Adrian Utley

'In C' (album stream)

BY Josiah HughesPublished Oct 10, 2013

As previously reported, Portishead guitarist Adrian Utley has been working on a vast interpretation of Terry Riley's beloved minimalist composition In C. Now, we can hear the full hour-long piece.

Riley's original composition comprised 53 individual musical phrases that can be layered and repeated according to how the player chooses. Utley utilized 20 guitars and some organs for the work.

Here's a statement he delivered to The Quietus:

I've been exploring the sonic possibilities of massed guitars for a while now in various contexts from pure noise to the sacred choral music of Arvo Part. So it was interesting to see what would happen if we had 20 electric guitars plus organs playing 'In C'. It is an amazing piece of writing and original thought. A new free idea of organised group playing. The beginnings of what we know as minimalism.

Check out Adrian Utley's In C below. The piece will be released on October 14 via Invada Records.

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