David Van Tieghem - Safety In Numbers (1987)

While I'm still in an 80s electronica kind of mood, here's something by Washington DC native David Van Tieghem.  Something of an everything-including-the-kitchen-sink percussion specialist, Van Tieghem has played on sessions for Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Talking Heads.... the list is endless.  His first solo album appeared on Warners in 1984 and has never been reissued; this is his second, which came out on Peter Baumann's Private Music label.

There's certainly plenty of odd percussive layers mixed in amongst the synths on Safety In Numbers, which elevate it from reasonably interesting 80s electronic album to something altogether more rewarding.  Van Tieghem is credited with, among, several other things, metal ashtrays, plastic tubes, soda cans, corrugated plastic hose and suchlike.  His main hardware appears to be Fairlights, with the long list also including DX7 and DX100, Akai S900, Korg Poly800 and a LinnDrum.

Some big name collaborators pop up too: Ryuchi Sakamoto on early highlight Thunder Lizard and on Clear; Tony Levin adds his distinctive Chapman Stick sound to Night Of The Cold Noses, and there's also a piano part for "Blue" Gene Tyranny on Crystals, another of the more relaxed highlights.  Another plus point for 80s artiness is that just over half of the tracks started life as dance commissions, amongst which Future and All Safe, for the Boston Ballet, are particular highlights for me.

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