Zarko

Nu Bop – Matthew Shipp (2002)


GENRES – Jazz, Nujazz, Avant Garde, Electronic

Space Shipp – 3:21
Nu-Bop – 6:07
ZX-1 – 4:16
D's Choice – 4:50
X-Ray – 3:28
Rocket Shipp – 7:36
Select Mode 1 – 1:23
Nu Abstract – 3:48
Select Mode 2 – 5:09

Personnel: Matthew Shipp: piano; William Parker: bass; Daniel Carter: saxophones & flute; Guillermo E. Brown: drums; FLAM: synths & programming.

Well I thought it was about time to hit you up with some more nujazz, and again, it won’t disappoint. Matthew Shipp, jazz pianist, has been a long time avant garde/free jazz musician who in the last decade has fiddled around with more levels of experimentation. ‘Nu Bop’ is quite the change for Shipp, and although raw at times, it still delivers on many fronts. Shipp is one of my favourite jazz pianists, and Nu Bop was a welcome change to his normal repertoire of work. However, this may have to do with my love for good nujazz in general, so take out of that what you will.

The album begins with an instant change up from his normal work, with ‘Space Shipp’ opening with the electronic beats before Shipp comes in on piano. The concurrent beat is fairly simple until Shipp breaks out with his free jazz style. The dirty electronic beats keeps the overall sound earthy, and despite its frenetic pace at times, it still keeps the feeling of a chilled out tune. Guillermo Brown on drums also offers up some great moments, as is common throughout the album. At times he does overpower the other aspects of the album though.

‘Nu-Bop’ introduces a heavy driving bass line, performed beautifully by William Parker, who is left to his own devices for a short while before Brown is set free with some intense drumming (Sometimes a little TOO intense), as well as Daniel Carter of saxophone. The earthy bass and drumming is used in contrast to some quality and ‘spacey’ sax performance, which is quite an interesting use of layers. Shipp takes the back seat for much of the piece, as he allows the three to do their thing, before he enters later in the 6 minute track. Each artist is given their chance to shine, however, I am not crazy on it in it’s entirety. With such nujazz pieces, I prefer the instruments be used in conjunction to one piece, which is why I prefer the song when Shipp is present. The track is more avant garde jazz than nujazz, which is a nice change up to the heavier electronic base present elsewhere on the album.

‘ZX-1’ is a dark, piano driven piece, with a stunning Shipp composition that is in its lonesome self the entirety of the song. Offering nothing but his own abilities, Shipp comes up with aces. It is much more than ‘simply’ a piano solo. It is pure dark and powered atmosphere. ‘D’s Choice’ has a great groovy base to it, with the electronics becoming far more apparent in the construct of the song. In general, early on no section becomes too extravagant, and each instrument holds their own, but this simplicity and resonance between the instruments is what makes the song great. The funky tones and solid pace make this track seem almost too short, despite clocking in at nearly 5 minutes in length. The song is definitely the best on the album. It ends with all instruments exiting the piece save Shipp, who in his tremendous simplicity makes the finale perfect.

‘X-Ray’ is another trip down a dark and mysterious alley, with Carter trading in his saxophone for a flute which, along with Parker’s disjointed bass playing creates a sense of alien anonymity. It’s only a short intermission from the normal work, but it is a fascinating change up purely due to the mood it creates. It reminds me of old movies, when the protagonist steps into a smoky opium bar in a country they are unfamiliar with. ‘Rocket Shipp’ tells this atmospheric down tempo jargon to piss off, as they reintroduce some driving intensity to the album. It’s pretty much a free for all in the first stages of the song, and in particular, once again, Brown is a stand out, with his drumming creating a fine string that holds the whole thing together. There is some interesting sampling in the middle, of some weird distorted vocals in the background, too unclear to make anything logical out of (not that I think you are meant to be able to). The electronic mixing becomes much more prominent in the second half, with a straightforward series of beats. The instruments start dying out, until only the bass remains, then only silence, until the pieces all link up once again to re-attack with force to end the song.

