Live Shot #50!

 

Woodwinds player, composer, poet Elliot Levin, Berkeley CA 3/8/2019.

Faust-"Daumenbruch"; Erototox Decodings, 2022

 

That cover art though, right? Disaster Amnesiac feels that it absolutely sums up the Faust modus operandi vis a vis just about everything and everyone. If you know anything about Faust, you know that they have always been a middle finger salute towards the world. Not that I'm sure they're not really nice guys, mind you; Disaster Amnesiac has a really nice memory of bumping into Zappi Diermaier on Valenica St. in San Francisco before a Faust show, dude was friendly and pleasant enough. Still, Faust were, are, and (seemingly) shall remain a bastion of free thought and free action within a world of conformity. 

Speaking of Zappi, here on "Daumenbruch", he is the last man standing from the original gruppe. Where has Jean Harve Peron gone? Hopefully he's OK! Hopefully he and Zappi have not had some weird falling out. That said, Herr Deirmaier seems to have used the opportunity well, and taken firm hold of Faust's direction. This direction is one that is sehr gehmutlich for listeners such as myself, as the group, expanded to an octet of seasoned German musicians and sound artists, boils up three tracks of long form Teutonic Dub, all of which roil and broil with heavy moods and atmospheres. 

"Daumenbruch" kicks off with Weisse Schockolade, twenty two minutes of primal klang that is lead by the initial recording trio of Diermaier, Dirk Dresselhaus on guitar and bass, and Elke Drapatz on percussion and electronics. These three recorded live, and this track, along with the other two, have the characteristic organic feel of a group of people melding their rhythms in the same room. Zappi's heavy, simple beats reign supreme for this kind of action, going all the way back fifty years now. Somehow, Disaster Amnesiac figures he's never going to name checked within the Great Drummer Pantheon, but I doubt that he cares about those kinds of things, especially as he's pounding away. Dresselhaus locks in with Diermaier all the way through, guiding the ears as the piece slides languidly by. Drapatz, along with Gunther Wusthof as Spieluhr, Andrew Unruh on metal percussion, Uwe Bastiansen on guitars and samples, Joachin Arbeit on gutiar and loops, and Sonja Kosche on self-made instruments, harp, and ventilator, all add various sonic textures, riffs, melodic fragments, clicks, clanks, burrs, and buzzes to the mix. Immersive sonic therapy that rewards attentive listening as the drums and bass keep the focus up. Every player seems to place their accents just so within this matrix, leaving plenty of space for their partners. Yeah, just keep that ventilator away from my lungs, and it's all good here on Weisse Schockolade. 

The journey continues with Default Mood. Sparse percussion and electronics set the stage for dissonant guitar chords and loops. The Neubauten guys (Unruh and Arbeit) make their band's presence felt here more than anywhere else on "Daumenbruch", with their excellent use of dramatic silences and spaces. Somehow, Disaster Amnesiac doubts that this was any bother to Zappi. I can't know how he feels about them, but I've often felt that Einsturzende were the natural successors to Faust. It's cool that they've joined forces! About half-way through, the pace quickens, more players throw their sounds into it, and Zappi is marching Default Mood into that great Faust place: all intense, serious German Psychedelic vibes. This form is quite unique, and has had many years to develop. It has done so with a high minded grace that has, thankfully, stuck to its initial aesthetic vision. One could imagine oneself hearing this as a new release in 1972, let alone 2022. This is entirely a good thing! 

"Daumenbruch" concludes with Border River. This piece seems to tie its two predecessors together, in that it has all of the brooding atmospheric action of Schockolade and the pensive feels of Mood. Zappi, as is his way, leads the action with more of that sublime, powerful drumming as the other percussionists accent in syncopation with his advance. Guitars buzz and trill, vaguely Classical bits emerge, drills whinge. Disaster Amnesiac first heard River on KFJC on one recent afternoon, and, before I knew that it was by Faust, it perked up my ears something fierce. Now that it's known to me as a piece by Faust, and I've digested it more, I feel that it may be the the best Faust track ever! All of the elements that make Faust such a special band, all of the sounds that congeal into that singular Faust feel are there, big time, with non-showy electronics and brooding, moody voices pushing the listener into zones of abstraction, possibly uncomfortable, but ultimately mind expanding and radically creative. A unique brand of Heavy Metal, really. 

Many bands these days are going into their fifth decade, but, seriously, how many of them can claim to still be pushing their creative envelope within a really existing voice? Faust can, most certainly. "Daumenbruch" shows that Faust is an unstoppable creative force, even as it takes on an entirely new form. Just, please, someone tell me that Jean Harve Peron is doing fine?

Michel Kristof and Vinnie Paternostro-A Place You Could Not See. A Time You Did Not Know; Muteant Sounds, 2018

 

There exists a file on Disaster Amnesiac's desktop labeled "Blog Stuff". Within that file there are a handful of releases that I've not ever gotten around to reviewing. I suspect that for the most part this is due to the Event that started in 2020 and its cancellation of the culture that I was involved in. The recordings therein, and appreciation of them, were superseded by my forced involvement in the Event, subsequent personal decisions in the wake of the Event, and probably just general inertia to boot. Apologies to those from whom Disaster Amnesiac received music for review and never got them.....I'm working on it.......

