WABJIE - Lull
Urgence Records CD KAB 294
Soraya Berent: vocals, bass synthesiser; Michel Wintsch: piano, synthesisers; Samuel Jakubec: drums
Recorded at Recording Studio de la Fonderie Sacha Ruffieux, Freiburg, Switzerland
Swiss improvisors Soraya Berent, Michel Wintsch and Samuel Jakubec, have put together an album of animated and magical music that takes me back to the voice of Grace Slick (60s Jefferson Airplane) and that of Laurie Anderson (1970s on). The trio have explored everything from electro to rock and soul, while influences from be-bop and the Avant-garde are not foreign to them. The music resulting from the mutual distillation of the spirit of these genres is the result of their laying on their individual changes, grooves, screws and spirals that render their music as breathing organisms. Hence the animation and the magic.
Their roots are jazz, no question, with art, funk and fusion entwined. Berent’s singing/speaking vocals are lingering and prowling by turns, her voice is pliable and ardent, rich with story-telling potential. Her expressive, inspired, sometimes creepy vocals play over undulating synthesisers and electronica, with piano and drums rattling away off and almost to one side.
The album was fashioned by the trio’s working in sessions to which everyone contributed. Ideas changed and fused and the music became animated, embryonic and mutable. Jakubec claims that the result is clearly a listening music, which means that individuals will experience their own emotions, related to their listening, musical background and exigent state of mind. That was one of the trio’s intentions: that the music would live through the listener. Berent emphasises this notion and I think she is right. I found a certain vigour in the music and feelings of longing and sadness, as well as their antitheses.
The acoustic and electronic sounds are beautifully balanced and adroitly calculated: I didn’t once drift away, but was totally engrossed. The music is mesmerising and holds us in suspense as fresh musical fundamentals have a tendency to arise at every bar.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
Urgence Records CD KAB 294
Soraya Berent: vocals, bass synthesiser; Michel Wintsch: piano, synthesisers; Samuel Jakubec: drums
Recorded at Recording Studio de la Fonderie Sacha Ruffieux, Freiburg, Switzerland
Swiss improvisors Soraya Berent, Michel Wintsch and Samuel Jakubec, have put together an album of animated and magical music that takes me back to the voice of Grace Slick (60s Jefferson Airplane) and that of Laurie Anderson (1970s on). The trio have explored everything from electro to rock and soul, while influences from be-bop and the Avant-garde are not foreign to them. The music resulting from the mutual distillation of the spirit of these genres is the result of their laying on their individual changes, grooves, screws and spirals that render their music as breathing organisms. Hence the animation and the magic.
Their roots are jazz, no question, with art, funk and fusion entwined. Berent’s singing/speaking vocals are lingering and prowling by turns, her voice is pliable and ardent, rich with story-telling potential. Her expressive, inspired, sometimes creepy vocals play over undulating synthesisers and electronica, with piano and drums rattling away off and almost to one side.
The album was fashioned by the trio’s working in sessions to which everyone contributed. Ideas changed and fused and the music became animated, embryonic and mutable. Jakubec claims that the result is clearly a listening music, which means that individuals will experience their own emotions, related to their listening, musical background and exigent state of mind. That was one of the trio’s intentions: that the music would live through the listener. Berent emphasises this notion and I think she is right. I found a certain vigour in the music and feelings of longing and sadness, as well as their antitheses.
The acoustic and electronic sounds are beautifully balanced and adroitly calculated: I didn’t once drift away, but was totally engrossed. The music is mesmerising and holds us in suspense as fresh musical fundamentals have a tendency to arise at every bar.
Reviewed by Ken Cheetham