‘Select Mode 1’ is the most aggressive song as of yet, thanks to the deep piano tones and fastest electronic base as of yet. The song consists of another fairly straightforward beat base and Shipp’s piano work, which gets progressively more hostile and dark. ‘Nu Abstract’ is another electronic based song, and along with the higher piano pitch, creates a space and alien atmosphere. Difficult to describe, it is controlled by the alien overtones, as Shipp performs another relatively light piano piece to go along with it. Despite being the ‘hardest’ attempt to make a nujazz sound similar to what people know, its not a very good song, probably the worst in the whole album.

The album ends with a faster paced song, as all the pieces come back together for ‘Select Mode 2’. It was a very necessary change of pace from the last few tracks on the album, as Shipp gets back to what he does best; avant garde piano jazz compositions. It still toes the nujazz line at times, but overall its just a great construct to end the album.

There are obvious problems at times with ‘Nu Bop’. Considering it is Shipp’s first foray into the genre, its easy to understand as well. Sometimes it’s too raw and other times it becomes bogged down in one general area. This is especially apparent with the longer songs on the album. However, there are still enough positive signs to not only love the album, but also to give me a lot of hope for his newer albums if he ever becomes heavily involved in the genre again. Sometimes Shipp gets lost, but in the end he regains the intensity on the piano that makes him great, and makes him one of the best jazz pianists of the current generation.
TOTAL SCORE

7.9/10

– ZX-1
– D’s Choice

Apologies if poorly written, probably still too much alcohol in the blood

4ZZZ

Heck. This is a fantastic album. The blend of Industrial Dark Ambient and folk ideas make it very different from the norm. I love the accordion. Adds a certain melodic texture. Love the non English found sounds as well. I have played this all weekend. Great stuff Zarko. You have excelled your always great taste

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Zarko

Haha glad you liked it He has a few other albums (Drumfolk Attack! and Der Arsch Der Welt!) But Volkssturm is the best. Still worth checking out.

Of course you should give most of the credit to the artist

Janszoon

Any chance I could get my hands on this one? Sounds really interesting.

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A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

Janszoon

Earlier today I listened to this on a nice long drive. I can't even believe how good this was! It's one of those rare albums that really sounds like nothing else, or at least nothing that I'm familiar with.

__________________
A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man

Time & Place

25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die

last.fm

Zarko

Well at least some people have benefited from my journal

I wasn't much into the martial industrial stuff before trying Truart out... Now I am disappointed I can't find anything else quite as good

Zarko

Non Io – Bachi Da Pietra (2007)


GENRES – Avant Garde, Alternative Rock, Blues, Experimental

Casa di Legno - 4:02
Altri Guasti - 4:04
Non Io - 3:40
Fisica Elementare - 5:51
Lunedi - 3:17
Farfallazza - 5:53
Check Life - 4:19
Bastiano - 1:40
Giorno Perso - 5:05
Ofelia - 3:44

I really had no idea how to approach this review… It’s pretty different to what I am used to, and despite the similarity between the songs at times, everything feels so different. It’s difficult for me to even find a comparison group to Bachi Da Pietra (The Stone Worms) and their 2007 album Non Io. If anything, I would describe it as a down tempo Italian Grinderman. It has that raw garage-y intensity, whilst maintaining a blues like vocal performance throughout. The two artists in the band are Bruno Dorella on drums and Giambeppi Succi on guitar and vocals. It is fairly simple in its structure, never becoming overly extravagant, but maintaining a foreboding feeling of melancholia. I was giddy when I first discovered the album, and felt it was time I shared it with you lot. This album was recorded in the basement of a church, which may not add too much, but it gives it a nice rustic feeling.

‘Casa Di Legno’ opens up with a Succi on his guitar, pulling off a riff similar to Godspeed’s ‘East Hastings’ when it’s in its infant stages. This of course means that I instantly enjoy the piece (East Hastings being one of the few GSYBE songs I like), before Succi begins his vocals and Dorella enters the piece. His performance is one that emits the signature melancholia and grim resignation that is present throughout the entire album. It carries a ‘bare minimum post rock’ sound throughout that is simply gold. ‘Altri Guasti’ has a bit more depth, as the pace is picked up, and a few more interesting instrumentation make this another solid track. The metal drum sound is great, and adds a lot of good depth to the song. It is a fascinating amalgamation of noise, as nothing matches up perfectly, and when they do start to match up, the two break them up again, whether it concerns changing Succi’s guitar playing, or hitting the drum in an offbeat manner. Late in the song, Succi adopts a wispier vocal style, another touch that adds to the gloom and demoralising overtone to the album.

