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:


Jason Hwang Kao/
Human Rites Trio (
w/ Drury/
Filiano):
Second Life
(True Sound
Recordings)



Wadada Smith Leo (
Courvoisier/
Laswell/
Gibbs/
akLaff/
&c.):
Constellations And Hemispheres
(Burning Ambulance Music)



Casserley/
Marzan/
Van Schouwburg/
Wachsmann:
Being
(Bead)



Gebhard Ullmann (
w/ Steve Swell/
Joe Morris/
Charles Downs):
Coffee And Berries
(ESP Disk)



Gottliche Skizzen (
Delazer/
Delius/
Obleser):
Ringi Ringd Coint
(ezz-thetics now)



Sonelius Smith/
Adam Kahan:
We'll Let You Know
When We Find Out
[VINYL]
(577 Records)



Sophie Hassfurther:
Kaleidoscope - Empathy
(ezz-thetics now)



Airlift (
Diehl/
Lowery/
Lawson/
Levin/
Lavelle/
Hotep/
Marquez/
Dennis):
Spatial Recognition
[2 CDs]
(577 Records)



Satoko Fujii Orchestra Nagoya:
Korekara
(Libra)



Cecil Taylor Unit:
Live at the
KiMo Theater Albuquerque 1979
[VINYL 2 LPs]
(Black Editions Archives)



Rabbit Rabbit Radio (
Carla Kihlstedt/
Matthias Bossi):
Volume 4:
The Animal I Am
(Klanggalerie)



Ten-Toh-Maru (
Fujii/
Nakamura/
Tenko):
The One Who Walks
Through The Night
(Meenna)



Satoko Fujii
Orchestra Berlin:
Second Attempt
(Libra)



Ivo Perelman/
Matthew Shipp:
Duologues 7:
Distillation
[5x5 ALBUM FACSIMILE WITH DOWNLOAD]
(Squid Note Records)



Luke Stewart
Exposure Quintet (
w/ Vandermark/
Wilkerson/
Baker/
Ra):
In The Air And On The Ground
(RogueArt)



Chansons Du Crepuscule (
Helene Breschand/
Elliott Sharp):
Une Lumiere Tenac
(Klanggalerie)



Tungu/
Henry Kaiser:
The Unexplained
(Klanggalerie)



Andrew Poppy:
The Beating of Wings:
40th Anniversary Edition
(False Walls)



Ikue Mori:
Enchanted and Delighted
[CD + DVD]
(Tzadik)



Paul Lytton/
Eddie Prevost/
Nate Wooley/
Seymour Wright:
Parallels & Diagonals
(Fataka)







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. (15586)