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



The Squid's Ear
Facebook: Squidco Sales

Heard In

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


  Derek Bailey, Antoine Berthiaume, Fred Frith 
  Soshin
  (Ambiances Magnetiques) 

   review by Phil Zampino
  2003-09-12
Derek Bailey, Antoine Berthiaume, Fred Frith: Soshin (Ambiances Magnetiques)

Despite the trio listed on this album, this disc in fact pivots around relative newcomer Antoine Berthiaume, presenting solo work and duos with the great guitar improvisers Fred Frith and Derek Bailey. Berthiaume is a Montreal artist working with other Actuelle musicians such as as Michel Donato, Pierre Tanguay, Michel F. Côté, Philippe Lauzier and Tim Brady.  He first met Derek Bailey in 2001 while traveling in London, and recorded the duos on this album on his second trip there, also appearing solo at an Instant Music Meeting show.  Berthiaume can also be heard on Bailey's Incus release Visitors Book.  The duos with Frith were recorded in Montreal, and the majority of the release is three pieces with Frith. A solo piece and two duos with Bailey are also presented.

On the whole the album is an excellent display of guitar improvisation.   Starting with the delicate solo piece "soshin," composed with Denis Gougeon, Berthiaume scrapes, slides and slips in with beautiful and drifting guitar work, using every inch of his instrument to create evocative sound.  Berthiaume has a great sense of space and allows the piece to evolve slowly, bringing in a deep droning chord and percussive scrape over which he improvises in fragments as the drone eventually overtakes the piece.  It is a well balanced and beautifully structured composition.

The three pieces with Frith are more playful improvisations, atmospheric and introspective while still being active.  Both players seem remarkably compatible in their conception of improvisation, and the unhurried approach lends itself both to a gorgeous quality of sound and to many interesting ideas that sneak out of each guitar. "morning froth" introduces a beautiful Frith melodic riff that reappears and bends itself away repeatedly, with a bottleneck twang feeling.  It is a refreshing piece of music, quirky, lovely and engaging. The magnificent "indicateur d'assiette" is another thing altogether, clocking in at 18:40, a strange and gigantic improvisation that has both players utilizing a variety of techniques to create an often frightening but always fascinating piece of music.  Their last piece, "wolf's wood" is an uneasy work of guitar scrapes, rumbles and unusual sounds, settling into a meandering acoustic improv with a rubbing guitar sound much like a voice whimpering in the midst of these unusual woods.

The pieces with Bailey are more abstract affairs.  "afternoon tea" is a fragmentary work with Bailey on acoustic guitar while Berthiaume provides a rich chordal backdrop, a meandering but interesting punctuation to the cd.   "aquatheque" ends the cd with an odd scraping and scrabbling piece that settles into a sort of daydreaming improvisation.  These pieces provide a great complement to the album, a balanced release of modern improvisational ideas.



Derek Bailey, Antoine Berthiaume, Fred Frith: Soshin
Is Sold at Squidco!
Squidco




Comments and Feedback:



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

Squidco

Recent Selections @ Squidco:


Berlin Art Quartet (
Schubert /
Bauer /
Muller /
Bruggemann):
Live At MIM
(Unisono Records)



Jimmy Lyons:
Rivbea Live! Series,
Volume 3
(NoBusiness)



Erik Klinga:
Elusive Shimmer
(thanatosis produktion)



Das B (
Mazen Kerbaj /
Mike Majkowski /
Magda Mayas /
Tony Buck):
Love
(thanatosis produktion /
Corbett Vs Dempsey)



Brass Clouds:
Escape Vessels
(Bathysphere Records)



Fire! Orchestra:
Echoes
[2 CDs]
(Rune Grammofon)



Sophie Agnel /
John Edwards /
Steve Noble:
Three On A Match
(Otoroku)



Satoko Fujii
This is It! (
w/
Natsuki Tamura /
Takashi Itani):
Message
(Libra)



Sorry For Laughing (
G. Whitlow /
M. Bates /
Dave-Id /
E. Ka-Spel):
Rain Flowers
[2 CDS]
(Klanggalerie)



New Origin (
feat. Christoph Rocher /
Joe Fonda /
Harvey Sorge):
The Poet Walks
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Simon Nabatov:
Agree to Disagree
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Von Schlippenbach, Alexander /
Barry Altschul Quartet w/
Joe Fonda &
Rudi Mahal:
Free Flow
[2 CDs]
(Listen! Foundation (
Fundacja Sluchaj!))



Thelonious Monk with
Sonny Rollins:
1953 To 1957
Revisited
(ezz-thetics by
Hat Hut Records
Ltd)



Daniel Carter /
Ayumi Ishito /
George Draguns /
Ed Wilcox:
Makeshift Spirituals
(577 Records)



Kory Reeder:
Homestead
(Another Timbre)



John Cage:
Chamber Works 1943-1951
(Another Timbre)



Josh Sinton:
Couloir &
Book Of Practitioners
Vol. 2
Book "W"
[2 CDs]
(FiP recordings)



Elliott Sharp /
Scott Fields:
Reimsi Geara
(Relative Pitch)



KnCurrent (
Brennan /
Cooper-Moore /
Davis /
Hwang):
KnCurrent
(Deep Dish)



Biota:
Measured Not Found
(Recommended Records)







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. (30173)