rhys chatham • hard edge

I first started playing trumpet with rap electronic rhythms around 1984, but I was in weird position. I was already a fully developed musician, but I had only been playing trumpet for a year when I got into rap rhythms. So I wasn't ready to play out on the instrument, even though I wanted to. So what I decided to do was keep my trumpet playing in the closet for the most part until I was ready on a technical level to come out. In the meantime, I continued to develop my work with electric guitars that I had started in 1977. But by 1993, I felt I was ready to make the switch over, so that's what I did.

Making the Hard Edge album was a completely different story. I had accomplished what I originally set out to do on the Neon CD, which was to make the trumpet sound a bit like a guitar. For the Wire Edition CD, I wanted to achieve as much variety as possible in the playing I did, where some of the tracks would be open trumpet, some with mute, and some completely fuzzed out and distorted. However, another element came into play...

...Trevor (Manwaring) suggested that I go into a studio with Gary Smith , Pat Thomas, Lou Ciccotelli and Gary Jeff and do a "first take" kind of approach, I was kind of nervous about this. But after an initial playing session in London with the musicians in question, I loosened up and decided to go for it. It's a different kind of sound than I would normally go for, and I ended up being very pleased with the result.

I had forgotten how much I like playing with live musicians, especially drums and bass. It was a real pleasure working with Lou and Gary Jeff, who were coming out of the band God/Ice as well as playing in Mass. Drum 'n' bass is all very well, but nothing replaces the energy of a live drummer and bass player on stage. I had almost forgotten this until I played with these guys.
Rhys Chatham Interviewed by Rob Young 1999

1. Hard Edge
2. Wave
3. Flecks
4. Six Die
5. Dots
6. Supple Shape
7. Mellow Mind
8. Scratch
9. Crackle
10. Flash
11. Hiptwist
12. Rough Edge
13. Flesh
14. The Boiler
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Rhys Chatham • Electric and Acoustic Trumpet
Gary Smith • Electric Stereo Guitar
Pat Thomas • Keyboards and Live Electronics
Gary Jeff • Bass and Live Electronics
Lou Ciccotelli • Drums, Percussion
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"Contextual questions are no longer an issue for me"
Rhys Chatham