Some intriguing new releases

Hi everyone, this is my first post ever at Swedish Technology, though hopefully I will become an active contributor. Here are some new releases I found interesting. You can also read these reviews, along with a bunch of other interesting texts, at my webpage.

Robert Ashley - Tap Dancing in the Sand (2008)
This record collects five pieces by Ashley, all performed by the Dutch ensemble MAE. Mostly famous for his casual, conversational "operas", Robert Ashley is perhaps one of the more well-known figures of today's American avant-garde. The title track, composed in 2004, is an example of such an opera, consisting of Ashley reading a text over a repetitive musical background of piano and strings.

Philip Jeck - Sand (2008)
Sand is a sample-heavy album of digital ambience, which sometimes bursts out into Merzbow-ish collages of chaos. In lyrical tracks such as the organic and fragile Fanfare Forward, Jeck seems to be making a statement about humanity in general. Other tracks present intriguing textures, which try to hide bits and pieces of melody deep below. The multi-layered textures of Fanfare's Over evoke the blissful radioactivity of some of the most experimental German rock music of the early 70's, namely Krautrock by Faust.
All in all, it is probably a minor work, suffering from way to much filler material, a problem that is ever-present in the age of cheap CD's and digital distribution.

Meredith Monk - Impermanence (2008)
Meredith Monk, that brilliant voice behind such masterworks as Tablet (1977) and Dolmen Music (1979), is back with yet another album. Her vocal experiments - acrobatic, schizofrenic and childish - are still here, though this time she puts a lot more emphasis on the backing instruments than she has before. The piece is scored for eight voices, piano, keyboard, marimba, vibraphone, percussion, violin and winds. The album was conceived after the sudden death of the composer's partner, and as such it is heavily concerned with aging and death, though for the most part the mood remains meditative rather than harrowing, except perhaps in the desperate Totentanz. As she often does when at her best, Monk manages to combine the personal and the universal in an impressive synthesis. By the end, in Mieke's Melody Nr 5, Monk has achieved that delicate balance between grief and acceptance: the voices fade out, a solemn piano accompanied by a vibraphone take over. And then the silence.

Spring Heel Jack - Songs and Themes (2008)
In the humble opinion of the present writer, one of the most interesting acts of the new millenium so far, has been Spring Heel Jack, consisting of John Coxon and Ashley Wales. Starting out in the mid-90s as a somewhat innovative drum'n'bass act, the duo then moved into more abstract soundscapes with their 2000 release Disappeared, as an element of vanguard jazz was introduced into the composition. That album had an intensity and powerfulness rarely seen in music today. With Masses (2001) their transition to avant-garde jazz was complete. Backed by an extremely impressive ensemble of jazz musicians, the duo concocted one of the most innovative fusions in modern music. Their next album, Amassed (2002) was perhaps an even better take on the genre they invented. While The Sweetness of the Water (2004) was probably a disappointment when seen in the light of their high standard, I was nevertheless very much looking forward to their next release.
Like some of their previous pieces, Songs and Themes has a quality akin to modern chamber music. The recording collects yet another impressive array of jazz musicians, with trumpeter Roy Campbell and saxophonist John Tchicai taking the lead. Some of the slow-moving tracks, such as Silvertone, featuring John Tchicai on bass clarinet and John Coxon on violin, acquire an almost spiritual quality. The electronics are mostly pushed into the background, as Wales glues together the different snippets of improvisation rather smoothly. The mood is often ghastly and unstable, as in the extended track At Long Last, when the instruments of Campbell and Tchicai meet with digital glitches. 1,000 Yards even makes use of a dissonant electric guitar, while the closer Garlands features a classy trumpet.
Perhaps not up to the quality of some of their previous releases, Songs and Themes is nevertheless a highly enjoyable experience, well worth listening to for those who are into modern experimental music.

That's all for now.

/Aron