........starting with A Place You Could Not See. A Time You Did Not Know from Michel Kristof and Vinnie Paternostro. Across six tracks of duo action, Kristof on guitar and effects and Paternostro on saxophone, drum machine, and Moog Mother 32 conjure up a suitably dystopian, doomy Jazz Fusion that is heavy on humid, claustrophobic atmosphere. Beats break and pound, saxophone wails atop, and strange atmospheric electronics simmer and swirl around them. A Place You Could Not See is quite the heavy listening experience; indeed it's a perfect soundtrack for our gloomy media world, obsessed as it is now with some war film unfolding in Eastern Europe. Disaster Amnesiac can envision people listening to these wild instrumental soundscapes as they tune in to our next new Collective Event. Hell, I can envision the tracks from this album being piped in to the cyber-steered battle goggles of the various fighters on the front lines in Kyiv or Donetsk or wherever else the various military industrial complexes will insist the people shoot ordinance at each other for "reasons". Yeah, the sounds on this album from 2018 perfectly encapsulate the mood four years later in time. The forbidding, sullen washes of sound on A Place You Cound Not See. A Time You Did Not Know, all mechanically driven and relentless, sound to suit the Next New Normal, coming to a battlefield near you, just perfectly. 

Its sonic shrapnel, sharp and explosive, might just do some damage to your perceptions, but, hey, you'll be able to walk away with your body intact. That's my hope for you, fellow human, anyway.........

Live shot #49!

 

Percussionist, guitarist, composer David Mihaly. Berkeley Arts Festival Building, ca. 2014.

Live shot #48!

 

Tracy Hui, banjo player, singer, composer, interpreter of American songs. 

Temescal Arts Center, Oakland CA Feb. 2018. He's nationwide.

Live shot #47!

 

Three Day Stubble nerding out at Eagle Tavern, San Francisco; July 2019. 

The funniest band ever!

Nubdug Ensemble-Volume 2: Blame; Pest Colors Music, 2021

 

Another Holiday Season has passed us by, and another Nubdug Ensemble disc has arrived! Leader Jason Berry continues his musical quest towards tightly constructed, thoughtful, swinging American Music! Volume 2: Blame brings these elements together in fresh ways, and Disaster Amnesiac has pretty well marveled at it since it showed up in my mailbox. Berry clearly didn't rest on his laurels after 2020's The Machines of Zeno. Not that I can hear anyway. Recalling Varese's quote, "the modern composer refuses to die", Jason's music lives in all kinds of exciting ways. 

Blame starts off with two vocal tracks, Blues and Bluff.  On the former, bassist Brett Warren blazes the path with drummer G Calvin Weston; his flows really move the listener into the song. When Steve Adams and Chris Grady supply the horn harmonies, one can hear the astuteness of Berry's writing, all juicy and jumpin' in ways that are pleasing. Jill Rogers has a powerful alto voice that delivers the lyrics, seemingly about shady financial transactions, with clear articulation. More Jazz than Blues, really, but it works. On the latter, Weston's big tom tom sounds push Amanda Chaudhary's keyboard lines, Rogers hits a bit higher note, and the horns again showcase a sophistication in Berry's writing. Disaster Amnesiac can't stress this enough: Jason Berry writes charts that are MORE THAN GOOD. Look out Gil, stay sharp Carla, you've got some competition. 

Again with those horns on Bloom! Dear reader, are you picking up on a theme here? Clocking in at under two minutes, this song has had Disaster Amnesiac pondering, and then more deeply appreciating, the ways in which Jason Berry can compact a ton of musical information into a tiny bit of time, and not lose any interest. As I've listened, I've thought about an interview with Black Flag from the early 1980's when they defended their songs' brevity as having all of the elements of a "normal" song, but just compressed with energy. It seems to me that the same applies to much of Berry's writing. He gets so many elements packed in, but doesn't lose the idea's thread. 

Moving on, Bleep gets a righteous push from Chaudhary, Weston, and Warren before Jason introduces noir soundtrack elements and the Adams/Grady team again evokes the classic Jones/Lewis wing of Big Band awesomeness. Rogers' clipped delivery breathes life into the surreal lyrics. What mystery is being addressed here? And how does this film for the ears give so much in its 2:54 duration? 

The next two cuts, Blood, followed by Blaze, return to the purely instrumental zone. Blood pumps with lovely flute from Adams over a casual ostinato from Chaudhary, with the solid beats of Weston, then cracks into bright trumpet sounds from Grady. It roils and pops throughout its duration, leading into futuristic synthesizer and drum pairings on Blaze. Much like their work together on Chaudhary's Meow Meow Band disc, Amanda and Grant get all sorts of bizarre going within their interaction. Weston's double bass riffing is great, and Chaudhary pulls out the battery of gizmo-delic whatzis, then, suddenly, you're within a straight 4/4 post-Bop rampage, with the cutting guitar of Myles Boisen leading the charge. Great solo there, Myles! Bet you thought Disaster Amnesiac hadn't noticed you! 

Myles shines again on album closer Block. This one's got a street Funk swagger that pulls from the Harmelodic side, made legit obviously from Ornette's star student of such, Weston. Surely Coleman would've smiled at those computer game lyrics, too. Adams is again hella sharp, Warren's bumpin' bass shakes the low end, and you're going to feel pretty happy yourself as well, unless rhythm isn't your bag.  Can this dance spark the revolution? What would this revolution entail? Would it be particle or wave? Choose wisely, and be sure to move that ass. It's good for the heart.  

As Disaster Amnesiac sits here, it's 322 days until Christmas. That's plenty of time in which to familiarize myself and re-visit Nubdug Ensemble's Volume 2: Blame. Rest assured, that will happen. Just like I said last year, anyone desiring tightly focused, well constructed Fusion music should find a way to connect with Jason Berry and then look forward to his Yuletide greetings. He's putting them out there, are you going to receive or what?