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Alastair Galbraith is the glue that binds the New Zealand underground. His work ranges from achingly lyrical violin from artists as disparate as Peter Jeffries and the Bats to the feedback squalls he conjures as a member of A Handful of Dust. However , is greatest achievements are the otherworldly miniatures he crafts for his own solo albums. Although the music on the is CD was originally released on the storied Siltbreeze label, it couldn't have cone from anyone byt Alastair Galbraith from anyplace beside Dunedin, New Zealand, or any time other than 1998-1992. Albraith's writing intimates an awareness of oblivion and a yearning to transcend it , These classic tracks - including an amazing selection of bonus material - prefigure a generation of raw songsmithing and offer a spellbinding glimpse into the world of one of rock's great unheralded talents.

Multi-talented Alastair Galbraith is the glue that binds the New Zealand underground. His work ranges from achingly lyrical violin for artists as disparate as Peter Jefferies and the Bats, to the feedback squalls he conjures as member of A Handful Of Dust, to the otherworldly miniatures he crafts for his own solo albums. However, in recent years, Galbraith, along with American Matt De Gennaro, has developed another remarkable performance idiom, one that is positioned closer to the sounding sculpture of Harry Bertoia. In Long Wires in Dark Museums, architectural idiosyncrasies are transformed into nuanced and hypnotic audio. Wires -- some as long as 100 feet -- are affixed throughout a building. When the wires are taught and stroked with rosined hands or a piece of leather, longitudinal vibrations are sent to the points of attachment, creating a natural resonator. It is not the wires that make the sound, but the wall, railing or window frames at their end; wire length and room acoustics determine the pitch. The result, achieved in a veil of total darkness, is a beauttiful and eerie confluence of chance and accident, architecture and improvisation. As Galbraith himself puts it, "There is some quite magical feeling of communion turning the lights off and making the building sing."

"Life for me has always been an improvisation, but I used to only present a distillation of it, some summation. Now the living process comes to appeal... We love, we klutz, we act, we improvise; in real life we almost always improvise."Alastair Galbraith

"Rich, multitextured... the tonal purity of the sound as it resonates and bounces off the walls of the church is simultaneously soothing and engaging."Austin Chronicle