Dreaming Machines

Jon Solomon September 10, 2009 4:00AM

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On the Dreaming Machines' self-titled debut, Arnie Swenson and Kurt Bauer use various instruments from around the world to create some intriguing tempo-less excursions. Their second effort, Speed of Flying Creatures, covers similar territory, with the two musicians using worldly instruments such as the shakuhachi flute and the Chinese san xien and erhu to create equally fascinating songs. On the album's opener, "Down by the Riverside," which is pretty much undecipherable until about seven minutes in (when Swenson starts singing), they use a prayer bowl, Turkish cümbüs, flute, African harp and an Indian mridigan drum. Aside from a few up-tempo cuts (if you can call them that), like "Escape From County," which the pair has dubbed "extreme Chinese hillbilly," the album is strangely meditative.

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