The Squid's Ear Magazine


Das Rad (Archer / Robinson / Dinsdale): Adios Al Futuro (Discus)

The 2nd release from the UK instrumental rock band Das Rad of Nick Robinson on guitars, keyboards & electronics, Martin Archer on woodwind, keyboards, synth bass & electronics, and Steve Dinsdale on drums, keyboards & electronics, expand their sound and referenes as they tug on the heartstrings of prog, krautrock and other advanced rock forms with modern and mellotron-fueled orchestration.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Nick Robinson-guitars, keyboards, electronics

Martin Archer-woodwind, keyboards, synth bass, electronics

Steve Dinsdale-drums, keyboards, electronics


Click an artist name above to see in-stock items for that artist.




UPC: 5051078982021

Label: Discus
Catalog ID: 94CD
Squidco Product Code: 29584

Format: CD
Condition: New
Released: 2020
Country: UK
Packaging: Cardboard Gatefold 3 Panels
No recording data listed.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"This new offering expands and refines their sound, featuring a combination of composed and improvised music, bringing together the personalities of the musicians. The trio have many overlapping musical influences and a shared love of improvisation. A wide range of sounds come from the trio all of whom double on keys and electronics alongside their primary colour instruments, which gives them multiple options in the studio, plus the occasional argument over who gets to play the mellotron. The music remains relatively to the point and concise, with no track outstaying its welcome. Lovers of prog / krautrock / postrock are likely to enjoy this new set.." on Discus



"[...] Das Rad are an improvisational collective based in Sheffield, and another band with the seemingly Sheffield-ubiquitous Martin Archer as a member. Martin, among other things, supplies keyboards and electronics to the sound, as indeed do the other two of the trio. Martin's signature instrument is the saxophone, Nick Robinson's the psychedelic guitar, and holding it all together are Steve Dinsdale's anchoring rhythms. Together they take a free-rock template forged in the heat of the Krautrock furnace, and weld it to jazz and dub sensibilities, and thus create a righteously rocking and trippy whole.

Taking off with the rocket ship "Inside Reverse", sparse occasional beats guide woodwind into a comets-on-fire guitar excursion from Nick Robinson, the symphonic cacophony eventually breaking down into its component parts before the engine sputters out. That first track was a loose but fiery construct, much in the style of the band's first self-titled album from nearly two years back. The second atomic psalm is more structured and rhythmic, and Buzz Line is a tighter affair with some lovely sax work from Martin Archer that takes over and spars with Steve Dinsdale's urgent drums.

This album is as much about the space between the notes as it is about the noise they make, proven by Deuce Of Gears as it turns the engines off and traverses a slow-moving ring of rocky debris orbiting a distant planet. The title track is a Kosmische blues for our times, chopped guitar chording and electric piano reverberate, deep baritone saxophone dispersing the miasma, becoming righteous. Despite its title, Adios Al Futuro has a distinct air of determined optimism. Don't let the bastards grind you down, daddio!

"Another Place" contains more delightful sax blowing and has a distinctly David Sylvian vibe to it. This is a good thing. The languid beats of Oslo Star swing gently in a cradle of stars before the sparks from Nick's snarling guitar send occasional flashes through the cosmos, agitating the drums in simpatico. Very nice indeedy!

We sign off with "Tiefes Blau", a shimmering Kosmische vessel sailing on the becalmed azure seas into the far off distance, taking its time to develop over a very laid-back beat, echoing and reverberating in and out of focus through accompanying interstellar swooshes that swirl, disperse, and reform in front of the listener, the guitar's quietly ringing harmonics adding another layer to the space cake. Das Rad in dub, as it were.

A lot of folk are put off by the word "improvisation", as it conjures images of angular, disconnected noise in the minds of the more straight-laced listener. That can be the case, but in this instance, improvisation means something far less confrontational, but nonetheless exciting and involving. Give this a listen, you may be surprised!"-Roger Trenwith, The Progressive Aspect



This album has been reviewed on our magazine:

The Squid
The Squid's Ear!

Get additional information at The Progressive Aspect

Artist Biographies

Nick Robinson: "I'm a looping guitarist living in Sheffield, England. I have been performing for 45+ years in a variety of professional bands and latterly, as a solo artist / collaborator.

Repetition and Intuition are the key factors behind my music, which places dynamics & timbre high up the list. I see the guitar as an organic sound source that uses looping technology and laptop treatment to build moods & soundscapes. My pieces are born, evolve and die away."

