Sage J Harlow is an Australian musician who often performs under the name, Sage Pbbbt. This is a set of four pieces between 18 and 20 minutes long, performed by a septet of Jameson Feakes (guitar), Dan O'Connor (trumpet), Oz Kesik (synthesizer), Djuna Lee (double bass), Josten Myburgh (alto saxophone), Pbbbt (voices) and Saskia Willinge (flute). An inscription on the sleeve reads, "this album was created on the unceeded [sic] lands of the whadjuk people of the noongar nation. the artists pay their respects to the whadjuk people and their elders".
Even without the note, it wouldn't have been difficult for the listener to conjure up visions of the Outback during the opening track, 'one; two'. Softly percolating wind and percussion sounds exist in a steady but active state, the saxophone or low flute perhaps evoking the classic didjeridoo breathiness while the rest elicit (without being at all imitative) various noises one can easily imagine hearing during a desert night. 'morphing' concentrates on flutes, low vocals and sandy textures, again in a kind of drone atmosphere, but varying in density and graininess. Here as elsewhere, the ensemble sometimes skirts the line between a nice sense of suspension and a bit too much inaction; it's a tough balance. Similarly with 'distance' — different textures, but the same general approach and the closing work, 'inverse', treads the same ground. This may well be in keeping with the aural traditions of the Whadjuk people and evoke a feeling of commiseration with their persecution and colonization (which have been terrible) and the listener may feel this is enough. To these ears, however, as ingratiating as a given segment of the music may be, I wanted to hear either more engagement with the culture and/or land or a more complete abandonment to it.
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