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- WHAT'S RATTLIN'?
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:: The "Periodical" Digest
for Canterbury Music Addicts ::
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Issue #
203
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Friday, September 12th,
2003
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Dear fellow Rattlers,
I know, it's been a while... A very long while indeed ! I
guess things got a bit busy here, lots of other stuff to do, and -
I must say - not a lot of outside input to lure me out of my WR
inactivity... Anyway, I will try not to forget anything in the
long blurb that follows. Lots of nice things have happened on the
Canterbury scene in the last months. I hope nobody missed any
interesting gigs near them - one thing I make sure is to keep the
Calyx "concerts" page regularly updated, and to a lesser extent
the "new releases" and discography sections.
But let's begin with a piece of very sad news indeed. In
late August, we mourned the loss of a major writer and journalist
in Ian MacDonald. Brother of Bill MacCormick of Matching Mole
fame, Ian was the editor and a major contributor to the New
Musical Express durings its (perhaps not coincidentally) most
Canterbury-friendly phase, ca. 1972-75. His writings on Soft
Machine, in particular the January 1975 two-part, multi-page
feature, are classic stuff. Of course he went on to write more
great stuff, most famously his Beatles book "Revolution In The
Head", a true work of genius. His essay on Shostakovitch was also
acclaimed in classical circles. A collection of some of his pop
writing, "The People's Music", had recently been published. He had
other books in the pipeline, including a much awaited study of
David Bowie's oeuvre. I am personally very sad that a man of such
great talent should leave this world much too soon.
Going back in time somewhat, I would like to say a few
words about the Tritonales festival which took place "in" Paris
last June. I was asked to help with programming it, which resulted
in a number of Canterbury artists and bands being present
(although it was the promoter's intention from the outset to
feature this musical scene). Although plagued by heavy strikes in
the public transportation network (particularly affected by this
was Richard Sinclair's show, which was unexpectedly and
disappointingly one of the least attended of the festival), on the
whole the festival pulled decent crowds. Strangely the most
crowded show was Daevid Allen's - I say strangely because the
music he chose to play was decidedly un-ear-friendly, yet very few
people left during the performance, which can be best described
as... I don't know, "glissando-core-noise" ??
The Canterbury section of the festival began with two
evenings of Polysoft, celebrating the release of their excellent
live album, recorded at the Triton a year ago. The first show was
evidently under-rehearsed but, following some serious rehearsing
the following day, things got much tighter the second night and
Polysoft delivered what was possibly the very best performance
I've ever seen by them (and I've seen all but one of their gigs
thus far). No new stuff compared to last September (although I'd
foolishly suggested to P-O Govin that they try doing "Teeth"...),
but there's enough classic stuff there to keep the customer more
than satisfied. We'll see what happens next now - apparently the
band are keen on doing more shows if the demand is there.
Richard Sinclair was expected to perform in duo format
with his longtime pianist David Rees-Williams, but had another ace
up his sleeve in the shape of the great Theo Travis, saxophone and
flute player from the latest incarnation(s) of Gong. The resulting
trio produced very nice sounds indeed. As usual with Richard's
performances, the numbers tend to be stretched a little too long
sometimes, something than can be said of the show as a whole,
although some of us will never get enough of Richard's singing and
playing anyway. At one point it seemed to gig would never end,
when Richard literally dragged a reluctant Rees-Williams from the
bar to have him play a solo piano piece. In addition to the usual
mixture of old and "recent" stuff we were treated to a sketch of a
new piece, a typical Sinclair melody with lots of beautiful
chords. For most of the show Richard played bass, which remains my
preferred instrument for him, although he can do some very nice
things on acoustic guitar too. Anyway, it was nice to see Richard
perform again in Paris after a 9-year gap. As he seems keen on
touring again (there are plans for US shows this autumn), let's
hope a new album can become a reality sometime in the
not-too-distant future.
That the In Cahoots show happened at all was nothing short
of a miracle, and the band's plane from London got cancelled, as
many were that day. In an heroic gesture Phil & co rushed to
Waterloo station, paying outrageously expensive Eurostar tickets
to try and make it to Paris at all cost (indeed). Which they
fortunately did. This wasn't the end of their problems, as the
rented keyboard never arrived, and Peter Lemer was forced to use a
genuine Fender Rhodes piano instead of his usual electronic
piano-like keyboard, which I personally feel was a plus, being a
lover of classic analog keyboards. Pete did use an electronic
keyboard, but mostly for Moog-like leads on pieces like "Your Root
2". This was the second time I'd heard the new InCa line-up with
Mark Fletcher on drums, and the choice of material was vastly
different. This gig was mostly a live presentation of the new
album, "All That", three months prior to its release, where the
Seattle show had been conceived as a retrospective of the band on
the occasion of its first American visit. This said, not all the
material was unknown to me, as "All That" includes two pieces that
InCa has played regularly on tour for over five years now (Pete
Lemer's "Big Dick" and Fred Baker's "Upside") and, somewhat
surprisingly (but rather convincingly), a re-make of "Your Root
2", with more developed horn parts and a more faithful
interpretation of the piece's tricky riffs. Still, we were treated
to four new Phil Miller originals, beginning with what's become a
new favourite of mine, the epic "Black Cat", full of tempo changes
and great solos from the whole band, each set to a different
backing rather than the usual and somewhat worn out jazz habit of
people just taking solos in turn until the final re-statement of
the theme. Overall, I think "All That" (which I've now heard in
its studio avatar many times) will stand as one of the very best
InCa records, certainly on a par with "Parallel" and possibly
better.
No disrespect to former InCa drummer Pip Pyle, whose own
band Bash made quite an impression on the crowd the following
evening. They too had an equipment problem, albeit minor - I
solved it by lending my own wah-wah pedal to Alex Maguire, who
didn't have one for some reason. The quartet played a set (or
rather, two sets) largely similar to their debut at Progman Cometh
last year, with some exceptions - a further Pyle original,
"Sparky", was given its debut, as was Patrice Meyer's
funnily-titled "Bashy-Bazooka" which has replaced "Horny Brownie"
in the set; another plus was the addition of Elton Dean for the
last couple of numbers - Equip'Out's "Cauliflower Ears" and the
"Carousel" / "John's Fragment" medley. Bash comprises four
excellent players, each a unique voice on their respective
instruments, and the material, mostly composed by Pip especially
for this project, makes excellent use of their individual and
collective talents. I can't wait to hear the album.
