Somethings #1

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"Rarely compilations sound as "innocent" as this one, a gathering of artists working in the grey areas between sound installation, field recording and EAI curated by Ilya Monosov (who also contributes with one of the best tracks of the CD, juxtaposing environmental sources, trumpet and delicate electronics in stunning fashion). The clarity of intents demonstrated by the involved names, which include Chie Mukai, Sarah Peebles, Masayoshi Urabe, Nick Castro, Preston Swirnoff, Andrew Deutsch & Joe McPhee , is at the basis of pieces that range from extreme purity and single-subject explorations to more complex elaborations of different plans and ideas, like in the Deutsch/McPhee duet. The bulk of this music gains its strength from gestures that derive either from natural acts or instantaneous happenings. Then comes along Sarah Peebles, who layers beautiful hypnotic drones to be listened to at sunset (if one follows her instructions) and one realizes that no description is necessary for something that is as obvious as deeply touching. In that sense, each one of the soundscapers brings a uniqueness of approach that is a pleasure to experiment on our receptive organs, like being subjected to the very first rays of a spring sun after a cold winter. The appearance of some these pieces could be mistaken as compositionally frail; yet, the objective determination of the artists is something to marvel at, especially when they obtain interesting results with means as poor as their pocket's contents (Nick Castro). A warmly recommended listening, genres and definitions be damned." -- Touching Extremes

"Free improvisation still has a lot going for it, as you may or may not believe. The fact that it has never been an identifiable genre, more of a vague philosophy, I suppose, (but even that is a contestable statement,) has left it open to endless permutations throughout the latter half of the century. In fact, I'd say its greatest aspect is its lack of consistency. No one musician holds the key to its construction (ha ha); no one critic can corral a definitive statement, perhaps a few scenes and trends, though everything seems irrelevant once the next sound is heard. The one drawback is that it can be hard for a non-player to wrap their head around not only the sheer amount of artists willing to commit themselves to spontaneous experimentation and tonal communication but also the vastly differing product of the varying approaches. I mean, when I go to a record store and I see a nice package with Japanese lettering all over, am I willing to drop the twenty-plus dollars not knowing whether you're going to get 79-minutes of nearly intolerable saxophone screech or perhaps a few clangs and rings for 10-minutes? Well, in a world more prone to the box set than a budget comp, Ilya Monosov has taken it upon himself to gather a moderately-priced collection from just a few of the truly talented players still in operation that plays inconsistently though with impeccable taste throughout. Last Visible Dog stepped up with the distribution so what we have is one of the most listenable and engaging documents of globetrotting free sound to come out of the underground in years.

There are lots of great name-drops to impart here, as about half of the eight players were unfamiliar to me at the outset. Of the familiar names, most did not disappoint. Andrew Deutsch, who has been putting out fantastic tape loop work in the vein of William Basinski though with more readily enjoyable results, and Joe Mcphee, a free jazz legend in his own right, team up for the only duo performance on the disc. Mildly rhythmic and lightly percussive to begin with, the seven-minute piece works itself into stellar saxophone interplay that bleats and screeches with the best of them but never passes the point of inexpressiveness, which can befall even the most well seasoned player. The levity and joy of their expression transcends any notated structure. Plus it's always nice to hear a true professional digging into his or her chosen instrument. This piece came off with fantastic results even though its sound came more expectedly than the rest of this album. Masayoshi Urabe ways in with a solo saxophone piece that stays light on the Abe-inspired jolts of his usual work for a rather hesitant lingering of metallic tones more heard within his saxophone than without. Nick Castro may be known for his lithe folk recordings but does dabble in spontaneous process music from time to time. Given four short tracks that seem more intent on small, grainy textures than any emotive results, I find them a lot less intriguing than the rest of the work on this disc, but they are an interesting aside for a completely different technique.

Chie Mukai opens the compilation in wonderful form with an improvisation that drips with intensity. A possessed maelstrom of congruent notes guides us about the limited though fascinating range of what I believe is an er-hu, a simple two-stringed Chinese instrument played with a bow. Perhaps the most linear piece on the album, it succeeds wildly in establishing the eclectic sound of the compilation. Sarah Peebles, later down the road, offers up a conflicting piece to Mukai's ecstatic scrapings. Peebles work remains static and very nice; it is surprisingly tame piece. Based around continuous electronic chords meant to sink up with the incandescent beauty of a sunset, I can imagine following the instructions as given, but could gas-skewed colors in our atmosphere at sunset have some positive interplay with the sound? The nostalgic symbiosis of nature and music is something to which we've all fell prey, seems strange to call for it as an integral part to the experience, but the piece is a pleasant twelve-minute listen out of its intended context, even so.

I feel like I could keep blathering on about the different songs involved in the project (talking about the Preston Swirnoff piece, hell, any piece on the comp, could take another page,) but I'll just give you the bottom line. "Somethings #1" does what every good compilation should do: I want to hear more from the artists. Of the familiar names, the compilation offers a different angle on their creative outlet and perhaps a new path for the converted to follow. As for the unfamiliar, well, I feel depressingly out of the loop and have an overpowering need to drop the cash on the import releases they so invariably come wrapped within. This compilation is unpretentious, consistently expressive, and brilliantly played music regardless of whatever trappings its "improvised" tagline can carry. And hey, it's Last Visible Dog after all, and their track record precedes my fawning blather, so I'm sure you're already on the task of tracking down a copy. You'll be rewarded several times over." 9/10 -- Kenneth Zubiate (19 June, 2007)