Listen to “To Dream is to Forget”, the New Album From Hidden Orchestra
Since its inception, producer and composer Joe Acheson has carefully developed Hidden Orchestra from a simple initial project concept of ‘an imagined orchestra’ into something that has flourished into a widespan musical universe of its own, that is truly unlike anything else.
After multiple albums with respected independent label Tru Thoughts, continued support from the likes of The Guardian, BBC6Music, FIP, JazzFM, several awards for innovative soundtrack work intertwined with AI and consistent global touring of an energetic and intriguing live show featuring two duelling drummers, their reach and influence has swollen to make them one of the highest regarded names in independent music today and has even led to collaborations beyond the world of music, with The British Library, Kew Gardens and National Trust all enlisting Acheson for unique installation projects. Yet regardless of the current brief in front of him, the initial mission statement to ‘create electronic music with acoustic means’ remains.
Acheson achieves this task with aplomb, conjuring intricate yet expansive worlds of sound, built in collaboration with a select core of talented musicians, combined with Acheson’s bespoke samples, field recordings, and carefully honed composition and arrangement sensibilities. Detail and craftsmanship are at the core of everything he does, even musically directing a diverse array of instrumentalists to capture unique samples of both improvised and scored nature. This ingenious approach really sets his work apart from the crowd and allows Acheson’s artistic vision to come to life exactly as intended.
While new album ‘To Dream Is To Forget’ certainly maintains this mission statement, it does also bring about a sea change for the project on a few fronts. Released via Acheson’s own newly formed Lone Figures imprint, the musical direction for the record involved a concerted effort to condense musical themes and ideas into more immediate arrangements, with less utilisation of field recordings than previously released material.
Predominantly sticking to this ethos has indeed meant an average track length reduction throughout, however there is still the same high level of musicality and no shortage of ideas within this rich collection of 10 original tracks.
A familiar cast of contributors return - with long term members Jamie Graham (drums), Tim Lane (drums), and Poppy Ackroyd (violin) all present, alongside newer personnel - Jack McNeill (clarinet) and Rebecca Knight (cello) all helping to realise Acheson’s musical vision.
The album title is taken from a line by Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa - “No one tires of dreaming, because to dream is to forget, and forgetting does not weigh on us, it is a dreamless sleep throughout which we remain awake.”
With the idea of ‘reimagining’ playing a key role in the creation of the project, this title track leans into the overarching concept and nature of dreams reworking everyday experience into new subconscious stories…
And this seems an apt calling card for a collection that draws influence from a fantastic and diverse array of places. Musically at any given point you are as likely to hear sounds akin to Max Cooper or Four Tet as you are Stravinsky, Debussy, and Ravel.
First single ‘Little Buddy Move’ has origins in a piece of music written to accompany a 30-foot tall giant puppet performing outdoor shows around Scotland. While ‘Skylarks’ was heavily adapted from work made for a radio documentary by Cathy Fitzgerald about three different people's experiences of being in the sky, using an analog modular synth to recreate the sound of a hang-glider's altimeter.
‘Reverse Learning’ was created as a repository for fragments of ideas that didn’t fit with other tracks. Referring to a neurobiological theory which suggests that dreaming is a process used to create storage space in the brain – literally dreaming in order to forget things, a process of 'unlearning'. Mirroring this thought musically by cycling through a large number of musical ideas and a plethora of drum patterns.
Pulling inspiration from almost everywhere Acheson explains further:
“I’m influenced by everything I've ever heard, a lot of these sounds aren't inherently musical, but I’ll try to find something with a musical quality within it. I also like the intentions of a lot of sacred choral music, creations that look upwards, this has a big aesthetic influence on the way I try to create.”
Listen to “To Dream is to Forget” on: Soundcloud