John Greaves' gig the next day was recorded for a proposed
live album, although I'm not sure this will happen - in any case,
John has no shortage of projects and upcoming releases, with his
'JazzSongs' trio album now imminent and a couple of very exciting
albums coming in 2004 which I'm forbidden to tell much about right
now. The Tritonales show was by John's 'Roxongs' electric trio,
with Jef Morin on guitar and Manu Denizet on drums, and summed up
the great qualities of this line-up. Jef has come into his own in
the few months since joining and is definitely an interesting and
original player, if not as immaculately professional as his
predecessors Francois Ovide and Patrice Meyer - actually, I
suspect John is rather happy with that. Not much in the setlist
that was really new - I think the live album is intended as an
assessment of the project rather than a showcase for a new
material, although there are now a handful of songs not recorded
on album yet. I don't know if more gigs are planned in the near
future - it seems John will be concentrating on the trio with
Sophia Domancich and Vincent Courtois for some time, as John
secured a rather prestigious contract with Harmonia Mundi for this
project.
I won't say much more about the Daevid Allen "Guru &
Zero" show than what I wrote above, except to say that Didier
Malherbe was a last-minute addition to the line-up, and did some
interesting stuff although he seemed to struggle to find his place
in the surrounding electric mayhem. The Acid Mothers Temple
people, in various degrees of stonedness (one in particular close
to lethal, at least it seemed), made a lot of noise indeed. I
think this is the kind of performance you either love or hate. In
my case, I alternated between the two and, sometimes, felt a
strange mixture of both. Apart from the musical aspect I think it
was quite a bold gesture from Daevid to "treat" his audience to
such an experimental sound rather than play down to their
expectations. I'm not sure about the merits of the music, but the
event in itself was certainly food for thought.
There were other great moments during the festival - most
notably, for me, Offering (a DVD and live album are under serious
consideration), Guapo, Sotos and Mats & Morgan - but I don't
want to go on and on. Let's just say that the second edition of
the festival is set to take place during the same period next
year. Hopefully there'll be more great music to be heard then.
We had the pleasure of seeing some friendly foreign
visitors among the attendence - our good Japanese friend Hiroshi
Masuda, who has acted as tour promoter for many artists in Japan,
including Richard Sinclair last year; Cuneiform Records boss Steve
Feigenbaum; and Progman Cometh festival promoter Jerry Cook, who
told me then about his plans for the second edition, which has
since taken place. Although much less of a Canterbury event this
year (headliners were Procol Harum and the Alan Parsons (Live)
Project), a really healthy dose of Canterbury music was heard both
days, with an all-star line-up assembled around Jerry and friends
(Jerry is also a drummer, of 1970s prog trio Glass fame) and
featuring many excellent players in all sorts of combinations. I
wasn't there to see that, nor is any recording of the event
expected to surface, but I am reliably informed that material by
In Cahoots, SoftWorks, Hatfield, etc., was played, in addition to
original compositions by Jerry's Glass cohorts, brothers Greg and
Jeff Sherman. Present at various times, sometimes all together,
were Richard Sinclair, Phil Miller, Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Fred
Baker and Alex Maguire, alongside the Glass trio and assorted
friends. I know that Jerry is concurrently working on a studio
project and I assume he took the opportunity to get some of these
musicians to contribute to it in the studio, so that there will be
an outcome for all of us. In any event, congratulations to Jerry
& team for their immense contribution to keeping this scene
alive at a time when there's not much support to be expected, it
seems, outside such dedicated festivals, and it's harder than ever
for Canterbury artists to gig with any regularity.
One - relative - exception to that is SoftWorks, the
all-star line-up of Elton Dean, Allan Holdsworth, Hugh Hopper and
John Marshall. Although things are moving forward at a slower pace
than initially planned, this is still an ongoing concern, and
rather successful in its way, thanks to the Herculean efforts of
manager Leonardo Pavkovic of MoonJune Records in NYC. Leonardo
arranged a high-profile Japanese tour for the band last month,
which was very well received. I hope we get some feedback from
some of our Japanese subscribers. Apparently, "As If" was added to
the setlist for the occasion, which I think is a piece well-suited
to the style of the band. "Abracadabra", the album, was finally
issued in the USA in July, and more American dates are planned,
but apparently not before 2004 now.
Also of high profile is Robert Wyatt, who is back in the
limelight this autumn with no less than two new releases, one
semi-archival and one brand new. "Solar Flares Burn For You", on
Cuneiform Records, consists primarily of Robert's 1972 and 1974
radio sessions for the BBC, plus additional material including two
instrumental collaborations with Hugh Hopper and a new song in
demo form. More info on that below. The new studio album,
"Cuckooland", is set for release late this month. If it were a
vinyl, you could call it a double-album, clocking in as it does at
over 75 minutes. There's a great variety of stuff in there,
including a sort of album-inside-the-album in collaboration with
(and with words and music by) Karen Mantler, a very successful
partnership I think, from recording sessions that took place in
the summer of last year. The remainder of the sessions, also at
Phil Manzanera's studio near London, is closer to "Shleep",
although the sound is sometimes different due to Robert now using
modern synthesizers more extensively. Many contributors can be
heard, including guitarists David Gilmour and Paul Weller,
SoupSongs members Annie Whitehead and Jennifer Maidman, and new
faces like Gilad Atzmon (woodwind) and Yaron Stavi (double bass)
who both appear on several tracks. Robert's sweetheart Alfie
contributes several lyrics once again, including a nice tribute to
the Paris jazz scene of the 1950s (dedicated to expatriate
journalist and friend Michael Zwerin). All in all, it is quite a
big chunk of music to digest, so my final word on the album's
merits will have to come later; suffice it to say that there's
some excellent stuff in there, and the six years wait was
worthwhile. I'm sure there will be a lot of press coverage on
Robert in the coming weeks - he spent a whole week in Paris alone
to do interviews.
Coinciding with this renewed activity from Robert, Patrice
Boyer's tribute to the great man in Charleville-Mezieres will take
place in November. There is more information on the event in the
concerts section of Calyx, if you'd like to attend. An impressive
line-up featuring John Greaves and Karen Mantler alongside various
French musicians will perform their own arrangements of some of
Robert's songs. John told me he'd chosen "Gloria Gloom". Should be
interesting. The concert will be recorded and chances are that a
CD of it will appear. We'll see.
