Martin Archer: 88 Enemies

After talking about 18 musicians and music in 12 parts, here are 88 enemies, those enemies being the keys of a piano.

Lucy wants a piano for the house, and we're thinking of going to Crystal Palace for a reconnaissance shopping trip possibly as early as this weekend. The day the piano was delivered to our house in Woking, when I was about seven, my mother explained that we'd be given lessons in how to play it. I banged on a fistful of enemies and declared that I probably didn't need lessons because I could already play. Even then my sense of musicality had wide boundaries.

There are times on this album when Martin Archer affects the, shall we say, primitivism of my seven-year-old playing. It's not designed for extended pleasure. Sometimes, particularly in MF — FM the composition explicitly denies pleasure, like a Godard film. Nevertheless, there are plenty of small joys to be glimpsed, if you keep your wits about you.

Martin Archer's sleevenotes say, "The title of the series describes my relationship with the keyboard. Inspiration came from the piano works of Stockhausen. Boulez, Cage, Feldman and Nancarrow". A different set of influences, then, from those Martin took for his organ studies. Though once again his angular tics and determination to undermine any melody assert themselves over everything else.

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