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.


  Mark Wastell 
  Cello-Intern Solos
  (Confront) 


  
   review by Brian Olewnick
  2023-03-27
Mark Wastell: Cello-Intern Solos (Confront)

Mark Wastell has been recording since the mid-90s, initially in large part as a cellist, eventually moving on to percussion (especially the tam-tam) and electronics. The range of music he engages in is quite wide, from the reductionist aesthetic of +Minus (with Bernhard Günter and Graham Halliwell) or The Sealed Knot (with Burkhard Beins and Rhodri Davies) to the more drone-oriented approach of Oceans of Silver and Blood (with Joachim Nordwall).

Recently, after a chance encounter with some of Scelsi's string quartet music, Wastell felt a desire to re-listen to the contemporary string music which had been a major part of his earlier years and, in turn, to re-engage with aspects of his cello. This eventually took the form of an event situated about midway between a practice session and a concert — he would play, alone, in the public space at London's Hundred Years Gallery, open to anyone who ventured in, but would face a corner of the room and investigate aspects of the cello he'd neglected for quite a long time. As he put it in an email to this writer, "No reductionist stuff, no white noise, no pizzicato, no drones, no percussive effects." The disc at hand is the first recorded artifact of this process though, as of this writing, it continues to be an ongoing project.

For these sessions, recorded between February and May of 2022, Wastell limits his approach to arco, operates within a densely occupied space at a relatively high dynamic level and offers nothing very close to what might be considered as traditional melodic content. Given that there are seventeen shortish tracks, ranging between about a minute and half and seven minutes, this can result in a fairly intense, possibly claustrophobic experience for the listener. But one really must engage with this recording in a different manner than most, perhaps simply dealing with it for what it is, at least partly: a kind of practice session, one that you happened to walk into. Listened to carefully, you realize that Wastell is varying his attack greatly, albeit within a fairly delineated area and, more, that he's discovering all sorts of creative and eerily beautiful soundscapes. You hear a serious investigation of one of those niches that might appear narrow at first glance but, in the hands of an able guide, reveals many fascinating aspects. Wastell does vary his approach, allowing the sounds to dissipate here, well up there, but the overall sensation is one of dense, purposeful and often strident activity. No individual track really stands out. Rather, one is presented with a set, more accurately a subset of possible ways to deal with certain issues. If the listener can come to Cello-Intern bearing this in mind, they will be rewarded with a glimpse at the inner workings of one extremely serious and creative musician.







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:


Derek Bailey/
John Stevens:
The Duke of
Wellington
(Confront)



Paul Dunmall:
Away With
Troubles And Anxieties!
(Discus)



Shifa (
Musson/
Thomas/
Sanders):
Ecliptic
(Discus)



Natsuki Tamura/
Satoko Fujii:
Ki
(Libra)



Borah Bergman/
Anthony Braxton/
Peter Brotzmann:
Eight By Three
(Mixtery)



Hedvig Mollestad Trio:
Bees In
The Bonnet
(Rune Grammofon)



Acid Mothers Temple &
The Melting Paraiso
UFO:
Black Mountain
ide
(Rolling Heads)



Evan Parker/
Bill Nace:
Branches (
Live at Cafe OTO)[VINYL]
(Open Mouth)



Alexander Hawkins/
Taylor Ho Bynum:
A Near Permanent State
Of Wonder
(RogueArt)



Joseph Holbrooke (
w/ Derek Bailey/
Gavin Bryars/
Tony Oxley):
Last Live 2001 -
In Memoriam
Derek Bailey
And
Tony Oxley
[2 CDs]
(Tzadik)



Zeena Parkins:
Modesty Of
The Magic Thing
(Tzadik)



Dave Douglas (
Douglas/
Ridout/
Adewumi/
Brennan/
Pass/
Royston):
Alloy
(Greenleaf Music)



Ivo Pereleman/
Nate Wooley/
Matt Moran/
Mark Helias/
Tom Rainey:
A Modicum
Of the Blues
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Angles 11:
Tell Them
It's The Sound Of Freedom
(Fundacja Sluchaj!)



Sifter (
w/ Lisa Mezzacappa):
Flake/
Fracture
(Queen Bee Records)



Jean-Marc Foussat:
Abbatage
(Fou Records)



Chester Hawkins:
Apsis
(Intangible Arts)



Karl Evangelista's Apura +
Andrew Cyrille:
Bukas
(577 Records)



Frode Gjerstad/
Alexander von Schlippenbach/
Dag Magnus Narvesen:
Seven Tracks
(Relative Pitch)



Kaze (
Fujii/
Tamura/
Orins/
Pruvost) with/ Koichi Makigami:
Shishiodoshi
(Circum-Libra)







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. (3486)