Orion is a newish project of longtime Ball of Wax friends and collaborators Mark Johnson and Mike Bundy – born, I presume, of the pandemic, though I don’t know for sure. We have heard all manner of sounds from these two since Mark’s appearance as Amateur Radio Operator on Ball of Wax 1, generally involving some combination of guitars, drums, and synthesizers. “The Woods” is a calming musical exploration, all guitar and synth with a quarter-note pulse that could be a kick drum, or a synthesized kick drum, or just the ineffable, insistent ‘wuh’ that keeps it all together. The title is firmly grounded to earth, but I can’t help but imagine I’m floating through space as I traverse my way through this piece. Chords and tones float by, individual notes pop out and sparkle in the stratosphere, and is it me, or is that synth line that pops up about halfway through almost an inversion of the classic melody from Close Encounters of the Third Kind? If I may make an attempt to reconcile the earthly title and celestial sounds of “The Woods,” this would make a terrific soundtrack for an evening spent lying in a clearing in the woods, welcoming interstellar travelers.
Orion will join us live an in person at the Ball of Wax 68 release show, June 18th at Cafe Racer!