WILL OF THE PEOPLE
© Copperfly 2019
Haftor Medbøe (electric guitar/effects); Pete Furniss (bass clarinet/electronics); Tom Bancroft (drums and percussion)
From the opening statement, the impact of free jazz and angry argumentation in fast exchanges sets the mood, which the title of the work hinted at. The outburst is soon followed by suspended tension. The anxious and frustrated expectancy of the unknown. A low sustained guitar drone on the edge of feedback lays the ground for a melodic bass clarinet line, and out of the original Zorn-ian chaos emerges a new form. Rhythms shuffle into place, angular guitar riffs have hardly settled they turn to unstable grounds and wobbly electronics that gradually dissolve into distant verb.
The trio is constantly building worlds that disappear from under your feet. This renders perfectly the political tone implied by the title. Underlying the tumultuous expectations and the chaotic discourses, there is a current of uncertainty. At times, a hint of light shines through. There may be hope in the distance and we encounter something to hold onto. Just a glimmer of melody heavy with sadness. Pensiveness.
The trio is working efficiently at creating a full sound with tonal and textural contents, creating moods that evolve naturally, organically, with great momentum, even at the slow pace of restrained energy – threatening to burst out at any point. And it does burst into a crescendo where all three throw fast delivery at each other. It feels like I’ve been on a roller-coaster… and it’s only the first track of the album. The end punctuated by audience applause, reminds the listener that this artefact was indeed a public performance.
Recorded live at the Reid Concert Hall in Edinburgh in May 2017, the improvisations have a real palpable atmosphere, where the shifting tableaux painted by the band are enriched by the resonance of the concert hall. The furious three - who are Haftor Medbøe (guitar and effects), Pete Furniss (clarinet and electronics) and Tom Bancroft (drums and percussion) – know well how to weave narratives that take you to places.
Don’t be mistaken by the theme that this is just a political statement of narrow emotional range. The trio demonstrate deep understanding of each other’s sound, and an ability to merge the textural and noise of certain schools of improvisation with more harmonic passages, full of feeling and depth. With WTOF we touch on el duende as guitar and bass clarinet gently duet Hispanic melodic lines.
By track four, the bass clarinet shifts gear once again and veers off into discursive mode with mouthy gestures and digital affectations. Haftor Medbøe’s guitar, the mood creating backbone of the trio retreats and leaves space for Pete Furniss to establish a thread. Slowly, Tom Bancroft’s clickety-clack takes note, and joins the fun.
No doubt this kind of improvisational music benefits from being heard live, but the recording at hand is a fair representation of the band’s unity of sound, and is bound to take the listener on an intrepid journey.
Reviewed by Hervé Perez
© Copperfly 2019
Haftor Medbøe (electric guitar/effects); Pete Furniss (bass clarinet/electronics); Tom Bancroft (drums and percussion)
From the opening statement, the impact of free jazz and angry argumentation in fast exchanges sets the mood, which the title of the work hinted at. The outburst is soon followed by suspended tension. The anxious and frustrated expectancy of the unknown. A low sustained guitar drone on the edge of feedback lays the ground for a melodic bass clarinet line, and out of the original Zorn-ian chaos emerges a new form. Rhythms shuffle into place, angular guitar riffs have hardly settled they turn to unstable grounds and wobbly electronics that gradually dissolve into distant verb.
The trio is constantly building worlds that disappear from under your feet. This renders perfectly the political tone implied by the title. Underlying the tumultuous expectations and the chaotic discourses, there is a current of uncertainty. At times, a hint of light shines through. There may be hope in the distance and we encounter something to hold onto. Just a glimmer of melody heavy with sadness. Pensiveness.
The trio is working efficiently at creating a full sound with tonal and textural contents, creating moods that evolve naturally, organically, with great momentum, even at the slow pace of restrained energy – threatening to burst out at any point. And it does burst into a crescendo where all three throw fast delivery at each other. It feels like I’ve been on a roller-coaster… and it’s only the first track of the album. The end punctuated by audience applause, reminds the listener that this artefact was indeed a public performance.
Recorded live at the Reid Concert Hall in Edinburgh in May 2017, the improvisations have a real palpable atmosphere, where the shifting tableaux painted by the band are enriched by the resonance of the concert hall. The furious three - who are Haftor Medbøe (guitar and effects), Pete Furniss (clarinet and electronics) and Tom Bancroft (drums and percussion) – know well how to weave narratives that take you to places.
Don’t be mistaken by the theme that this is just a political statement of narrow emotional range. The trio demonstrate deep understanding of each other’s sound, and an ability to merge the textural and noise of certain schools of improvisation with more harmonic passages, full of feeling and depth. With WTOF we touch on el duende as guitar and bass clarinet gently duet Hispanic melodic lines.
By track four, the bass clarinet shifts gear once again and veers off into discursive mode with mouthy gestures and digital affectations. Haftor Medbøe’s guitar, the mood creating backbone of the trio retreats and leaves space for Pete Furniss to establish a thread. Slowly, Tom Bancroft’s clickety-clack takes note, and joins the fun.
No doubt this kind of improvisational music benefits from being heard live, but the recording at hand is a fair representation of the band’s unity of sound, and is bound to take the listener on an intrepid journey.
Reviewed by Hervé Perez