-Nick Robinson Website (http://looping.me.uk/)
3/13/2024

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

"Martin Archer was born in Sheffield, England, in 1957. He started playing saxophone at age 15 and first got active on the Sheffield improvisational scene in 1973. In the early '80s, he recorded an LP with Bass Tone Trap, his first group. In 1983 he formed the saxophone quartet Hornweb, which, in ten years of existence, released three albums. It is during that time that Archer released his first solo album, Wild Pathway Favourites (1988) and founded the Discus label on which he since releases all his music.

In 1993, he disbanded Hornweb and turned to synthesizers and sequencers while shifting his activities from stage to studio. He developed a compositional approach in which he records improvisers soloing, then manipulates this raw material, combining it with electronics and structuring it into a whole new piece. This technique is illustrated on Wild Pathway Favourites, Ghost Lily Cascade (1996), and Pure Water Construction (with bassist Simon H. Fell, released in 1999). Later works such as Winter Pilgrim Arriving (2000) moved toward more constructed and less abstract pieces, even making room for melodies and rhythm tracks at times.

Apart from his solo work, Archer is also involved in Ask, a duo with guitarist John Jasnoch, and Transient v Resident, an ambient electronics project with Chris Bywater."-All Music, François Couture



"Martin Archer is a composer / improviser who is equally at home on stage or in the studio. His own distinctive saxophone playing is rooted in AACM jazz. Through his use of keyboards and electronics, and as a studio producer, he extends this interest into extended song form and leftfield rock music. He is also co-director of the uncategorisably avant choir Juxtavoices.

His principle music work is the Discus Music label, the imprint for his various releases, notably by the groups described below.

His current jazz based projects include Engine Room Favourites (current a 4 drummer, 14 piece big band), Story Tellers (6 piece group including shaman instruments alongside the conventional instruments), plus various ad hoc smaller groups. All of these are strongly aligned with AACM tradition and teaching.

Archer has a long running duo with veteran vocalist Julie Tippetts. Each of their highly acclaimed CD releases deliberately explores song from a different perspective - the duo aims to be truly progressive, and takes in elements from jazz, rock, soul and pure abstraction.

Archer's main live performance vehicle is the trio Inclusion Principle with Herve Perez and Peter Fairclough. The group operates in a space between electronics, nu-jazz, contemporary electroacoustic music and free improvisation. In performance you will hear pure jazz skill, electronic beats and areas of texture and abstraction all seamlessly woven into a fascinating and constantly shifting tapestry of sound.

The sprawling Orchestra Of The Upper Atmosphere was formed by Archer as an improvising rock group with shades of Terry Riley, Magma, Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra, very much in the progressive / krautrock tradition, and noted for its large scale string, horn and vocal arrangements.

Also in rock music, Archer is a member of the USA based heavier than plutonium prog / sludge / zeuhl group Combat Astronomy under the direction of Jamie Huggett.

Surprising, delighting and occasionally alarming audiences for a number of years now, Juxtavoices is a 30 piece choir for mainly untrained voices co directed by Archer with Alan Halsey which has racked up dozens of performances and issued three CDs.

This eclectic combination of sources and highly individual applications makes Archer a unique inhabitant of the school of English maverick composer / improvisers. "-Discus

-All Music, Discus Records (http://www.allmusic.com/artist/martin-archer-mn0000146946)
3/13/2024

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

"Steve Dinsdale plays keyboards and drums in the leading British electronic trio Radio Massacre International, who have released a plethora of albums over the last 20 years and played concerts in both Europe and America. He is also a member of Orchestra of the Upper Atmosphere and Engine Room Favourites, and has several solo albums to his name."

-Bishop's House (http://www.bishopshouse.org.uk/index.php/events/315-das-rad-robinson-archer-dinsdale)
3/13/2024

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


Track Listing:



1. Inside Reverse 11:20

2. Buzz Line 5:22

3. Deuce Of Gears 5:48

4. Adios Al Futuro 7:00

5. Eisblume 2:43

6. Rothko Strobe / Another Place 9:34

7. Oslo Star 7:19

8. Tiefes Blau 10:04

Related Categories of Interest:


Rock and Related
Progressive Rock
Improvised Rock
Improvised Music
London & UK Improv & Related Scenes
Trio Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
New in Rock Forms

Search for other titles on the label:
Discus.


Recommended & Related Releases:
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