Last, but certainly not least, there is much activity
lined up for Caravan in the wake of their new album, "The
Unauthorised Breakfast Item", which is due for release (at last)
soon. In the meantime, arrangements were made for fans to buy a
pre-release version of the album direct from the Caravan website,
featuring an additional disc of live recordings - four songs off
the new CD recorded live in Japan last April, and the orchestral
version of "For Richard" played last year at the Quebec
International Festival, which would turn out to be David
Sinclair's last performance with Caravan. Dave is featured on a
couple of the new album's songs, including what I think is by far
the best piece on it, "Nowhere To Hide", with Jim Leverton on lead
vocals. By the way, Dave is currently working on a solo album with
various vocalists, including cousin Richard who has contributed
vocals to a couple of songs; apparently, the In Cahoots rhythm
section are expected to make an appearance, as is Doug Boyle.
Meanwhile, back in Caravan, Jan Schelhaas has once again replaced
Dave Sinclair and plays on the remainder of the album. Most of it
has been written by Pye Hastings, and although a lot is in the
poppier style favoured by him in recent years, an apparent effort
has been made to develop the instrumental dimension of the
material, with tasty solos from Doug Boyle, Jimmy Hastings and
Geoff Richardson. Still some will probably pine for the more
'progressive' direction of older albums, in which case they are
strongly advised to attend any of the band's upcoming gigs, which
still feature a majority of classic material. Meanwhile, they'll
surely find much to enjoy on this album and, also, hopefully it
will win new converts. Last thing - in addition to a rather
extensive provincial UK tour in October/November, and a few dates
in the Benelux in December, a special show will take place at
London's Bloomsbury Theatre on November 30th, which should enlist
the participation of several former members of the band. Whether
this includes any Sinclairs I'm not sure.
In other live news, In Cahoots and Richard Sinclair are
both slated to appear at a progrock festival in London, Progeny,
alongside more typically neo-proggy outfits such as Arena and
Pendragon. Something a strange mixture, but a token of the
promoters' open-mindedness. Also of note are Gongzilla's US tour,
sadly almost finished already as I write this (I saw them in New
York City in July and they were very good), and Camel's farewell
tour featuring the return of keyboard player Ton Scherpenzeel.
Plus plenty more on the Calyx concert agenda.
I think that's about it for now. I will now get ready to
send this out and reassure everything who thought either WR or I
had disappeared for good. Rest assured this won't happen in the
foreseeable future. Just be reminded that the more contributions I
get, the more likely it is that WR will appear on a more regular
basis as this is often the impetus for me to get an issue
together. By the way, I'd like to thank my friend Ian Chippett
who, apparently with that very intention, contributed the
following interview with Pip Pyle which I'm sure will delight his
many fans among WR's readership. May there be more like that...
Thanks Ian, and thanks Pip !
Best regards,
Aymeric
PS: Oops... Almost forgot - the second volume of Soft
Machine BBC radio sessions, covering the period of 1971-74, is in
the pipeline. Release imminent from the great Hux Records, who are
also releasing a superb set of Elton Dean's Ninesense sessions
from 1975 & 1978 - the only material from that great ensemble
currently available on CD...
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From: IChippett@aol.com
Subject: Now it can be asked!
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 13:20:53 EDT
One of the advantages of living in Paris is that the
possibilty of running into Canterbury icons is rather stronger
than if you live in, well, even Canterbury. Thus it was that I
came into contact with Pip Pyle who is probably in the Top Three
Canterbury Icons category. He agreed to do this interview by email
and I'm sure Rattlers will find it both amusing and instructive.
Pip only refused to answer one question (quite rightly as it was a
bit cheeky) and proved a perfect interviewee. Thanks, Pip.
Q: This is a silly question but one Robert Wyatt likes.
What's your Top Ten, all right, Top Five albums of All Time?
A: I don't think it's a silly question at all. I've always
dreamt of doing Desert Island Discs ever since Ronnie Scott cited
a Faye Dunaway blow up dolly as his luxury. Actually though, it's
a really hard question to answer as my tastes change from day to
day and my memory with it. Asking for five is harder than asking
for ten, so here's twelve. I'm feeling really jazz this week (I
was watching a TV programme I really liked last night so I got up
TURNED IT OFF!! I don't care if I live or die) so the selection is
predominantly jazz and in no particular order of preference (more
chronological):
- The Beatles "Revolver" : A very conservative choice
maybe, but honestly, I can't leave them out; they were so
influential on what just about anyone did who was born in the
fifties. I did prefer them after they got into drugs though.
- Miles Davis/Gil Evans "Sketches of Spain" : I could add
plenty of other Miles albums too, at least from the Tony Williams,
Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter period and from the later "Bitches
Brew" Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Johnny Mac era. But this one
has some astonishingly beautiful trumpet solos, you can hear every
beautiful nuance of that SOUND Miles has. And of course Gil Evans
has to be the all time guvnor of jazz arrangers. Just the idea of
a Rodriguez' guitar concerto for brass! Brilliant!
- John Mayall's Bluesbreakers "Bluesbreakers" & Jimi
Hendrix "Axis Bold As Love" : both these groups I saw when I was
about 17 in London. I was (still am) a big rhythm and blues fan.
Mayall's band with Eric Clapton was very fine musically,
especially with Aynsley Dunbar on drums. Mayall was the "purist"
rhythm and blues specialist and Clapton was God. I needn't say
much about Jimi, he just nailed me to the wall.
- Eric Dolphy "Out to Lunch" : Not only for Tony Williams
but that alone still is terrifying to me today. The rhythms are
fresh out of space, mathematical, analytical, clever and cute. And
he's only 17 the complete bastard!! But this whole record has a
sound helped by the atmospheric sense of vibraphonist Bobby
Hutcherson and feeling of Freddy Hubbard and Richard Davis that is
totally original and never been got close to by any band since.
It's a one off musical environment.
- Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band "The Doughnut In Granny's
Greenhouse" : I saw this group at the Marquee once and noticed a
really appalling smell as soon as I got inside the club. They had
hung really rotten meat all around the stage. If that's not
avant-garde I like to know what is. Funniest thing I ever heard,
saw or smelt.