The title track, ‘Non Io’, is primarily a vocal track, with Succi’s intense performance used to release the majority of the emotion. The world they create is doom-laden, disturbing and devastated, as if the apocalypse was upon them, and they were fully expecting it. ‘Fisica Elementare’ is a slower affair, with the guitar and drum turned up, and a bit of feedback present. Succi’s voice is almost distorted as it hides behind the intensity of the instruments, making it even more foreboding than if it were as clear as day. ‘Lunedi’ carries over the loudness but it is used more sparingly, as it intercuts with an odd Succi spoken word/‘prayer’ vocal type performance. The song is structured much more cleanly, with not as many jarring pitch changes, and many of the guitar pick sounds are carried, rather than abruptly altered. It also offers up one of Succi’s more varied performances on the album.

‘Farfallazza’, the longest track on the album, is a filled with dronish guitar notes and some fairly simple drumming and percussion. There is the slightest hint of that metallic drum present in Altri, and the overall effect on the listener is some odd merger of vulnerability and being totally spaced out. It has a hint of dark post rock to it, as the song closes to some far off percussion instrumentation. The song is used in conjunction with ‘Check Life’, the next track, as one leads into the other without any real break. ‘Check Life’ carries the heaviest guitar performance, as the garage blues sound is in full force, with harsh guitar lines and note plucks that lift up and up as the song goes along, before calming down. Succi’s voice is again in ‘dark’ mode, which is most obvious and distressing when the guitars quieten down, before everything is turned back up again. It really does have some fantastic guitar work, even if it isn’t totally original at time. It is definitely a high light track from the album.

‘Bastiano’ carries on the loudness from Check Life, and similarly to the last pair of tracks, it is best appreciated when the songs are listened to in concurrence, and has the most intense combination of pace and noise. It still maintains that garage rock appeal that makes the pair different from other similar musicians. At just over a minute and a half, it is disappointingly short, but I guess this goes hand in hand with the change in style and the tone of the song – quick hostility.

‘Giorno Perso’ returns to the full time down tempo alt rock blues, which is highly reminiscent of the down tempo moments in Check Life. It is particularly nice, if not terribly different, as just a background song that doesn’t attack the senses full on. Dorella’s light intermittent vocal addition is also a fine touch. The odd experimental blues guitar picking that becomes prominent at the end is also an fascinating change in direction, as the pair almost seem lost, having no idea what to do. It’s good for a smile after such dark moods present earlier. The final track, ‘Ofelia’, carries on this bluesy guitar rock riff as Succi’s vocals become more obvious and almost more hopeful overall. It’s a nice overall change of pace from the norm of the album, and a fine ending to a fine album.

As is probably obvious from the review, it was a difficult one to describe. However, it is one of those albums that make you glad you downloaded a gig of garbage simple to find. At times it feels similar, but it still doesn’t feel like that’s a bad thing. The bluesy vocals, the alternative rock, garage sound that is just great when it pops up its head as well as the occasional post-rock drone make it a great modern blues rock album. The down tempo vocals won’t appeal to everyone, but the combination is simply a treat.

TOTAL SCORE

6.6/10

– Casa Di Legno
- Bastiano


EDIT July 22nd - A mate of mine suggested it would be the perfect soundtrack to a coffee commercial. Don't necessarily disagree

Zarko

I decided to revamp nearly all the scores I had handed out to be more indicitive of enjoyment compared to another album. These definitely won't be a final say, will probabyl change again, but I made it a full restructure...

