OLIE BRICE / BINKER GOLDING / HENRY KAISER / N.O. MOORE / EDDIE PREVOST - The Secret Handshake With Danger, vol. one
577 Records: 5860-1
Available from Bandcamp
Binker Golding: Saxophones; Henry Kaiser: Guitar; N.O. Moore: Guitar; Olie Brice: Double Bass; Eddie Prévost: Drums, Percussion
Recorded ‘in a single day in a Westpoint London studio’
Two tracks running at around 20 or so minutes allow all manner of experimentation to arise from locking five talented musicians in a room. The first track is called ‘Door 1’ and the second is ‘Door 2’. I have no idea what these refer to nor what the cryptic title of the album means (a fruitless trawl through the corners of the Web hinted at thrillers, horror films, free masonry…) but this is a blinding performance that creates an exuberant, sometimes overwhelming assault on the senses. It is the sort of performance that would have been spell-binding live – and the recording does an excellent job of conveying the excitement of the group as they swirl around each other.
The press release suggests that a jumping off point for the music was Miles’ ‘On the Corner’ electro-jazz. This might, perhaps, explain the two guitarists, but the style, the sound, the sheer breadth of experimentation suggests much deeper reaches of the avant-garde and, to be honest, a great deal of AMM in the ways that the pieces develop – which is no great surprise seeing Eddie Prevost in the line-up (the only absence being AM radios scurrying across the wavebands). Not only this, but the presence of Kaiser, with his huge array of electronic effects and tricks and loops, guarantees that the music will find all manner of wormholes to pop into and then reappear in a completely different place (perhaps exiting through Door 1 and coming back through Door 2…). Moore’s own experimental take on the guitar is as much to do with the deconstruction of all the idioms in which you might find the electric guitar as it is with his delight in combining sounds. And, of course, Olie Brice’s own work with the double bass has him using the whole of the instrument to not only find ways to anchor the pulse of the music but also the create innovative layers and sounds. Among this veritable history of improvised music, Golding revels in the unexpected and shifting mosaic of sounds as if he has only ever played in full-on improv units.
There is a ‘volume 2’, recorded in the same manner, to be delivered in the near future. For the time being, this is a recording that will be repay repeated listens and which has depth and space and its own peculiar logics.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
577 Records: 5860-1
Available from Bandcamp
Binker Golding: Saxophones; Henry Kaiser: Guitar; N.O. Moore: Guitar; Olie Brice: Double Bass; Eddie Prévost: Drums, Percussion
Recorded ‘in a single day in a Westpoint London studio’
Two tracks running at around 20 or so minutes allow all manner of experimentation to arise from locking five talented musicians in a room. The first track is called ‘Door 1’ and the second is ‘Door 2’. I have no idea what these refer to nor what the cryptic title of the album means (a fruitless trawl through the corners of the Web hinted at thrillers, horror films, free masonry…) but this is a blinding performance that creates an exuberant, sometimes overwhelming assault on the senses. It is the sort of performance that would have been spell-binding live – and the recording does an excellent job of conveying the excitement of the group as they swirl around each other.
The press release suggests that a jumping off point for the music was Miles’ ‘On the Corner’ electro-jazz. This might, perhaps, explain the two guitarists, but the style, the sound, the sheer breadth of experimentation suggests much deeper reaches of the avant-garde and, to be honest, a great deal of AMM in the ways that the pieces develop – which is no great surprise seeing Eddie Prevost in the line-up (the only absence being AM radios scurrying across the wavebands). Not only this, but the presence of Kaiser, with his huge array of electronic effects and tricks and loops, guarantees that the music will find all manner of wormholes to pop into and then reappear in a completely different place (perhaps exiting through Door 1 and coming back through Door 2…). Moore’s own experimental take on the guitar is as much to do with the deconstruction of all the idioms in which you might find the electric guitar as it is with his delight in combining sounds. And, of course, Olie Brice’s own work with the double bass has him using the whole of the instrument to not only find ways to anchor the pulse of the music but also the create innovative layers and sounds. Among this veritable history of improvised music, Golding revels in the unexpected and shifting mosaic of sounds as if he has only ever played in full-on improv units.
There is a ‘volume 2’, recorded in the same manner, to be delivered in the near future. For the time being, this is a recording that will be repay repeated listens and which has depth and space and its own peculiar logics.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