- John Coltrane "Crescent" : I could cite just about any
one of the recordings of this monster quartet, with Elvin, Jimmy
Garrison and McCoy Tyner. Everything they did was of a
spirituality so beyond anything I'd heard before
- Charlie Haden "Liberation Orchestra" : Just such lovely
tunes and playing and you feel that everyone is having such a
great time together
- Mike Gibbs Orchestra "Just Ahead" : I saw this
band often in the seventies, and this is one of those concerts
recorded live at Ronnie's Mike Gibbs is a prodigious arranger and
composer. The band boasts the best in the English jazz scene,
Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, Babbington, Chris Spedding, Henry
Lowther Harry Beckett, Malcolm Griffiths, Ray Warleigh, Stan
Sulzmann, Dave MacRae, John Marshall, Frank Ricotti, Skidmore etc.
I am pleased to see that Mike is touring England again now with a
new big band. I recommend everyone to get on the Eurostar
immediately.
- Charles Lloyd Quartet "Live In Russia" : This is a
little-known record of the quartet live in what sounds a great
concert (the vodka must have been flowing). It was the first
American jazz group to come to Russia. The Estonians just didn't
know what hit them! With J D J on drums and Ron McClure on bass
and a very young and exuberant Keith Jarrett hammering shit out of
the piano. He didn't used to sing in those days.
- Tony Williams Lifetime "Turn It Over" : I saw this band
too in 1969 at the tiny Hampstead Theatre Club. Christ they were
LOUD!! But I was completely mesmerized by the sheer brilliance and
technique of Messrs Williams, McLaughlin, Bruce and Larry Young.
You felt like you'd just got off a big dipper when you got
outside.
- Robert Wyatt "Rock Bottom" : 'nuff said on these pages,
I think.
...There you go. Already I feel guilty for leaving out
Frank Zappa, Harry Parch, Carla Bley, Miroslav Vitous, Weather
Report, still there you go.
Q: Over the years you've played with an awful lot of
people but it's always been (or so it seems) with like-minded
musicians. Does this mean you draw the line at doing session work
with less congenial musicians even if they pay serious money? Why?
Can't stand the boredom or is it a question of principle? After
all, your name probably wouldn't appear on the cover!
A: Absolutely not, I'll do anything for money! I think
it's great to be able to earn money playing your instrument and a
privilege to be able to do so. The problem is you have to really
play well and probably like someone else or how someone else would
like you to play and really behave yourself. No noodling or
squeeky bonkage. I'm not consistently good at any of those
requirements and believe me, to be a sucessful session man you
have to be VERY good at them. But in any case I have done plenty
of things that I'm not particularly proud of and try to avoid
people knowing about, so I'm not going to go into that here!
Q: They were all brilliant but which particular version of
National Health did you most enjoy playing with?
A: I enjoyed all of them but I think just after John
Greaves joined and we did a quartet tour with Phil and Dave was
perhaps the best. He really loosened up things musically, socially
and intellectually...
It was also a lot of fun with Alan after he rejoined as
the replacement for Dave, although arguably some of the music
never reached its full potential before Al got so ill.
Q: Sneaky one here. Who has been the most difficult
musician to work with ?
A: Ah! I'm not falling for that one! They're all mad
anyway. Some of them get paranoid, some have enormous egos, some
have amnesia, some are bread heads, some are inarticule about what
they want to do musically. Some of them have feet that smell like
Munster cheese in the van. In fact most of them have all of those
things! In any case he'd take such terrible umbrage and never want
to play with me again. Often musicians that are difficult
socially, like Pete Lemer, are great to play with. It's never a
prerequisite for me to like a musician as a human being for me to
be able to play with them. It's can be a kind of battle on stage
and that friction can sometimes produce very good music.
Alternatively, playing with someone you love, as I did with Sophia
in L'Equip'Out wasn't really the utopia I hoped it might be,
because we'd bring too much of ourselves into the music sometimes.
So, I'd prefer to avoid answering that and be positive and say who
was the easiest musician to work with. Fred Baker. And Elton, too.
They just pick up their axes and all this brilliant stuff comes
teeming out. (Aside, trivia anoraks Teem Out, did anyone ever get
the jeu de mots in L'Equip'Out. I don't think so.)
Q: Any chance we might see Absolute Zero in Europe one
day?
A: Well, I certainly hope so. I really enjoy playing with
that band for many reasons, both musical and social. I really
think they deserve some recognition after all the years of writing
and playing and trying to get things happening. Certainly all the
signs are good, we've been getting some excellent revues and there
is already interest from people in the US and South America to
have us play. I think they are very talented musicians and are
dealing in an area of music of their own that's hardly been
touched by anyone else. Our CD will be coming out any week now
with Recommended Records, Chris Cutler's label. He's very keen on
the band and excited about the CD and hopes to be able to help us
get gigs. Apart from the usual problem of getting promoters to
book whacked out bands like ours is that Enrique and Aislinn have
literally tons of equipment. It really is essential to their
sound. The music and the technology are completely interwoven. If
they just rolled up and plugged into a PA system music, some sort
of music would come out but it wouldn't be the music they had
written. We did a tour in the US a couple of years ago and the air
freight costs were nearly as high as our wages.
All I hope is that micro technology will soon make all the
effects accessible on laptops in briefcases instead of huge racks
in 10-ton trucks and I know that Enrique and Aislinn are looking
into minuturizing the group.
Q: You cleverly avoided mentioning the musician you found
it most difficult to work with. What has been the music you've
found it most difficult to play? And which have you enjoyed
playing most?
A: Well actually, certain Absolute Zero's music is right
up there in the Clever Bastard stakes. They write a lot of
rhythmical things which, apart from the complex time signatures
and quintuplets and all that stuff, already not exactly easy to
play, also employ the use of overlaying time signatures one on the
other, like I'll play in 9 and Aislinn will superimpose a 13 or
something over that. I noticed that often we'll be counting the
one in the bar in several different places! At first when I got
their scores and heard their music I thought, fuck this, it's just
too hard. But I took a lot of time looking over the charts and
finding ways to make sense of them and now we're really beginning
to tear them up and play it more off the wall.
Some of the National Health stuff was pretty tricky too;
especially Dave's which has to be played pretty much as written
and really in the pocket. Phil Miller's music is challenging too
in that he never writes anything at all for the drummer so it's up
to you to find something that he likes which, while I enjoy trying
to find feels for him, seemingly it often turns out to be just the
thing he doesn't want, which is pretty frustrating. Sometimes even
the simplest thing in music can be almost the most difficult. I've
spent all my life trying to play a really slow laid back rhythm
and blues shuffle like Jimmy Reed or something. Adrenaline usually
seizes hold and ruins it! Technique, energy and exhilaration can
be an obstruction sometimes! You just need to play what you hear
in your head. Perhaps sometimes I think too much! Obviously Jimmy
Reed's band didn't have much happening up there then, but it
sounds just perfect!
