Vanessa Tomlinson - The Space Inside (2018)

Vanessa Tomlison is without question one of Australia’s most important percussionists.

For over two decades, Tomlinson has been at the forefront of exploratory practices around various forms of percussion. Working both in a solo capacity and as one half of the exploratory music outfit Clocked Out, her work orbits broadly around extended approaches, site specific investigations, minimalist reductions and a sense of embodied play.

Whilst her work as part of Clocked Out is well documented, her solo records are sparse at best. This is as much due to her desire to prioritise the ‘sense of intense presence’ made available in live performance, as anything else.

With the The Space Inside Tomlinson sets out a very specific set of conditions to explore; a method for creating the opportunity for intense exploration within the recorded format. This is a vertical music, one that starts on a single plane and descends and ascends from that point. Her work here is characterised by a deep focus and engagement with singular objects; specifically the concert bass drum and the tam tam.

Each of her chosen instruments on this recording produce both audible and physical vibrations. It is this potential of the transcendence between the ears and the body that guides Tomlinson’s approach to each of the compositions recorded here. This is music to be consumed. by.