The Squid's Ear
Writing about improvised, contemporary, experimental and unusual music,
following the activities of Squidco...
  •  •  •     Join Our Mailing List!



The Squid's Ear




Heard In

Reviews of artist releases:
cd's, books, magazines, &c.


  Circuit (Dunmall / Taylor / Gibbs) 
  Electro Acoustic Ensemble
  (FMR) 


  
   review by Matt Schulz
  2019-06-17
Circuit (Dunmall / Taylor / Gibbs): Electro Acoustic Ensemble (FMR)

Circuit here is a UK ea-improv trio utilizing many sources, with vibes and skittering guitar runs co-mingling with a clarinet and other string sounds, electronics chiming, growling and processed into slower/faster moments that sometimes spin out of control. It's a lot of sound generated by 3 men. Sound events appear and immediately morph into nothingness with the only cohesive element being change. The sonic makeup is virtuosic on all levels. Speed is also a common denominator, as notes flurry past.

Track two of the five untitled tracks is slower paced somehow, regardless of the velocities employed by the players. Track 3 begins with seriously haunted tones, reversed as muted reeds make spectral appearances. Bells chime and guitar scurries about in the shadows. The piece develops as the lines become longer and more pronounced. Drums begin adding to the clamor in a tight exchange between horn, guitar, and percussion unfolds. A frenetic improvisation ensues, again using velocity and dynamics as a vehicle. The pace finally lets up to make way for meditative, held notes with some mallets and processed sounds thrown in for good measure. Track 4 could be the soundtrack to a deep 70's sci-fi film, with flute tones held over from the previous decade colliding with futuristic treatment. The guitar is present as well, as if the whole track is being filtered, triggered by the flute's action. The final track is similar but I could have sworn I heard 2 seconds of Alice Coltrane there, at least her sensibilities.

This record is full of surprises and a lot of fun to listen to. Seek it out.







Comments and Feedback:



More Recent Reviews, Articles, and Interviews @ The Squid's Ear...


The Squid's Ear presents
reviews about releases
sold at Squidco.com
written by
independent writers.

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Marty Ehrlich:
OPEN AIR: The Complete
Saxophone Quartet Compositions of
Julius Hemphill
[2CDs]
(Out Of Your Head
Records)



Fred Frith/
Cornelius Claudio Kreusch/
Johannes Tonio Kreusch:
Pink/
Neon
[2 CDs]
(Galileo Music Communication )



Fred Frith/
Cornelius Claudio Kreusch/
Johannes Tonio Kreusch:
Pink/
Neon
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(Galileo Music Communication )



Tyshawn Sorey/
Pat Thomas:
Red Sulphur
(Otoroku)



Frank Trompeter/
Richard Gilman-Opalsky:
Antifascist Freedom Music
(Mahakala Music)



Sei Miguel:
Viva!
O Carro de Fogo
de Sei Miguel
[2 CDs]
(Clean Feed)



Mikolaj Trzaska/
John Edwards/
Mark Sanders:
Because It Happens
[VINYL]
(gusstaff records)



Enso (
Benjamin Dwyer/
Rafal Mazur/
Ramon Lopez):
Rhizoming
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Joe Morris/
Rob Brown/
Anna Webber/
Matthew Rousseaux:
Counter Spectacle
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



B:A:N:S BAND (
Sophie Agnel/
John Butcher/
Pascal Niggenkemper/
Stale Liavik Solberg):
Foam & Mesh
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Golding/
Brice/
Prevost:
High Laver Levitations
Vol 4:
Sound-Out -
jazz is dead,
long live jazz
(Matchless)



Angles 4 (
Kuchen/
Haker-Flaten/
Stahl/
Nordeson):
Angles 4
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



Glass Triangle (
Parkins/
Rasmussen/
Sawyer):
3 X 1
[CD + DOWNLOAD]
(Relative Pitch)



Lao Dan Chicago Quartet:
Klotski
(Trost Records)



Lao Dan Chicago Quartet:
Klotski
[VINYL]
(Trost Records)



Nick Mazzarella:
Siena Sessions
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Hartmut Geerken/
Chris Trent:
Omniverse Sun Ra (
Expanded And
Revised 3rd Edition:
2026)
[BOOK]
(Art Yard)



Sonic Fiction Special (
Gratkowski/
Strobl/
Graewe/
Hemingway) feat. Earl Howard:
Banding Patterns
(Random Acoustics)



Schlippenbach Trio:
Elf Bagatellen
[DOUBLE VINYL]
(Cien Fuegos)



Verona Sextet (
Armaroli/
Buck/
Gemmo/
Mayas/
Piccolo/
Sharp):
Leap And Bounds
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)







Squidco
Click here to
advertise with
The Squid's Ear






The Squid's Ear pays its writers.
Interested in becoming a reviewer?




The Squid's Ear is the companion magazine to the online music shop Squidco !


  Copyright © Squidco. All rights reserved. Trademarks. (19462)