The Squid's Ear Magazine


Necks, The: Vertigo (Northern Spy)

The Necks 18th album finds the trio of drummer/percussionist Tony Buck, bassist Lloyd Swanton and pianist/keyboardist Chris Abrahams in a vertiginous 44 minute dark excursion punctuated by cliff hanging moments through homemade instruments and unusual textures.
 

Price: $13.95


Quantity:

Out of Stock

Quantity in Basket: None

Log In to use our Wish List
Shipping Weight: 2.00 units

Sample The Album:





product information:

Personnel:



Tony Buck-drums, percussion, guitar

Lloyd Swanton-bass

Chris Abrahams-piano, keyboards



Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 703610875807

Label: Northern Spy
Catalog ID: NS 067 CD
Squidco Product Code: 21149

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2015
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"The Necks 18th album Vertigo is an eventful, kaleidoscopic tone poem set against a darkly shimmering background. Slowly but inexorably moving forward, it crosses many frontiers yet remains true to the mission and mood established in the opening stanzas of this cinematic 44 minute journey. A work able to be viewed either as a whole, or two symmetrical halves, Vertigo sees The Necks once again offer an excursion in sound that reflects both the light and darkness of some preternatural world.

In contrast to the sustained improvisations that are their live performances, The Necks' studio albums take shape by way of intricate crafting brought to bear throughout the entire recording and mixing process. "The discussion this time really began in earnest in the session itself, where we started to pursue the idea of having a drone running from start to finish, off which we could hang ideas," said bassist Lloyd Swanton "But like all Necks albums we ended up in a very different place from whatever our initial notion of it had been."

Maintaining a teetering tension between suspension and collapse, Vertigo draws on a diverse palette of sounds created in the studio, featuring everything from homemade instruments, extended instrumental techniques and marathon explorations of sonic textures. One piece, at the same time two. Monochrome, yet multicoloured. Dark, yet incandescent. Expansive and still. Melancholic and exhilarating. The Necks. Vertigo."-Northern Spy

Also available on vinyl LP.

Artist Biographies

"Born in Sydney in 1962, Tony is regarded as one of Australia's most creative and adventurous exports, with vast experience across the globe. He has been involved in a highly diverse array of projects. Apart from The Necks, he is probably best known as leader of hardcore/impro band PERIL.

Early in his musical life, after having graduated from the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, he became very involved in the jazz scene in Australia, often touring with visiting international artists such as Vincent Herring, Clifford Jordan, Mickey Tucker, Branford Marsalis and Ernie Watts, as well as Australians Mark Simmonds, Paul Grabowsky, The catholics, Sandy Evans and Dale Barlow.

Following time spent in Japan, where he formed PERIL with Otomo Yoshihide and Kato Hideki, Tony moved to Europe, and has involved himself in many projects there, including the development of new "virtual" MIDI controllers at STEIM in Amsterdam.

Tony has played, toured or recorded with, among others, Jon Rose, Nicolas Collins, Tenko, John Zorn, Tom Cora, Phil Minton, Haino, Switchbox, The Machine for Making Sense, Ne Zhdall, The EX, Peter Brotzmann, Hans Reichel, The Little Red Spiders, Subrito Roy Chowdury, Clifford Jordan, Kletka Red, Han Bennink, Shelley Hirsch, Wayne Horvitz, Palinckx, and Ground Zero."

-The Necks Website (http://www.thenecks.com/bio)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Described by Billboard Magazine as "an outstanding and imaginative Australian bassist and composer", Lloyd Swanton was born into a large and musical family in Sydney in 1960.

His long-running group, The catholics, has released eight albums, all produced and predominantly composed by him, with three receiving ARIA Award nominations. Their album Simple was nominated for the German Deutsche Schallplattenkritik Award.

His 12-part suite Ambon, drawing from his uncle Stuart's secret diary kept whilst a prisoner of war in World War II, had its premiere in 2015, and is now released as a double CD.

Overseas exposure in nearly 40 countries with numerous groups includes countless performances throughout Europe, Canada, the USA, Mexico, India, Cuba, New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan.