As for who I enjoy myself the most... Well that's
difficult. Once again, if I say so and so then someone else is
going to think I didn't enjoy playing them. Honestly I've enjoyed
playing with all the bands I've ever played with at some point or
other.It's rare that I don't enjoy playing. You may have a bad gig
here or there but otherwise..... There were certainly occasions
with In Cahoots that were really enjoyable. We did some monster
gigs. I've had so many fantastic jams with Elton Dean and Alex
Maguire, too. Perhaps the most consistently enjoyable group I ever
played in was Soft Heap with Elton, John Greaves and Mark Hewins,
I don't remember a bad gig ever. Perhaps I just don't remember at
all!
Q: Do you have any plans for a follow-up to "Seven Year
Itch"? What would you put on it?
A: This isn't a particularly good time to answer that
question because I'm either trying to get a CD out for my new band
Bash! (for which, as you know I have already written all the
material) or feeling somewhat in the wilderness musically. At the
moment I have so few gigs I'm going stale. If I didn't jam with my
mates at home and generally practice my drums I would probably
starve to death spiritually. Anyone need a 50+ drummer out there?
Or want to manage one? I do however have several songs that I
wrote post "Seven Year Itch" lying around plus a couple of ideas
for other people's songs like Syd Barrett's "See Emily Play" that
might see the light of day eventually. I'd like to get the Bash
project underway if I muster up enough energy to confront the
general apathy that awaits us in the music business. I doff the
bitter cynical muso hat grumpily in their direction.
Q: What are you listening to yourself these days?
A: Well I have to confess that I listen much less to music
nowadays than I did when I was young. I used to spend all my time
lying around tetanized under the influence of mind altering
stimuli such as music and drugs. Blimey! Listen to that major 7
chord! It's like a huge green isosceles triangle! I suppose
nowadays I listen far more to the people I'm playing with at the
time, like Freddy Baker, Patrice Meyer, Elton Dean and so on. I'm
not playing with Phil Miller right now, but I'd always give any of
his music a good listen. Otherwise there's my mate John Greaves
who's playing with Vincent Courtois, an excellent young cellist.
Of relatively new groups I quite like Radiohead, funny though I
swear I hear Gong and Robert Wyatt in there! Glissando guitars and
men with high voices with no vibrato...Oh yes and a Canadian group
called Sisters Euclid that put out a great first album "All Babies
Go To War" last year, that's great. It's not because I am no
longer curious, but you have to wade through so much dross in the
media to find anything interesting nowadays. When I was a kid
there was even good stuff on the radio let alone at all the jazz
and blues clubs in London. But I think there's enough shelf life
in chaps like Coltrane, Elvin Jones and Miles alone to see me out.
Q: What was your reaction when "The Rotters' Club" novel
by Jonathon Coe appeared? I suppose you must have been informed
beforehand. Personally, I thought it just about summed up the
period. Did he choose the title "on purpose"?
A: Well, he called me up out of the blue and said that
he'd written this book about the seventies and that Hatfield and
The North figured in it and could he quote part of the lyrics to
"Share It" and use the title "The Rotters' Club" for his book.
There's a character called Trotter in the book, which was the cart
and which was the horse, I don't know. I said I was okay about
that and he sent me a copy of the book with the inscription "For
Pip Pyle, whose music has made the inside of my head a pleasanter
place to be, for twenty five years", which was a nice thing to
say, plus a bit of money, which was a nice thing to do.
I read the book and thought, yes, that does sum up the
period pretty well. It was somehow quite nostalgic, the Miner's
Strike, Scarghill, CND and all that. I couldn't quite work out how
he could have seen the Hatfield gig in Birmingham that he
describes as I worked out he could only have been 14 or 15 years
old. Subsequently he got in touch with me when he came to Paris to
do a reading of another new book of his and we had dinner
together. In fact it was his older brother who had seen Hatfield,
although he himself is a great fan and knows almost as much as
about Canterbury music as Aymeric (The Bill Frindall of the
Canterbury Scene) Leroy does. We have subsequently become good
friends. He even lent me his very luxurious flat in Earls Court
over Christmas last year.
Q: If you had to cobble together a Best Of Pip Pyle
(you're allowed one very long CD), what would you put on it?
A: Do you mean my compositions or any old stuff I've
played on?
Q: Let's say five or six things you wrote more or less
alone and five or six things you played a large part in.
A: Well that certainly cuts down the options as I am
hardly prolific as a composer. Cobble together a load of old
cobblers eh? I'm forever optimistic that the next composition I
write will be the best and rather scorn what I've done before.
This at least keeps you going for it, like a dog straining
uselessly on a leash. I think Seven Year Itch is the most
sucessful CD I've done in that, apart from the drumming, which
never really got a look in, I did manage to record the songs
pretty much exactly as I hoped to. I think the best instrumental
tunes I've written will hopefully see the light of day on the Bash
CD if I manage to get it released. These tunes were different to
other instrumentals (with the exception of the Foetal Fandango
that I wrote for L'Equip Out) in that the germ of the idea in
every case was a rhythmic feel or a drum part and that I was
really writing with the individual players in mind instead of just
a specific musical idea or a song (that's usually an ode to some
girl who has made you temporarily lose your marbles).
Perhaps these are a dozen of my best efforts to date, or
The Least Worst of Pip Pyle, if push came to shove:
- "Oh Mother" (with Daevid Allen) - 1971 Gong from
"Camembert Electrique" (Virgin V 2012)
- "The Yes/No Interlude" - 1975 - Hatfield And The North -
The Rotters' Club (Virgin 2030.)
