Hermes Ensemble's Pink Floyd Project on Belgian radio
Written by Matt   
Thursday, 06 January 2005

Back in September last year, we reported on the intriguing sounding Pink Floyd Project, that was performed at the Klara Festival in Brussels, Belgium, on the 9th September.

We've just heard that the performance of Atom Heart Mother will be broadcast on Belgian Radio 1 (Vrt) this coming Monday, January 10th on the Cucamonga programme, which airs at 9pm (GMT +1 hour).

Our friend Charles over at FloydStuff.com reviewed the whole show for us, and here's an extract looking at the Atom Heart Mother segment...

...At 8pm sharp the conductor Koen Kessels entered the stage along with a 5-piece horn section (2 trumpets, 3 trombones) and two pianists. They took off with a classical piece of Xenakis which sounded as if it could burst into Atom Heart Mother at any time - but didn't.

A very clever adventurous tune which also saw musicians actually changing spots during the 30 minute performance. Next up was a WYWH styled improvisation with half a dozen musicians tuning radios on stage and around the venue.

After this, the rest of the Hermes Ensemble entered the stage including a cello, two basses, drum, percussion and three violins, plus the Collegium Vocal which consisted of 6 male and 6 female singers. The 25 minutes that followed will be a milestone in my memory with what was a 24 karat performance of Atom Heart Mother - not an easy one where the details were left out but a surprisingly deep performance with many details to every aspect.

What struck me most was the importance of the vocals in the piece. With a little help from the DJ, who sneaked in a few original guitar lines from the piece. Now and then you visit a gig where a single song is worth the travelling alone. Fat Old Sun during Gilmour's Meltdown gig was such an occasion, and this was one too...