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.


  Paul Rogers / Olaf Rupp / Frank Paul Schubert 
  Three Stories About Rain, Sunlight And The Hidden Soil
  (Relative Pitch) 


  
   review by Massimo Ricci
  2019-09-19
Paul Rogers / Olaf Rupp / Frank Paul Schubert: Three Stories About Rain, Sunlight And The Hidden Soil (Relative Pitch)

Considering the superabundant offer in today's improvisation, we frequently find ourselves in the condition of evaluating textural/environmental settings whose content can be hard to decode without putting in the necessary work. Given that brains operate at different speeds, a whimper of "exclusively for musicians" usually comes from individuals refusing a deeper investigation of unsympathetic expressive forms. This rings especially true when the momentousness of an acoustic contingency equals the clangor of (apparent) mayhem. In this superbly titled effort, bassist Paul Rogers, guitarist Olaf Rupp and saxophonist Frank Paul Schubert introduce several crucial issues in that sense.

In an ideal world, immediate comprehensibility should never be a defining parameter of free music; in fact, an album like this can require three or four spins to barely scratch its surface. Just be aware that, in this particular session, Rogers, Rupp and Schubert were on the talkative side of things; therefore, a Wandelweiser kind of mood might likely cause this stuff to be rejected by someone's systems. In order to get to the core of the emission, one must reason principally in terms of timbral kinetics; more often than not, we're treated with erratic superimpositions of multifarious grains and interesting vibrational morphologies. The neighboring upper partials of Rogers' 7-string bass and Rupp's jangle-sparkle-and-rasp guitar are but an example; however, Schubert � apparently the lone idealist willing to throw in lyrical shards every once in a while � can mutate into a screaming multiphonic monster at the flick of a switch. Throughout the set, the trio adheres to a "let's see what happens as we keep going on" philosophy; the experience of skilled improvisers is paired with an unquestionable facility on the respective means.

When all is said and done � aside from the quieter interplay characterizing at least part of the final track "Yeast" � this is a turbulent, occasionally invasive, ultimately reinvigorating release. It surely deserves to be heard, if only to deliver your antagonistic spirit from the grinning demons of false contemplativeness.







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:


Bobby Bradford/
Mark Dresser/
Hafez Modirzadeh:
Sonic House Reunion
(NoBusiness)



Marion Brown (
Brown/
Hampel/
Phillips/
McCall):
Live in Europe
1968 & 1972
(NoBusiness)



John Zorn (
w/ Julian Lage/
Gavin Riley):
Seven Sonnets
(Tzadik)



[ahmed] (
Thomas/
Grip/
Gerbal/
Wright):
Play Monk
[2 CDs]
(Otoroku)



Michael Formanek (
w/ Hawkins/
Halvorson/
Fujiwara/
O'Gallagher/
Doxas/
Almeida):
New Digs
(Intakt)



Sylvia Lim:
Flare
(Another Timbre)



Ava Mendoza:
Alive Alone,
Alive Together
(Burning Ambulance Music)



John Cage (
Wegmann/
Debacker):
Two2 (
1989) for 2 Pianos
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Myra Melford/
Satoko Fujii:
Katarahi
(RogueArt)



Matthias Muche Bonecrusher:
Densities -
for 12 trombones
& percussion
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Columbia Icefield (
Wooley/
Alcorn/
Mendoza/
Sawyer):
A Silence Opens
(Out Of Your Head Records)



Marta Warelis (
w/ LaMar Gay/
Baars/
Ng/
Haker Flaten/
Rosaly):
Still Life
with Lemons
(Relative Pitch)



Klaus Lang/
Apartment House:
Geschrieben In Wasser
(Another Timbre)



Machinefabriek:
Samen
(Machinefabriek)



Ivo Perelman/
Damon Smith:
Duologue:
Core of Existence
(Squid Note Records)



Marty Ehrlich:
Cartographies of Flight:
Lines Set Afloat
Towards Hope
(Corbett vs. Dempsey)



Mike Westbrook Orchestra:
The Cortege
Live At The BBC
1980
[2CDs]
(Cadillac Records)



JOSILEMI (
featuring Joe Fonda/
Silke Eberhard/
Emil Gross):
Hear This
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Centrifugal Quartet (
feat Mia Dyberg/
Antonio Borgini/
Michael Griener/
Antonio Borghini):
Industry
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Lazro/
Leandre/
Lovens:
For Baritone Sax, Double Bass and Drumset
(Relative Pitch)







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. (10030)