- "Fitter Stoke Has A Bath" - 1975 - Hatfield And The
North - The Rotters' Club (Virgin 2030)
- "Share It" (with Richard Sinclair) - 1975 -
Hatfield & The North "The Rotters Club" V2030)
- "Foetal Fandango" - 1987 - Pip Pyle's Equip' Out*
(52 Rue Est RE004 original vinyl, release CD Voiceprint)
- "Goodbye to the Old World" (with Alain & Yvon
Guillard) - 1989 - Alain et Yvon Guillard - Pazapa (Gimini JCC 014
CD)
- "Cauliflower Ears" - 1991 - Pip Pyle's L'Equip'
Out -" Up !"(Too Much 3 TMR 301)
- "What's Rattlin'?" (with Richard Sinclair) - 1994
- Richard Sinclair - R.S.V.P. <sinclair.html>* (RSS CD001)
- "Shipwrecked" - 1998 - Pip Pyle - "Seven
Year Itch" (Voiceprint VP198CD)
- "L'Etat des Choses" - 1998 - Pip Pyle - "Seven
Year Itch" (Voiceprint VP198CD)
- "Dead Dog God Dingo" (with Peter Blegvad) - 2000 -
"The Pig Part" - Pyle/Iung/Greaves (Voiceprint VP225CD)
- "Further On" - 2003 - "Crashing Icons" CD -
Absolute Zero (RER)
Q: I have heard that there's a Live Hatfield CD in the
pipeline. Should we hold our breath?
A: There is a strong possibility, I think everyone agrees
on the principle, but so far a year has gone by since I chose my
selection for it and I'm waiting for the others to either okay
that or propose something else.
I chose quite a lot of blowing stuff, this is for several
reasons, first of all I like it and secondly the group did a lot
of that on stage, yet hardly ever in the studio. I think it gives
a perspective of the band never represented on recordings. Other
criteria that influenced my choice to try and use pieces that have
never been on record before, like a tune of Phil's called "Finesse
Is For Fairies", an untitled old tune of Dave Stewart's, and the
segment of Dave's that I culled from "Rifferama" that hadn't been
recorded before.
I think they will be of interest to fans that have never
heard these tunes. I tried to get some of the silliness that went
on stage, plate smashing, and stupid tunes like "The Laughing
Policeman" etc. Pity we didn't have any recording of the rows we
used to have, they would have put the Troggs' tape in the shame
and we could have made it a double album. About 35 minutes of it
is BBC John Peel stuff. Some tunes have a good live performance
feel, like "Let's Eat" and "Fitter Stoke", the latter I almost
prefer to the recorded album version.
Q: Does this mean that Hatfield wasn't the idyllic love
story we have always fondly imagined? Can it be?
A: Well, it was pretty idyllic at first, like most love
stories. But to continue the analogy, (and to exaggerate a little
to make the point and as many waves as possible), it later became
like being married to 3 egomaniac, tyrannical bitches at once. I
think that's probably true of a lot of groups that have spent two
years pretty much exclusively in each other's company, socially
and musically. Bickering invariably ensues. We had some laughs and
good times too, but towards the end they were fewer and further
between. Divorce is the only cure !
Q: You've played with a load of great musicians over the
years. What would be your ideal band if you could put one together
from all these people? And one consisting of people you've never
played with?
A: Blimey guvnor. That's an impossible question. I can
honestly say that for Bash I got the three musicians that I wanted
and knew could play that music right, so I mustn't grumble or
fantasize too much. I can't honestly say that I've ever felt a
terrible need to go up to musicians I don't know and say "I've
just GOT to play with you man!". I suppose that would take a
certain amount of bottle to do. Perhaps I should have done! What
about Dean Martin with Roger Ruskin Spear, Liberace, Bert Weedon,
Fred Frith, Paul Rogers, Lol Coxhill and me? See the problem?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: CuneiWay@aol.com
Subject: for WR
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2003 08:40:49 EDT
Robert Wyatt
"Solar Flares Burn For You"
Cuneiform Records Rune 175
(on September 16th):
1) Alifib
2) Soup Song
3) Sea Song
4) I'm A Believer
5) Blimey O'Riley
6) Solar Flares Burn For You
7) God Song
8) Fol De Rol
9) Little Child
10) We Got An Arts Council Grant
11) Righteous Rhumba
12) 'Twas Brillig
13) The Verb
1)-4) : BBC Top Gear 1974
5) & 12) : Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt, winter
2002/2003
6) : film soundtrack 1973
7)-11) : BBC Top Gear 1972
13) : RW home demo 2003
the 1973 film "Solar Flares Burn For You" is also included
as a quicktime
movie!
All except for 1)-4) have not been previously issued.
This album was compiled with Robert's help and includes
his artwork, photos,
stories and etc. Liner notes by Aymeric Leroy
best!
Steve
Cuneiform Records
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Graham Bennett" <bennett@syzygy.nl>
Subject: Soft Machine biography
Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 11:40:42 +0200
Hi Aymeric,
Readers of What's Rattlin' may be interested to learn that
I'm writing a biography of Soft Machine. (You know all about this
Aymeric, of course, from our correspondence over the past few
months.) My aim is to make the biography as complete and accurate
as possible, so apart from researching the music press I've also
conducted lengthy interviews with many of the band members and
also some of their associates. The current planning is to finish
everything this summer (although Soft Machine were masters at
leaving lots of niggly loose ends...), so with a bit of luck the
book will be published before the end of the year.
It occurred to me that some readers of What's Rattlin'
might have some interesting information, photos, videos, mementos
or memories of Soft Machine that would be useful in piecing the
story together. If anyone can help, I'd be very pleased if he or
she would get in touch with me. Anything used will, of course, be
fully credited. I can be contacted at <bennett@syzygy.nl>.
Keep up the good work.
Graham Bennett
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Rick Chafen <rchafen@yahoo.com>
Subject: Kevin Ayers Remasters
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 2003 09:30:32 -0700 (PDT)
Hello, all . . .
Over the last couple of days, I've received the first four
Ayers remasterpieces. So, once again, Mark Powell has done a
fabulous job. Wonderful booklets, replete with bonus photos, and
then, of course, the bonus tracks.
Tracks from Odd Ditties were added to the albums closest
to their time frame, so they're all remastered, and then the six
previously unreleased gems make them all essential for anyone
reading this list.
Religious Experience with Syd Barrett's quirky guitar (and
the story accompanying it) are really fun. Wow! to think how
long those tapes sat somewhere, neglected. Once again, it
shows up how the past keeps getting bigger all the time.
Bedford's full take on the orchestra of Lady Rachel is
great to behold. The six-minute free-for-all called Hat on
Shooting at the Moon is delightful. A completely different vocal
take on Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes, and the wonderful Decadence
with very much Steve Hillage!
What great fun it all is. The biggest surprise for me is
actually in the booklet for Bananamour. Incredibly, at no time in
the last thirty years did I ever see (or even hear about that I
can recall!) the sixteen page booklet reproduced in its entirety
here.
