From Life, his second collaborative effort with Frankfurt-based German DJ, J. Peter Schwalm. But, whereas with a lesser artist these traces might be taken as the outline of a tried-and-true formula, with Eno they represent reference-points for his continuing experiments with sound and light.

New-comers to Eno will find Drawn From Life somewhat more accessible than his slow-moving ambient pieces which, as lovely as they are, may sound too strange and remote to the average listener unfamiliar with his work. Certainly, the rhythmic approach of this album and the proliferation of electronica in general in recent times should serve to make this recording approachable to the chill-out brigade.

Seasoned listeners, who need no such enticements, can look forward to more of the cool, crisp beats of The Drop but with a somewhat more 'human' feel as exemplified on Bloom - which contains samples of Eno's two young daughter's happily gurgling in the background - and Persis with its use of a real string section. Think of the mood and rhythms of Iced World mixed in with the tones and timbres of his installation CDs. Now take two steps to the left and one step forward so that you wind up in a place not quite like any you've been to before. That's where you'll find Drawn From Life.

To put it another way, The Drop is a view of the world from the top of the Himalayas - glittering, cold, isolated but beautiful nonetheless - while Drawn From Life takes elements of the same approach but utilises them at ground-level, in the midst of human activity (so that, given this context, the album's title seems very appropriate).

As for J. Peter Schwalm's overall influence and contribution to this project, that's difficult for me to gauge as I haven't heard any of his previous releases apart from Music For Onmyo-ji, his year 2000 collaboration with Eno. However, Eno's willingness to record with the relatively unknown Schwalm indicates that he's probably someone worth checking out.

After a handful of listenings Drawn From Life compares very well with The Drop and I Dormienti, my favourite Eno releases from the past few years. As an indication of future directions in Eno's sound I, for one, will be enjoying this recording for a long time while also licking my lips in anticipation of the rumoured vocal album that's apparently been in the works for a while now.

Track Listing: From This Moment / Persis / Like Pictures Part#1 / Like Pictures Part#2 / Night Traffic / Rising Dust / Intenser / More Dust / Bloom / Two Voices / Bloom (Instrumental)

Composed, performed and produced by Brian Eno and J. Peter Schwalm

Mixed and pre-mastered by J. Peter Schwalm

Personnel: Leo Abrahams - guitar on Rising Dust and Intenser / Laurie Anderson - voice on Like Pictures Part#2 / Neil Catchpole - live strings on Persis, Like Pictures Part#2, Intenser, Bloom and Rising Dust, voice on Intenser / Holger Czukay - IBM Dictaphone on Like Pictures Part#1 / Heiko Himmighoffen - percussion on Night Traffic, Rising Dust and Intenser / Lynn Gerlach - voice on Rising Dust / Irial and Darla Eno - voices on Bloom / Michy Nakao - voice on Like Pictures Part#1

Selected Reviews: BRIAN ENO AND J. PETER SCHWALM: DRAWN FROM LIFE by John Aizlewood / The Guardian APRIL 2001 - BRIAN ENO & J. PETER SCHWALM: DRAWN FROM LIFE by Julian Cowley / The Wire MAY 2001 - BRIAN ENO & J. PETER SCHWALM: DRAWN FROM LIFE by Stephen Dalton / Uncut MAY 2001 - BRIAN ENO & J. PETER SCHWALM: DRAWN FROM LIFE by Steve Ciabattoni / College Music Journal MAY 2001 - BRIAN ENO & J. PETER SCHWALM: DRAWN FROM LIFE by Mark Richardson / Pitchfork SEPTEMBER 2001