Dendoshi

2 [VINYL]

Label: PLANAM Country: Italy

"Dendoshi is Keith Connolly (No Neck Blues Band), Raymond Dijkstra (Asra), Dave Nuss (No Neck Blues Band) and Timo Van Luyk (Af Ursin, In Camera). Dendoshi: 'he who comes to propagate the ceremony' or 'missionary' (Japanese). There had actually been a previous incarnation of Dendoshi (hence Dendoshi 2), which was a large group performance in New York which concentrated on elucidating the memories of a dead tree which had been re-contextualized as a sculptural exhibit.

Some thematic reference: The name Dendoshi originates from the work of Japanese filmmaker Kyoshi Kurosowa, whose films also inspired the content of the first performance. When the opportunity presented itself for Connolly, Dijkstra, Nuss and Van Luyk to come together to make a session, it was the perfect opportunity to realize Dendoshi not as a one-off performance on a theme, but as a recurring ritual in development. The resulting music widened the conceptual reflection of the band, bringing to mind the history and ideas of Franz Mesmer. Mesmer, the eighteenth century Austrian spiritualist healer, was among the first to put forth the theory of what he termed 'animal magnetism,' regarding a universal fluid which permeates all matter and can be influenced by the will, not dissimilar to some of Eliphas Levi's concepts. What seemed to set Mesmer apart was an attention to mood and atmosphere, an aesthetic component to what were scientifically quite dubious theories, which lent to his work an aura of portent - thus the parallel with the music captured as Dendoshi 2. Reflecting the qualities that all four musical sensibilities had in common, the album is a statement upon the ephemeral nature of atmosphere and will, and the relation of reverie to oblivion as opposed to ecstasy.

The symbol, or mark on the front cover created by Connolly came intuitively and without revision. Its applied function is that of distinction rather than that of protection or as a seal. It was first applied to the photograph by Clarence H. White form 1904, where the first resonant depiction, or personification, of reverie and oblivion as applied to Dendoshi was found. By applying the mark Connolly is ceremonializing the image, thus rendering it distinct from its original form, not as an appropriation, but as a recognition. The other images followed, and each of them was recognized instantly without having to search. The last was Vermeer's image from Van Luyk's basement, and upon receiving this, the series of 4 inserts was complete. There is a trace of fear and a sensation of suspended time in these images which suits the music very well."