Curtis Glatter is a member of Nathan Hubbard's Skeleton Key Orchestra. In addition, the two percussionists have been working together as a duo since the early 2000s. Rivulet is their debut album. It consists of three compositions written in 2001-2002, premiered between 2001 and 2003, and recorded in the studio throughout 2004. Each piece is designed as a soundtrack to silent films by Carl Theodore Dreyer (Vampyr), Jean Cocteau (Mobile: Alabaster) and Akira Kurasawa (Meikyu). If there is such a thing as a "usual" percussion duo, this pair surely is not one. Glatter and Hubbard play an extremely large assortment of instruments, from tuned percussion (vibraphone, glockenspiel, etc.) to all kinds of trash metal and found objects (including music stands and shovels), but also prepared piano, chord organ, turntables, samples of previous gigs, field recordings, and megaphone. Vampyr is a shocking workout in the art of extremes, bouncing to and fro between trashy two-men bashing and supernaturally quiet episodes of whispers and atmospheres. Mobile: Alabaster is less manic, structurally more complex and generally more immersive. Here, musicianship and compositional skills shine as the piece builds bridges between free improvisation, musique concrète and chamber music. Dominated by bamboo xylophone and vibraphone, Meikyu is by far the most melody driven piece of the set -- a good thing, since by then the listener is getting tiresome of pie-plate drum kits. Simple cycling motives are intertwined with field recordings, electronics, and prepared piano to form evocative soundscapes that sadly lack the narrative development found in Mobile: Alabaster. Rivulet offers a perplexing yet stimulating listen. Of course, and even though that is not all this album is about, a good predisposition toward the percussive realm is strongly recommended. ~ François Couture, Rovi