BELOW THE HORIZON

The first in the Rimarimba series, 1983's Below The Horizon, feature Robert Cox in exploratory mode, figuring out exactly how to make his music. There's a pleasure in hearing how he feels out the parameters of his aesthetic, here - there's a boxy minimalism, slightly clunky and charming with it, that reflects the home-spun, improvisatory tenor of the compositions. It's ambitious music, though, wanting to do the most and the best it can with its limited resources. Cox himself admits to not being "pre-wired" to making this music, but that only makes it more compelling: "Were I to be properly musical, it wouldn't actually work as well in some ways; it'd be just another album of contemporary clattery music."