A richly detailed, haunting set of electro-acoustic soundscapes jointly composed and performed by Thomas Newman and Rick Cox, 35 Whirlpools…was developed and realized during the 25-plus years that the two have worked as musical collaborators. This is both enigmatic and eclectic music that explores a somewhat improvisational world through a series of interlinked and contrasting pieces built of mysterious and fantastical juxtapositions of sounds.

35 Whirlpools Below Sound presents a fantastical soundworld of 19 short, richly detailed, multilayered electro-acoustic soundscapes jointly composed by Newman and Cox, whose musical friendship and ongoing working relationship date back to 1985.

These enigmatic and eclectic works, built of often-mysterious juxtapositions of sounds, have been gestating and changing shape for many years, with ever an eye toward their eventual completion and release, which this album marks. The album’s title was taken from a line in Hervey M. Cleckley’s classic psychology study, The Mask of Sanity, in which the author quotes the following sentence from one of his patient’s letters: “Until you gentlemen decide further what my occupation is, you may as well announce me as comforting 35 whirlpools below sound.”

In addition to his celebrated film scores, Newman has written for such ensembles as the Kronos Quartet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Cox has collaborated and recorded with Jon Hassell, Thomas Newman, Ry Cooder, Peter Freeman, Chas Smith, and others.

REVIEWS:

“[W]ondrous, fairy tale-like dreamscapes rub shoulders with murky ambient-drone evocations that rumble with mysterious portent.”—Textura

“[A]n eerie and fascinating soundscape that will be pretty much unlike anything else you’ve heard before .” —CD HotList

“Newman and Cox have been longtime collaborators, and on this nineteen-track album, they have put together some utterly compelling work. These soundscapes are an intriguing blend, sounding like something from a subterranean orchestra, mixed with hints of ambient and experimental music, all wrapped up in a beautiful eeriness. 35 Whirlpools Below Sound is a distinctive effort, and certainly something much different than Newman’s film works.” — Kevin Jagernauth, IndieWire

“Both renowned soundtrack-making entities, Newman and Cox have worked on this joint album for years. They ended publishing nineteen tracks that…reveal bizarre substructures and a plethora of visuals, halfway through REM (not the band) and a fluid acoustic imagery relating to semi-altered states…. Most pieces are quite aleatoric in terms of intrinsic movement and aural grain: one moment identifiably “tonal,” a minute later totally unfathomable. Loops and seamed snippets introduce us to complex systems of reduplication, at times moving rather convulsively (“Carapace”). The awareness of the past is evidently an essential source, a faint transitoriness at the basis of memories that refuse to be tagged (“Goldmine Nectarine” being the finest representation). In “Negative Rhythm” we’re confronted by inhomogeneous materials which, curiously enough, seem to stimulate a transition towards a quiescent state of mind…. Finally, you come to something like “Ashland Schine”—a woofer-quake trip across subsonic blows and inscrutable backgrounds—fully prepared to acknowledge the truth: Newman and Cox have removed any ill will from your inner mechanisms. So, the eventual wish is to keep floating amidst these nerve-recharging repercussions for another good while.”—Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes (Italy)

“Composers Newman and Cox create a world of fragmentary electro-acoustic vignettes that wander and drift between structured melodic work, textural explorations, and floating ambient worlds, reflecting the film scoring background of both. There are 19 short distinct pieces here that work together as a complete aural journey through mysterious subconscious spaces. Familiar sounds, like scraping guitar strings, a multi-tracked chorus of random piano, a toy accordion, tuned percussion, some cello, violin and clarinet juxtapose with the unfamiliar—sampled and found sounds, electronic bits, and those that are processed to a point beyond recognition, but everything fits together nicely. One piece in particular, “Goldmine Nectarine,” hints of 19th-century impressionist classical work, while several others are open-form deep-space explorations…while others yet approach the work of minimalist composers like Terry Riley. There are no rough or hard edges here, no evidence of rock, jazz, or any other standard forms, but with that said, this is not soft and pretty either, existing in a world of its own. It’s best to listen to this and just let the magic work, without trying to dissect or analyze it too much; I’m sure that’s the way it was intended, to just immerse the listener into this new strange world of ever shifting sounds and textures, occasionally revealing something faintly recognizable, but without breaking the spell. This is one of those discs that one could easily play around the clock as a soundtrack for just about any activity, inactivity, or slumber. Excuse me while I hit the repeat button again.” —Exposé magazine

