The Squid's Ear Magazine


Necks, The: Bleed (Northern Spy)

The ever-chameleonic Australian trio The Necks — featuring Chris Abrahams on piano and keyboards, Tony Buck on drums & guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass — explore electronic stillness in this 42-minute, single-track composition, evolving from a meditative opening through rich textures and sonic spaces to a beautifully structured conclusion, offering a rewarding and captivating journey.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Chris Abrahams-piano, keyboards

Tony Buck-drums, guitar

Lloyd Swanton-bass


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UPC: 30927273942

Label: Northern Spy
Catalog ID: CD-NS-168
Squidco Product Code: 35249

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2024
Country: USA
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold
Recorded at Studios 301, in Alexandria, Australia, by Tim Whitten.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Australian minimalist-jazz trio The Necks' 20th studio album, Bleed, explores a sublime language of stillness. With a single, 42-minute composition, The Necks masterfully express the unspeakable beauty of decay and space in yet another totally distinct entry in a vast and stunning body of work."-Northern Spy



"One of the main challenges for any group of improvising musicians is to figure out ways to push forward without repeating yourself. One would imagine this is especially true for the legendary Australian trio The Necks, both because they specialise in ultra minimal longform improvised soundscapes, and because they've been pursuing these sounds for more than thirty-five years now. Miraculously, it still feels as though each album from The Necks is a world of its own, from the tangled jungle of 1999's Hanging Gardens to the droning death rattle of 2015's Vertigo. Their latest record, Bleed, is no exception, and stands as one of their most rewardingly mysterious and perplexing releases in quite some time.

The Necks discography can be generally divided into two types of releases: single tracks that unfold over the length of a full record, and collections of about two to four tracks in the fifteen-twenty minute range. Bleed falls into the former category, and is their first single track album since 2018's Body. Despite this, the two albums could not be more of a study in contrasts. Body is The Necks at their most propulsive, centering around a motorik groove that halfway through explodes into a post-rock style blowout. Bleed, on the other hand, is a compendium of little sounds folding in and out of the frey with no clear formal structure. The best comparison would be a Morton Feldman piece performed by Talk Talk, with all the mysteriousness and pointillism of the former and all of the color and improvisational heft of the latter.

The piece opens with Chris Abrahams' piano sounding as delicate and intimate as possible, with audible breathing in between the notes, before a layer of reverb creates some distance. Throughout the piece, different sonic elements fade in and out; a little bit of guitar, some tense and choppy bowed bass from Lloyd Swanton, an occasional marching drumbeat from Tony Buck, a kalimba-type instrument, glitchy electronic textures, and an utterly hypnotic humming keyboard line, amongst others. These elements constitute the pulse that gives the piece its forward momentum, but that pulse exists exclusively on a macro level, unique in the context of the minimalist traditions The Necks have always engaged with. In its last few minutes, the piece finally takes on some structure, with the piano, bass and guitar taking on a melodic and funereal tone. Like a Feldman piece, the full scope of it doesn't become fully apparent until its conclusion. The end result is one of The Necks' finest albums in years, one that finds new ground for the trio while still maintaining all the qualities that made their previous work so rewarding."-Levi Dayan, The Quietus

Also available as a vinyl LP.Also available as a colored Vinyl LP.

Artist Biographies

"Chris Abrahams was born in Oamaru, New Zealand but grew up in Sydney, Australia.

He became very active in the Sydney jazz scene in the early eighties playing with modern jazz groups including Mark Simmonds' Freeboppers and The Keys Music Orchestra. With Lloyd Swanton he formed the 60's modern jazz-influenced The Benders in 1982. During its day, the band released three albums - E, False Laughter and Distance.

In 1984 Chris recorded and released his first solo piano album - Piano, followed in 1986 by Walk.

In 1985 Chris became a founding member of the Sydney indie rock band The Sparklers. As a result of this, Chris began working regularly with the singer and songwriter Melanie Oxley. Chris collaborated with Melanie, writing songs and producing albums, throughout the nineties. There are five releases with her: Resisting Calm (1990), Welcome to Violet (1992), Coal (1994), Jerusalem Bay (1998) and Blood Oranges (2003).

Chris released a third solo piano album, Glow, in 2001. This was followed in 2003 by Streaming, and then Thrown (2004), Play Scar (2010) and Memory Night (2013).

Chris has collaborated, in both recording and performance, with many contemporary improvising musicians including Burkhard Beins, Mike Cooper and Anthony Pateras. He performs regularly in the improvising music scenes both in Australia and Europe."

-The Necks Website (http://www.thenecks.com/bio)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Born in Sydney in 1962, Tony is regarded as one of Australia's most creative and adventurous exports, with vast experience across the globe. He has been involved in a highly diverse array of projects. Apart from The Necks, he is probably best known as leader of hardcore/impro band PERIL.

Early in his musical life, after having graduated from the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, he became very involved in the jazz scene in Australia, often touring with visiting international artists such as Vincent Herring, Clifford Jordan, Mickey Tucker, Branford Marsalis and Ernie Watts, as well as Australians Mark Simmonds, Paul Grabowsky, The catholics, Sandy Evans and Dale Barlow.

Following time spent in Japan, where he formed PERIL with Otomo Yoshihide and Kato Hideki, Tony moved to Europe, and has involved himself in many projects there, including the development of new "virtual" MIDI controllers at STEIM in Amsterdam.

Tony has played, toured or recorded with, among others, Jon Rose, Nicolas Collins, Tenko, John Zorn, Tom Cora, Phil Minton, Haino, Switchbox, The Machine for Making Sense, Ne Zhdall, The EX, Peter Brotzmann, Hans Reichel, The Little Red Spiders, Subrito Roy Chowdury, Clifford Jordan, Kletka Red, Han Bennink, Shelley Hirsch, Wayne Horvitz, Palinckx, and Ground Zero."

-The Necks Website (http://www.thenecks.com/bio)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Described by Billboard Magazine as "an outstanding and imaginative Australian bassist and composer", Lloyd Swanton was born into a large and musical family in Sydney in 1960.

His long-running group, The catholics, has released eight albums, all produced and predominantly composed by him, with three receiving ARIA Award nominations. Their album Simple was nominated for the German Deutsche Schallplattenkritik Award.

His 12-part suite Ambon, drawing from his uncle Stuart's secret diary kept whilst a prisoner of war in World War II, had its premiere in 2015, and is now released as a double CD.

Overseas exposure in nearly 40 countries with numerous groups includes countless performances throughout Europe, Canada, the USA, Mexico, India, Cuba, New Zealand, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Indonesia, Thailand and Japan.

For fourteen years, Lloyd Swanton hosted Mixed Marriage, a very popular radio program which examined crossings of jazz with other musical styles, on Eastside Radio in Sydney.

In his spare time, Lloyd is an avid follower of Australian Football, and a keen collector of Australian Aboriginal art, ice crushers, modernist ceramics, and books on Fellini. He is also gathering historical information on his distant ancestor Theodore Deck, a leading name in 19th Century French ceramics."

-The Necks Website (http://www.thenecks.com/bio)
11/20/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



01. Bleed 42:15

Related Categories of Interest:


Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Trio Recordings
The Necks
Australian Improvisers, Composers and Experimenters
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Improvised Music
Recent Releases and Best Sellers

Search for other titles on the label:
Northern Spy.


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