There is nothing like playing in a beautiful old, marble,
high ceiling Cathedral. These buildings were designed
to magnify sounds, magnify voices. But they work equally
as well with percussion. It was a joy to perform at All
Saints, as the reverberation time was long, and the sound
was big. I was able to take advantage of this by timing
things and playing with the reverb as another sound at my
disposal. I hope you enjoy listening to this recording as
much as I enjoyed performing that night.

~ MB

You can watch a video of this concert here: youtu.be/7hha2YBnsks

“Bettine’s work is the sonic equivalent of action painting. Using mallets as brushes and the Gongs as a canvas, he creates vast washes of vibration and punctuates them with stabs and slashes of crescendo. He’s a combination of abstraction and visceral physicality.”
~ Brian Ritchie, curator of MONA FOMA Festival, Hobart, Australia

“Michael Bettine, a master gong musician, was the first performer I heard at MOFO last weekend. The sounds he was able to create, using metal and its interaction with air, were captivating.”
~ Jann Williams, FIRE UP WATER DOWN blog, Australia

“Bettine played the room as much as the instruments, exploring the beating tones of vibrations that when combined sounded like a train rumbling underground. Creating a shifting wall of sound that washed over the audience, Bettine offered us a distinctive exploration into the craft of percussion.”
~ Delia Bartle, Real Time Arts, Australia

released May 16, 2017