This is no time for hesitation. Get all of these right
away. Keep Mark Powell busy at EMI, and Kevin, who's out TOURING!
could be reinforced as well.
Hope the Paris festival has been a thrill for all.
Awaiting the Caravans.
Cheers,
Rick
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Steve Dinsdale <Steve.Dinsdale@TEAMtalk.com>
Subject: Softs BBC Sessions CD
Date: Mon, 7 Apr 2003 12:52:43 +0100
What a totally excellent package, comparison of the sound
quality with the original Strange Fruit release is a revelation.
It also now becomes apparent
that Strange Fruit must have used the edited masters for
the `Triple Echo' LP as tape sources for disc one rather than the
originals, and that the second disc was a scattershot
representation of whatever else was available to them at the time.
The azimuth problems with these originals will also suggest that
Triple Echo was pressed from an incorrectly lined-up copy of
the session tapes.
Things have moved on in the years since the original
compilations, and thanks largely to my good friend Phil Lawton's
efforts in the Radio One archive all of the available material has
now been succesfully marshalled, documented correctly, and even
digitized.
Just one thing though, The Playhouse Theatre in question
on some of these early sessions is most certainly the one in
Northumberland Avenue in the West End of London, NOT the one in
Hulme Manchester suggested by the session details in the CD
booklet. This was where the BBC recorded many early sessions
including Jimi
Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. The Manchester venue was largely
concerned with `Light' music, something no-one could accuse the
Soft machine of perpetrating !
Regards
Steve Dinsdale
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Xavier Xavriano" <xavfab@hotmail.com>
Subject: music of Dave Stewart and National Health
Date: Wed, 02 Jul 2003 04:04:09 +0000
Hi,
Love your website! I am a composer/musician from
South Bend Indiana, USA, and I would like to know if you have
access to any charts or scores of any of the music of Hatfield and
the North or National Health and/or if you have any interviews or
articles with Dave Stewart sharing insights into his
compositions. Even better however would be some information
of how I may contact him.
Thanks,
Nick
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: CuneiWay@aol.com
Subject: In Cahoots
Date: Wed, 9 Apr 2003 09:38:43 EDT
Cuneiform Records is very pleased to announce that in
September, 2003, we
will be releasing the new CD by Phil Miller/In Cahoots
"All That"
The lineup of the band is the same as the band that blew
everyone away at
their US debut in Seattle late last year:
Phil Miller - guitar
Elton Dean - alto sax, saxello
Jim Dvorak - trumpet
Peter Lemer - keyboards
Fred Baker - bass
Mark Fletcher - drums
The band will be performing all of this new album at their
show at "Les
Tritonales" Festival on June 4th.
Steve
Cuneiform Records
http://www.cuneiformrecords.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: caravansongs.co.uk
Subject: Caravan new studio album.
Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 07:47:57 EDT
Hi Aymeric
Caravan Songs are pleased to announce a pre-release
special edition of the new studio album "The Unauthorised
Breakfast Item" is now available for pre-order and will be
delivered in early July. This is a limited edition press of 2,500,
fully signed by all the band and will comprise of a 2CD set. The
studio album, plus a bonus CD of tracks live off the album and the
orchestrated version of For Richard at Quebec last year. It will
be a case of first come, first served and will be a web and gig
release. Cost will be £16 and this includes postage to anywhere in
the world.
To order please go to http://www.caravansongs.co.uk.
The albums official release will be in late September and
this will be widely available.
A reminder as well that the next UK dates will be 1st
August at the Astor Theatre - Deal and at Whitchurch Festival on
the 2nd August. Whitchurch is a 3 day event but day tickets are
available.
Kind Regards
Vicky
PS: The band had a fantastic time in Japan, many thanks to
Smash West for the impeccable organisation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "Kenneth Egbert" <invizzigoth@earthlink.net>
Subject: Hugh Hopper Takes Over My Listening Room (with
help)
Date: Sun, 4 May 2003 15:55:21 -0400
Hello, Aymeric:
Since you keep forgetting to forbid me to write for WR I'm
taking this opportunity to pass on a few new reviews of
recent goodies, all this time from the fearsomely fuzzboxed Mr.
Hopper's OUT box. Or OUT fuzzbox, whichever makes the most
sense. With assistance, of course.
To wit:
BONE - Uses Wrist Grab
Nick Didkovsky/Hugh Hopper/John Roulat
Cuneiform - USA (CD)
Label Web Site: http://www.cuneiformrecords.com
The Cuneiform label has become, since they released
However's CALLING! in the mid 1980s (get that one if you find it
in a USED bin somewhere), America's best-known answer to ReR
Recommended, Chris Cutler's label: a refuge for intelligent
rock/avant/whatever/string cheese. The latter will play a
part later on in this review. In a chat with Richard Wolfson
of ReR some years back, I thanked him for keeping it up and not
trying to go out there in the Industrial Midlands and attempt to
find something trendier. His even-handed reply was, "We'll
continue until they stop us". Joyce and Steve of Cuneiform
would say the same, I'm sure.
Now via Cuneiform comes a virtual power trio (largely
because this was a case of multi-MP3/MP4 file
swapping), since the members of which have never occupied the
same room together. If so, I have yet to find the seams, and
I did look. Bone is a stellar exercise in just how far one
can push the guitar/bass/drums ethic, and there is to be found
here Fred Frith Guitar Quartet skronk, seductive atmospherics,
heavy riffing (albeit in strange time signatures), fuzz basses run
amok, even an intelligent drum solo. But percussionist John Roulat
hails from a fine American trio called Forever Einstein
(http://www.forevereinstein.com) and if he can keep up with them,
acting as foil for Hopper and Didkovsky should not break too much
of a sweat. Not too much. Hopper we all know quite well, and
I would not presume to write an introduction for him as a result,
while Nick Didkovsky, founder of a crack musical Special
Forces unit known as Doctor Nerve, is a guitarist
of frenetic technique and viciously mischievous
humor. He's also a member of the FFGQ, possibly one of those
about whom the semidivine Frith has been heard to sigh, "I tour
with these people for months at a time...". Full disclosure
department: Nick D. and myself became friends back in '96
after I interviewed him. He was also kind enough to
appropriate a song title for this CD from some
stream-of-consciousness Email I sent him ages ago. I beg
forgiveness of one and all.
