Brainville 3 (Allen / Hopper / Cutler)

Trial By Headline

Label: Recommended Records Country: USA

"Three old hands out of Soft Machine, Gong and Henry Cow stretch already elastic musical material into various shapes, tie it in knots and generally have a good time. These high quality recordings combined with seat-of-the-pants playing make for a lot of feature and colour, underpinning a music that is constantly in shape-shifting motion. Compiled from recent concert recordings in Berlin, London and Tel Aviv, this clutch of extended songs should be to the taste of anyone familiar with the protagonists, or who longs to hear a little more straightforward instrumental playing in place of computers, heavy production and highly sanitised post-production. Well seasoned musicality, fast thinking and relaxed conversation at the edge of chaos.

ROOTS:
In 1963 Hopper and Allen first play together in the then revolutionary Daevid Allen Trio, with Robert Wyatt - the first group to combine free-jazz-rock forms with abstract poetry. By 1967 Daevid had become a founding member of the now legendary Soft Machine, which Hugh joined in 1968. By this time, Daevid was living in Paris and concocting the first of the still-evolving Gong's. When, on occasion, Gong was between drummers, it was Cutler who, although a full time member of Henry Cow, was drafted in. Later, in 1979, he worked with Allen on the LP N'existe Pas and at various festivals, including Georgio Gomelski's legendary New York Zu Manifestival . Hopper and Cutler didn't work together until 1993, in Lindsay Cooper's Oh Moscow, but have since played intermittently as a duo. This trio has popped in and out of being since 1997 and their first tour in Japan."-Recommended Records