Ever wondered what's all the fuss with Michael Nyman? Aside from being credited with being the first to use the term minimalism to define a movement of music (done while writing about "The Great Learning" by Cardew's Scratch Orchestra), it's not readily apparent what real chops Nyman displayed to gain his own reputation as a force in minimalism. Decay Music is most likely it.
The LP was produced for Brian Eno's Obscure label, a subsidary of Island. The music was for an early Peter Greenaway movie, like many of his works, but it didn't make the cut.
That's fine. I like the music on it's own. Some music for Greenaway that also counts as good Nyman, though not as good as Decay Music, is Drowning by Numbers.