For those interested...
Khmer - 9.3 to 9.2
Fog Dance - 7.4 to 6.8
Hurtbreak Wonderland - 8.5 to 8.0
Nikusei - 7.6 to 7.2
Arc Of The Testimony - 9.5 to 9.3
Inamorata - 6.8 to 6.5
Iron Path - 9.6 to 9.3
Black Good Luck - 7.5 to 7.1
Le Livre noir Du Capitalisme - 9.4 to 9.0
Architechnology - 7.8 to 8.3
Volkssturm - 8.4 to 8.7
The Night I Met My Second Wife - Remained the same
Nu Bop - Remained the same
Non Io - 8.0 to 7.5

Zarko

Champagne & Grit – Little Axe (2004)


GENRES – Blues, Dub, Gospel

Grinning In Your Face – 3:57
Finger On The Trigger – 5:09
Mean Things – 6:17
The Way I See It – 0:38
Walk On Water – 4:49
Go Away Devil – 4:44
Say My Name – 4:45
Take Me Back To The Country – 1:00
All In The Same Boat – 4:10
Living & Sleeping In A Dangerous Time – 5:44
Will I Ever Get Back Home Again? – 4:22
Cloud – 3:11
Sinners – 4:40

Yet another album that just plain made me excited when I found it… When some people read ‘electronic dubbed blues’ they will probably think of Moby’s Play, as this was the first album to gain mainstream popularity from the style, and as a result is given a lot of credit for the ideas. Well, hate to burst your bubble but Little Axe (Skip McDonald) was one of the true originators of the style in 1994 with the album The Wolf That House Built. Champagne & Grit is the 2004 variant, and Little Axe is in stellar form. On the short of it, you should get this album. I’ve never been huge on modern blues, but it converted me. It is also produced by Adrian Sherwood, which may get a few peoples attention.

The album opens auspiciously with a simple blues ditty, the type that I haven’t heard in a good long time. ‘Grinning In Your Face’ makes me want to whip out some older blues albums, which contain some simple tunes with some nice vocals, and the artists make something great out of it. Classic blues, with a little gospel lyricism, it’s hard to get sick of. Bernard Fowler lends his simple, down to earth vocals for the album in general. His voice just works, tingling with the blues, riding the intense and deep sounds forward.

‘Finger On The Trigger’ changes the sound and feeling altogether, as the group whip out a funky blues groove with a sprinkle of reggae. The base is still the blues, pure and simple, but the cover is a foot tapping groove, almost hitting the tradition RnB level, as the distorted vocal samples are muffled and electronic in the background. Junior Delgado lends himself to the first of many songs on the track, offering up his reggae roots sound, infused with the dub, making this song a treat on the ears with the contrast between vocal styles. Cutting between McDonald’s deep bassy tones, to Delgado’s light Caribbean to the sampled and mixed backing vocals doesn’t sound like it should work, but believe me, it does. It also has some ripping harmonica work in the middle, which are almost unearthly in their nature.

‘Mean Things’ carries on the dub feeling from the previous track, but there is a heavier focus on pure blues sounds, down the guitar work and lyrics. From the album it is the most ‘modern-urban blues’, as it touches upon many of the greatest factors of classic blues, without borrowing from it too much, as well as offering a decent enough amount of what blues needs to become in the modern times. It still has a reggae groove to it at times, but it still doesn’t lose its bluesy nature. The layering during the guitar solo is a beaut at around 2:30, fusing deep bass with McDonald picking on his steel guitar. The sound is phenomenal.

‘The Way I See It’ is a simple little interlude, giving McDonald a chance to pull out some basic blues sounds. It’s nice, not terribly necessary, but nice nonetheless. ‘Walk On Water’ pulls out a little more gospel soul sound, in another homage to the classic gospel sound. There is a group of a few vocalists performing the majority of the work, before they introduce either a) a sample of some old gospel blues or b) have recorded in that style. Either way, it sounds awesome, offering a little bit of variation from the normal, chilled tempo of the song overall. It’s an extremely light and happy inducing song, and the light dub work in the background is as good as ever. It has that sense of largeness that gospel entails without losing too much of the modern elements that have been introduced elsewhere on the album. It is definitely one of my preferred songs from the album. By the way, I would love for someone to suggest a band or album that is similar to the ‘sampled’ vocals I was talking about on this track. I love that sort of stuff.

‘Go Away Devil’ is a return of the bluesy reggae sound, with some gospel-like lyricism. The song on a whole is all on a ‘spaced out’ level, slow, foreboding vocals with the appropriate levels of dubbing and distortion to make the ‘Go away Devil, Devil’ lyrics to have the perfect sense of hostility. The driving harmonica is also a treat for the listener, it also adds a bit of flavour, especially considering it is used primarily in conjunction with the reggae/dub vocals, and isn’t terribly intrusive during the more bluesy moments. ‘Say My Name’ borrows Shara Nelson’s unique sound in another slow grooving blues performance, which has the perfect touch of psychedelic RnB sound to create another solid track. I am not as huge on the track as a whole compared to many others, mainly due to the vocals, but it has a great measured groove to it.