For fourteen years, Lloyd Swanton hosted Mixed Marriage, a very popular radio program which examined crossings of jazz with other musical styles, on Eastside Radio in Sydney.

In his spare time, Lloyd is an avid follower of Australian Football, and a keen collector of Australian Aboriginal art, ice crushers, modernist ceramics, and books on Fellini. He is also gathering historical information on his distant ancestor Theodore Deck, a leading name in 19th Century French ceramics."

-The Necks Website (http://www.thenecks.com/bio)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Chris Abrahams was born in Oamaru, New Zealand but grew up in Sydney, Australia.

He became very active in the Sydney jazz scene in the early eighties playing with modern jazz groups including Mark Simmonds' Freeboppers and The Keys Music Orchestra. With Lloyd Swanton he formed the 60's modern jazz-influenced The Benders in 1982. During its day, the band released three albums - E, False Laughter and Distance.

In 1984 Chris recorded and released his first solo piano album - Piano, followed in 1986 by Walk.

In 1985 Chris became a founding member of the Sydney indie rock band The Sparklers. As a result of this, Chris began working regularly with the singer and songwriter Melanie Oxley. Chris collaborated with Melanie, writing songs and producing albums, throughout the nineties. There are five releases with her: Resisting Calm (1990), Welcome to Violet (1992), Coal (1994), Jerusalem Bay (1998) and Blood Oranges (2003).

Chris released a third solo piano album, Glow, in 2001. This was followed in 2003 by Streaming, and then Thrown (2004), Play Scar (2010) and Memory Night (2013).

Chris has collaborated, in both recording and performance, with many contemporary improvising musicians including Burkhard Beins, Mike Cooper and Anthony Pateras. He performs regularly in the improvising music scenes both in Australia and Europe."

-The Necks Website (http://www.thenecks.com/bio)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



1. Vertigo 43:57

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
The Necks
Trio Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Australian Improvisers, Composers and Experimenters
Piano Trio (Piano Bass Drums)

Search for other titles on the label:
Northern Spy.


Recommended & Related Releases:
Other Recommended Releases:
Necks, The
Silverwater
(Recommended Records)
The trio of Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton & Tony Buck in their first release in 4 years, named for an industrial suburb, a bleak and beautifully building affair in The Necks tradition.
Necks, The
Mosquito / See Through
(Recommended Records)



Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought:
Laubrock, Ingrid / Tom Rainey
Buoyancy
(Relative Pitch)
Drawing on several years and many shared projects, the duo of Ingrid Laubrock (sax) and Tom Rainey (drums) recorded this excellent album of sophisticated improvisation at the end of a 17-date tour, performing for a studio audience at Audio for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin.
De Looze, Bram (D Looze / St-Louis / Levin / Van Hemmen / Van Der Werf / Verheyen / Ullmann)
Septych
(Clean Feed)
Young Belgian pianist & composer Bram De Looze in a new Septych (septet) orchestrated with two cellos, three horns, piano and drums from a tremendous set of players: Daniel Levin, Gebhard Ullmann, Robin Verheyen, Lester St-Louis, Bo Van Der Werf and Flin Van Hemmen.
Wooley, Nate Quintet (Wooley / Sinton / Moran / Opsvik / Eisenstadt)
(Dance to) The Early Music
(Clean Feed)
Nate Wooley assembled his outstanding quintet of Josh Sinton on bass clarinet, Matt Moran on vibs, Eivind Opsvik on bass and Harris Eisenstadt on drums to present a non-ironic take on the early music of a trumpeter who inspired Wooley at an early age - Wynton Marsalis.
Nakatani, Tatsuya
Gong
(Nakatani-Kobo)
Compositions on fourteen gongs performed and recorded by Tatsuya Nakatani during the winters of 2014 and 2015, 6 untitled works of powerful tones evoked from these large instruments using bows and mallets, each slowly unfolding and enveloping the listener.



The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

© 2002-, Squidco LLC