Dave Soldier is a collaborative musician, even working with animals. One of his most famous (and interesting) projects was to form the Thai Elephant Orchestra, an ensemble of 14 elephants who played instruments that Soldier had built for them. He is also involved in composing rock and jazz, together with experimental music, and music for children. On his latest composition he has teamed up with Egyptologist Rita Lucarelli to help him in the translation of the Thutmose III version of The Book Of The Amduat, one of the earliest known illustrated book and sound scores, painted on walls in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings. This translation forms the basis for Soldier's opera The Eighth Hour Of Amduat, a mixture of choral and improvisational music that leads the listener through the Egyptian Netherworld – occasionally stopping off at some jazz club, where Marshall Allen (in the guise of sun god Sun Ra) unleashes a much needed blast of alto. Elsewhere, electronic cats howl, the orchestra saws away and mezzosoprano Sahoko Sato Timpone hits all the right notes, but for the most part it is hard to fully comprehend the narrative. That said The Eighth Hour Of Amduat is not without its moments of excitement – the musical confrontation between Marshall Allen and guitarist Nick Millevoi being one thrilling chapter that suddenly slaps some action into Soldier's otherwise bewildering production.