‘Take Me Back To The Country’ is another short interval of pure blues. These shorter tracks really are a god send when most of the songs are quite large in scale. It is another simple piece, lasting only a minute. ‘All In The Same Boat’ is a difficult to explain. It has a distinct gospel sound, but has a few ‘singer/songwriter’ vocals area intertwined to make it a little different. The vocals don’t sound bluesy most of the time, but I still quite like the song. It’s another one of my ‘happiness inducing’ psychedelic good memories songs, even if it doesn’t particularly sound like something from your childhood, it just reminds you of those times.

‘Living & Sleeping In A Dangerous Time’ has a distinctly urban reggae blues sound, reminding me of some of Marley’s more dub infused pieces (Sorry I am not very knowing of reggae in general), combining enough of the best of both genres to make it a standout track. The sampling of the old sounding vocals is just another treat; I love it at every opportunity it is used, as the track talks about urban poverty and its results. It has a more distinct dub/reggae sound to it, which offers something different; just the simple blues layering is splendid. It is worth a check out from blues and reggae fans alike. It’s like reggae dub with a little Howlin’ Wolf gruffness infused.

‘Will I Ever Get Back Home Again?’ is similar to ‘Mean Things’ in that it has an individual urban-esque blues sound. It is heavily dubbed and distorted, but it has a beautiful blend archetypal blues harmonica, as McDonald’s vocals are transformed to an odd amalgamation of deep ‘darkness’ and psychedelic spaced out echoes. It’s an odd song, in that it never really picks up, but rather remains in it’s tripped out lulled glory. ‘Cloud’ is the longest ‘pure’ blues track, as it consists mainly of acoustic and steel guitar picking. It doesn’t come forward and grab you by the genitals, but then again, it isn’t meant to. Evocative of the lazy afternoon out in the sun, it is a charming track that, along with the previous song, signals the coming down period of the bluesy dub goodness.

The final track, ‘Sinners’, is a great send off to the album as a whole, borrowing from everything, and mixing it with a solid gospel blues base. It had quickly become probably my favourite send off for any recent album. It might just be me not recollecting some great moments, but it just grabs so many good qualities and shoves them together to make even more greatness when you thought it might have been maxed out. Once again the old styled vocal sampling is just a treat to behold. It isn’t in you face with loudness; it’s just a great track.

I said I would be cutting down on review length a while back, but some albums just deserve all the praise they get. I think I have talked about it enough, but if this is modern blues, I am mighty happy with where the genre is despite it’s falling off the face of the mainstream scene.

TOTAL SCORE

7.5/10

– Grinning In Your Face
– Finger On The Trigger
– Walk On Water

Zarko

What Happened – Bim Sherman (1998)


GENRES – Raggae, World

Heaven – 3:51
Earth People – 3:41
Guilty – 3:28
What Happened – 3:48
Keep On Trying – 3:57
Cool Down The Pressure – 3:58
Let The Spirit Move You – 3:20
Don’t Crucify My Love – 3:43
So Jah Say – 4:23
Truth – 3:53
Seven Times To Rise And Fall – 3:58
Queen of Hearts – 3:49

I have never been huge on reggae, but Bim Sherman was always a personal favourite purely due to his sublime vocal performance and willingness to explore more than just the pure roots and reggae sound that has plagued the genre in its ‘generic glory’ for a while. ‘What Happened’ carries an ethereal and poignant mood throughout and at times borrows so heavily from other genres that it is hard to classify as reggae. The album is calm, it doesn’t get the blood pumping, or the feet moving, but it’s just a beautifully touching and simple album, anchored by Sherman’s vocals. Sherman passed away in 2000, at the age of 50.