“I know Rick Cox from his work with Jon Hassell as well as a couple of his previous discs on the Cold Blue label. I was familiar with Thomas Newman before this disc arrived. The music here evokes ghosts or floating spirits of some sort. An accordion drifts on waves with eerie wind-like sounds or odd samples. Soft sounds and slices of instruments (clarinet, strings) drift by. Each sound seems to be carefully selected so that everything evokes different spirits. Other worlds slowly unfold and shift into other spaces. At one point a disorienting piano sequence takes over and then fades into something else, a distant cello squeaking softly. The somber music and floating samples are carefully sewn together into a most hypnotic tapestry. There is another sequence where it sounds as if someone is breathing or snoring while a distant storm is brewing, quietly ominous. Consistently fascinating.”—Bruce Lee Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery Newsletter

“I have a feeling that this music is what one would have heard if they’d put a stethoscope to the forehead of Samuel Beckett.”—Film Score Monthly

“The 19 tracks on this release are mostly short—from just over 30 seconds to 7 minutes—but together comprise an hour of electro-acoustic works that are intriguingly experimental and richly varied…. 35 Whirlpools Below Sound is a skillfully realized work that takes us to places we have only dreamed of, using sounds that work on our imagination in new and exciting ways.” —Paul Muller, New Classic LA

“One of my favorite tracks here is ‘Mort,’ in which a mosquito’s whiny buzz is soon revealed to be a distorted human voice…or is it the other way around?… ‘Goldmine Nectarine’ is a peacefully chiming nocturne, slowed to the point of hypnosis, and lightly garlanded with the pattering static of record surface noise (although it might be the rain instead). A couple of the selections feature bass rumblings loud enough to disquiet one’s animal companions and make one wonder if an earthquake is nigh, or if the moon is about to crash into the Earth. In other words, if real estate is all about location, location, location, 35 Whirlpools is all about atmosphere, atmosphere, atmosphere. I’ve come to expect Cold Blue Music’s releases to be, for the most part, pretty, but this one is often unsettling and even threatening. Not that I am complaining. This is terrific for late-night listening…. In the darkness of its mood, this is a departure for Cold Blue Music, but I will be returning to this CD often, especially on cold nights when I feel like huddling under the blankets.” —Raymond Tuttle, Fanfare magazine

“The public notice of what is now called electroacoustic music is nowhere near as wide-spread than in the days when electronic music was a palpable force on the new music avant-garde scene. Yet there is very good work being done if you look for it. An excellent example is 35 Whirlpools Below Sound, a collaborative effort between Thomas Newman and Rick Cox. Rick is on prepared guitar, Xaphoon, cello and voice; Thomas plays a toy accordion, violin, piano and phase metals; Jeff Elmassian plays clarinet, and there are also field recordings of wind, leaves, water and cars. All of these elements (and others, to my ears) combine in various stages of transformation for 19 very evocative soundscapes. Many have a natural sort of ambiance, some less so, but altogether there is a sequence of sound events that makes very effective use of musical tone and noise to create vivid sound poetry. There’s nothing truly jarring in this whirpool, so it invites you to drift along with its ever-varying architectonics and sound washes. I found it fascinating and very worthwhile. You traverse diverse landscapes willingly and with satisfaction, and perhaps you attentively dream of other worlds as you listen. Very nice, indeed.”—Grego Edwards, Gapplegate Classical-Modern Music Review

“The 19 tracks on 35 Whirlpools Below Sound took me on one of the most fantastic, kaleidoscopic journeys into soundworlds I hardly believed could exist! My interest was triggered because the album is released on Cold Blue Music—a label focused on (West Coast) minimalism and post-minimalism—ánd because Newman teams up with Rick Cox, with whom he regularly worked since 1985. Cox is a composer and multi-instrumentalist, explorer of ‘prepared electric guitar’ techniques, who has played with the likes of Ry Cooder and Jon Hassell…. The strange title was another indication this could be something very special. It is taken from a line in Hervey M. Cleckley’s classic psychology study, The Mask of Sanity, in which the author quotes the following sentence from one of his patient’s letters: ‘Until you gentlemen decide further what my occupation is, you may as well announce me as comforting 35 whirlpools below sound.’

“Scoring successful soundtracks obviously provides the luxury to break completely free of the usual constraints and create something beyond any expectation. Simply put, this is one of the strangest albums that I can imagine. And not just because of the fantastical soundworlds Newman and Cox create in these ‘short, richly detailed, multilayered electro-acoustic soundscapes’—but also because of the way these sounds are recorded, the depth of the sound itself.”—Ambientblog

“A complete aural journey through mysterious subconscious spaces…. This is one of those discs that one could easily play around the clock…. Excuse me while I hit the repeat button again.” —Exposé magazine

“Electro-acoustic works that are intriguingly experimental and richly varied…. 35 Whirlpools Below Sound is impressive…[it] takes us to places we have only dreamed of, using sounds that work on our imagination in new and exciting ways.” —Paul Muller, New Classic LA