The end result of these three gentlemen Emailing nameless
outrages back and forth for several months at a clip is a CD
somewhere between the trio cut on Frank Zappa's 1974 solo project
APOSTROPHE (the title jam featuring Frankie, Jack Bruce and
Jim Gordon) and King Crimson's RED with Eno at the knobs instead
of the semidivine Fripp. No pun
intended. The chill-out coda, Hopper's "Little End Or
Beginning," has some of that edge-of-sense Uncle Brian ambience:
there's a whispering of crinkled paper (John R. making out checks
to the phone company and power company, putting them in
envelopes...?) under repeated multi-tracked
Didkovskys essaying gentle flourishes and arpeggios and your
classic Hopper slow buzzsaw theme. And now the CD rejects and
we get to hear Ditty One. Hit that Play button! "To Laugh
Uncleanly At the Nurse" (also in the FFGQ fake
book) sounds like it was going to be a flamenco until Arnold
Schoenberg got hold of it. Didkovsky's use of fuzz here owes some
small debt to Fripp but one thing I've noticed about these two
guitarists is that they both have equal command of studio wizardry
but Fripp will stick rather closely to what can be duplicated in a
live situation with a minimum of cloning. Nick D. sees no
ethical problem putting four of himself on the same tune; to his
credit, as on the crunching "Foster Wives, Trophy Hair" (don't
ask. Please), he refuses to drown out his compatriots; Hopper
disconnects the bass afterburner for this one and I can still
hear him roaring like a primitive saurian, landing in all the
right places between Roulat's precise 5/8 time downbeats.
Hopper favors us hereupon with the Toho Monster lurch "Big
Bombay" (analogous with his treatment of "Miniluv" on HOPPER
TUNITY BOX many generations ago; basically an immense chord change
mowing down all in its path), at the end of which a drone passes
through The Riff and disappears going the other way, taking the
track with it (nice Roulat working out on the cymbals a la Al
Foster); and the tasty "Jungle Rev," a distant view of tonal and
atonal snakes in a sort of tonic aspic. Drifting
Didkovsky arcs and swoops, Roulat disassembling a washing machine
and making a cyclotron out of the spare parts in the far
foreground, and a patented Hugh speeded-up bass theme.
Ethereal. Ah, but we haven't even touched on the rumbling
"Overlife Parts 1 and 3" (hopefully they're saving Part 2 for the
next release), the "carousel-missing-most-of-its-horses"-like
"Green Dansette", or for that matter "Chaos, No Pasties" which
might be the STARLESS - era Crimso covering a Claude Vivier
mazurka. And more. Hit that Play button again!
Cleverly, Didkovsky mixed this CD's tunes to have a
minimum of silence between them so you would have to check the
cover to see where you are. Only increases the pleasant sense
of being overwhelmed. Assault with a friendly weapon, it might be
called. The madness herein is very catching. Avail yourself
of it soon. Oh, yes, string cheese is good for you in
moderation, but BONE you can have as much of as you like.
HUGH HOPPER Jazzloops - Burning Shed, UK (CD)
HUGH HOPPER/ MIC GIDON Flight And Shade - Burning Shed, UK
(CD)
Label Web Site: http://www.burningshed.com
Thanks kindly to London's Burning Shed Records for giving
us two new peeks into Hugh H.'s many-faceted creativity. Mic
Gidon is a French guitarist and vocalist who dabbles in the
many methods of sampling, and his voice occasionally
recalls Charles Aznavour, of all people. But that
Europeans have a better sense of history than Americans is well
documented! Gidon actually pushes Hopper in a pop
direction, albeit a very odd one; short, punchy tracks with
buzzing high-speed bass patterning, R&B guitar whang, cabaret
slouch ("On the Watch"), even a bit of snicker now and again
("East West", with some nice piano by Frances Knight, features
Gidon occasionally singing through his nose). But everywhere
can be heard Hopper's delightfully if purposefully meandering
melodies, which will (as could be heard on Hopper's two
collaborations with poet/ singer Lisa Klossner) keep this CD nice
and far away from any Hit Parade we would prefer not to
frequent. But then, Robert Wyatt's last CD was reviewed
favorably in PEOPLE Magazine, so who knows what's pop and what's
not any longer? Hoary old Canterbury trainspotters like
myself will shed a quiet tear at "For Alan", a reflective
midtempo instrumental with a slow-reaction melody like those
at which we all recall the late A. Gowen excelling. If
Phil Miller helped compose this one, I wouldn't be
surprised. So, a very fine go overall, no dearth of
pleasant surprises.
JAZZLOOPS may grow out of the avenue of Mr.
Hopper's impetus that produced 1984: apparently
assembled from existing sources, this CD is a series of eleven
different flavored stews of varying source material. One can
hear the definite contributions of Elton Dean, Didier Malherbe,
Frank van der Kooij, Patrice Meyer, Simon Picard, and Nigel Morris
(the credits admit to further assistance from Robert Wyatt,
Pierre-Olivier Govin, Steve Franklin, Kim Weemhoff and Christine
Janet), and the method used is to blend varying sections of
longer jams and unfinished pieces into more focused
compositions. Hopper is certainly a master at this, given
past efforts like his collaborations with Kramer (especially
HUGE), and you can't fault either his always-fresh bass runs
or his choice of saxophonists. "1212" is an
arid R&B workout with steady drumming, a detailed
funk riff and tasty van der Kooij alto, for example, and
the first-up"t3" sports a more experimental cast, snaking
near-Arabic guitar lines about a detailed lattice of cymbals and
liquid-lead bass. But several of these tracks seem to demand a
context they can't supply themselves. Jungle drums and
drones lift up "sfrankl" but there is no real lead
voice. "calmozart"'s drum patterns are interesting and the
horn lines are pretzelly in a "Chloe And The Pirates" kind of way
but again it's as if the musicians are waiting for something to
happen that never really does. "digwot" has no such problems,
though, what with Malherbe's snake-charming tenor undulating above
shifting tectonic-plate like sheets of sustained tone, and
the closing "Nigepo" has a very ambiguous but still driving beat,
echoed Wyatts enveloping a rhythm track reminiscent of Miles
Davis' "Red China Blues." And no, part-way through the
recessional, your CD player is not malfunctioning. Crafty
Hugh!
This is probably a case of the artist catching the critic
off guard (easier than it sounds); one doesn't expect ambient
music of Hopper but that was probably the point. Let's not
forget "Oyster Perpetual" or "1983", after all.
Merci encore,
K.E.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
END OF ISSUE 203
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