‘Heaven’ is the sort of opening track that makes you question whether I should really be labelling this album as reggae. It has such a strong ‘world’ sound, particularly with a strong Indian influence. It is a transcendent song, ethereal and light in nature, it is capable of holding someone in sway in its gorgeous simplicity and it helps when Sherman is in stunning form. Sherman’s previous album was a little too reggae-experimental, but Heaven gives a great sign to the rest of the album. It has a great balance between the reggae sound fans want and the experimentalism Sherman and the producers wished to commit to, and the result is this top track.

‘Earth People’ carries over this combination of this pensive world-reggae, and it is wonderfully intertwined with some roots rhythm and violin, along with Sherman’s lyricism, make this a true roots piece. It has a space-psychedelic dub sound going on at times, which is a pretty interesting touch. When the violin is singled out, it is also a treat, almost adding an Asian factor to the roots sound. It’s enough like the opening track to maintain that interest, whilst offering enough variation to make it sound not overly similar. ‘Guilty’ is a more hard edged turn from the delicate to a more reggae sharp tone, and it’s a nice change up. It is still not the type of song to get you jumping but it’s more of a head mover than the previous tracks. The backing vocalists also add a nice tinge of a bubbly pulse.

The title track, ‘What Happened’, is an amalgamation of a lot of small elements to make a grand result. The base is a distinct reggae beat, but it is overlaid with some traditional Indian elements and instrumentation, as well as some bluesy guitar picking. The roots feel lost, but still in a good way. There is also some heavily electronic beats layered along with some more moving backing vocalists. As always, Sherman’s vocals just take everything up a notch and this is another particularly stand out performance. It is fairly impossible to purely call this anything, whether that is reggae, world, blues or whatever, but nonetheless, it is content in itself.

‘Keep On Trying’ continues the blues base with a very traditional sounding riff. It is more electric than a normal roots acoustic sound, and along with the drumming creates a much more morose atmosphere, despite the upbeat drumming. ‘Cool Down The Pressure’ once again has a greater emphasis on the guitar, but the overall tone is very much reggae, mainly due to the vocals and lyricism. It’s structured well, and is pleasing on the ears, without being anything too extravagant. It’s the sort of song you know is nothing special, but you still like nonetheless.

‘Let The Spirit Move You’ dabbles in a bit of everything. It offers a variation of mood within itself, changing from deep and almost dark vocals to bright, as well as presenting a hint of worldliness and blues guitar to intensify the mood. It is another powerful track on the album, and probably one of the more movement inducing pieces on the album as a whole. It has that wavy beauty, which is only made better by Sherman’s vocals. ‘Don’t Crucify My Love’ has an almost classical reggae feel, primarily due to the heavy utilisation of a strings group to make the base of the song. It really is a change I loved, because it’s not normally something I have experienced within the reggae genre. If you were to ignore the reggae sound, it would almost be close to a ‘generic love song’ (In the most positive sense possible ) and the consequence is just a pleasant listen, which changes things up on the album a bit.

‘So Jah Say’ is a synth heavy reggae track, which is another interesting amalgamation in itself. It’s almost too poppy at times but it is still interesting enough not to skip, and isn’t a massive detriment to the album overall. Worth a listen, but the album offers up much more in my opinion. ‘Truth’ is flat out my favourite track on the album, with a profound blues/reggae combination. It has some classic delta-blues sound, and Sherman is in dazzling form, as well as having its own distinct eastern dashes here and there. A song much better experienced than anything else. Perhaps I love it because I am in a blues mood recently, but either way, it’s all quality.

‘Seven Times To Rise And Fall’ is a return to psychedelic dub form, with the Indian elements back at it’s strongest. It contains a very romantic sound as well as not being overly dramatic as it possibly could have turned out to be. ‘Queen of Hearts’ signals the end of the album with a fine, simple reggae ditty.

What really carry this album are Sherman’s quality vocals, with a light and sweet sound that are perfect for this sort of reggae. Despite being 60ish minutes, it doesn’t feel like its dragging itself, probably due to the light and ‘fluffy’ nature of the album overall. The ideas and production is also top notch, as a chord is struck in regards to the balance between the roots reggae sound of Bim and the worldly, blues sounds that are used to flesh out the songs as a whole, to stop the album being overly ‘generic’. It’s definitely an album any reggae fan should check out, and even fans of down tempo vocalists.

TOTAL SCORE

8.1/10

- Heaven
- Truth