Rhythmic Movement Disorder

Robbie Avenaim’s RMD has been a long time in the making. His debut solo release to surface in a career that stretches back to the late 1980s, collects together the better part of a decade’s worth of experimentation with the possibilities of prepared percussion, irregular rhythm, modulated pulse and low-tech electronics. Avenaim is perhaps best known for his improvised collaborations alongside the likes of Otomo Yoshihide, Oren Ambarchi (with whom he released the transcendental ‘Clockwork’) and Keith Rowe. But his work explores more than improvisation and the proof lies in this incredibly detailed electro-acoustic outing. With its title referencing a particular syndrome usually associated with the involuntarily movement of limbs, the pace and form of Rhythmic Movement Disorder reflects this sense of frenetic activity. As uncontrolled as the syndrome may be however, at no point does Avenaim lose focus. Rather his effortless and articulate percussive sensibilities flex to produce a dense and tirelessly refined compositional approach that is brought to bare with stunningly rich and varied results.