I can only guess at where I got this from. One possibility is the Music Commons seminar on 6 May 2005 that I mentioned once before. That seems likely because that was in Brighton and it was about licensing music under Creative Commons: this CD comes from a Brighton record label is licensed under Creative Commons (like the Fading Ways CD). The other possibility would be the MusicWorks convention in Glasgow in August that year.
I only took it from its sealed cellophane wrapping a few hours ago. I've listened to it a couple of times. First, superficial impressions were good. That's to say: I liked the sound. It's quite a complex mix of acoustic playing, found sounds and electronic instruments. The record label website says "Ward are giving us music with which to describe and analyze the schizophrenic experience." That would explain why it's not an easy listen. The Last.fm list of similar artists isn't much of a help in giving you a sense of what this sounds like if, like me, you've never heard of any of these similar artists. I think Ward may sound a bit like Matmos, but I couldn't swear to it because I don't listen to them a lot (too difficult).
The trouble is I can tell I'd have to listen to this album tens of times to get the most out of it. And it shames me to say it, but it's unlikely that I'll find time to do that, in the absence of the stamp of validation from some other authority like the Mixing It boys. So, knowing that I'm unlikely ever to 'get to the bottom of' this music, there's a fair chance I may never listen to it again. Sorry.
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