| 18 - Spirituals | | Print | |
"The production methodology adopted by Uwe Schmidt (aka Atom™) and Señor Coconut) and Nonplace head Burnt Friedman for their latest project differs little from before-once again the duo exchanged material electronically between their studios in Santiago, Chile and Cologne, Germany, this time over a three-year period-but the sound is drastically different. Unlike the electronic neo-jazz of Inner Space/Outer Space, Spirituals is a full-fledged foray into 1920s New Orleans blues and Dixieland-embryonic Jazz in its innocent Swing beginnings. Jubilant echoes of Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Django Reinhardt course through the album's 45 minutes, with the contributions of clarinetist Hayden Chisholm (a lead voice throughout), vocalist Riff Jackson III (Richard Pike), and Triosk drummer Laurence Pike aka MF Shakespeare featured prominently. High points include "Funeral March," a bluesy dirge of braying horns and clarinet soloing that sounds much like an early version of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and "Hope To Hear Back Soon, Honey," where the shuffling pluck of electric guitar parallels the vocal, the song further distinguished by a sweet, engaging melody line and a burnished tenor sax solo that would do Ben Webster proud. Uptempo fare like the New Orleans Dixieland bop of "How Long Is the Wrong Way?" alternates with the relaxed Count Basie stylings of "Down The River" and the laid-back Eastern groove of "In My Car." Flanger plays it generally straight throughout, though some hint of digital tomfoolery surfaces in the sunny "Music Is Our Secret Code." Be forewarned: Spirituals sounds nothing like Flanger's previous releases (Templates, Midnight Sound, Inner Space/Outer Space) and the change is at first disconcerting. But those with an open mind and, more critically, a jones for 1920s Swing will find much to enjoy. Think of Spirituals as a spirited 45-minute visit to The Cotton Club-only a near-century after its opening." (review from textura.org) "Though this is a producers-album, this must be one of the most vivid jazzrecords lately released!" (review by Volkskrant, NL) "What with Uwe Schmidt's relentless output as Atom TM and a million other guises its often easy to forget that the first album he released under the Flanger moniker with Burnt Friedman was about as innovative and influential as the post-jazz-glitch movement has ever produced. Beautifully microscopic emissions, percussive lines made out of bits of static and white noise, skittering beats and deep Rhodes keyed in for that late night jazz club effect. The two albums that followed on from this amazing debut failed to recapture the same fresh spark, instead settling for a less daring approach to largely familiar material. It's nice to see, then, that for their fourth album (the first for Friedman's own Nonplace imprint) the duo have drafted in a whole host of contributors and have radically altered their sound - delivering a rather bizarre but refreshing take on 1920's charleston with minimal digital intervention. The vocals of Riff Pike III do for the jazzclub what Jamie Lidell has done for funk - straight delivery that's only ever so slightly given the traditional flanger treatment - consciously at the other end of the spectrum to what this duo have delieverd in the past. A cockle-warming, feelgood excursion from two undisputed masters." (review by boomkat.com) "Oh, cataclysm. A radius that expands beyond measurable miles, into lives across the world, refracting into history and culture, altering previous conceptions. How many times in the past months have you heard the music of New Orleans featured on the news, in a store, on the radio? How should we react to this music now? Why do we need to hear it? For mourning or comfort? Like other endangered New Orleans cultural traditions, we want to know that it will survive. We want what we knew of New Orleans, from the food to Mardi Gras to music, however typical and surface-level, to somehow remain constant. People, places, instruments, artefacts are lost, much of it long gone before Katrina swept through, but now we are all preservationists. So this project exploring early jazz, New Orleans blues, Dixieland, the roots of what would become swing and big band is suddenly burdened with the memory of New Orleans. Spirituals is a dramatic departure for long-time collaborators Uwe Schmidt and Burnt Friedman (...) and is a result of three years of sending sound files between their respective Chilean and German studios. The electronic augmentation is for the most part very subtle and acoustic jazz instruments and vocals are the stars here: clarinet, horns, banjo, softly brushed snare. Previously a light-hearted, playful, relaxed affair, it's hard to remove yourself from the present day and step into the time capsule they have tastefully assembled. The album begins with the slow, weeping dirge of "Funeral March" as if to say the music and era are dead and respects must first be paid. The horns seem to riff on "Summertime," deepened with cavernous digital echo. But as the tempos pick up on the rest of the tracks it’s impossible to not start tapping along. The brushes dance on the snare, the sock-hats clamp together, banjo strums quicken, and clarinet and horns float warmly above this Charleston beat. There are minute squiggles and crunches of electronics perceptible, some effects put on a splash cymbal hit perhaps, but they put more of their producing skills into making this a cohesive, believable homage to the era. They don’t go overboard recreating the production sounds of old recording, but occasionally layer atop a patina of vinyl crackle and wax cylinder vocals. Kind of like those classic Django Reinhardt/Stéphane Grappelli/Hot Club of France recordings getting a little bit of dub treatment. Soft intonations of electric guitar also appear, giving a nod to Charlie Christian. They cut up vocals contributed by an Australian male singer, but for the most part leave his thankfully smooth and subtle contributions untreated (yes, he does scat and whistle a bit but it’s not annoying). Some remixed and extended versions are included that possess a bit more electronic embellishment. All in all, a great recreation of this era of jazz that sidesteps hokey clichés and overly traditional fussiness while still brimming with life and energy. The city of its birth will never be the same, the music may be hard to separate from the images for quite some time, but it still feels good to just hear it." (review by Andy Tefft, Indie Workshop, US)
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