Poolplayers is a free improv/electro-ambient
quartet consisting of some of the most innovative artists currently
plying their trade in Europe. Supersilent’s Arve Henriksen
(trumpet, vocals, electronics) plays alongside a master of improvised
prepared piano, Benoît Delbecq (piano, bass station) and
British drummer Steve Argülles (Usine, delays, Sherman filter)
who runs the specialist electro-jazz label, Plush. Joining them
is Lars Juul, the co-leader of two long-lasting Danish jazz/improvised
music groups, Sound of Choice and Takuan. Presented on glorious
Super Audio CD, ‘Way Below The Surface’ fuses spacey
Jazz minimalism with subtle yet bustling micro-electronics to
create a unique atmosphere that on one hand is incredibly focused
and detailed, yet on the other hand is drifting leisurely towards
an unidentifiable oblivion. Don’t expect upbeat shuffles
or boisterous melodies as Poolplayer’s encapsulate the unhurried
sound of space debris drifting solemnly across vast expanses of
space. Theirs is an altogether darker sound that gets under your
skin and into your psyche. Delbecq attempts to characterize this
sound stating that; “Making this music feels like a deep
concentration, and a deep unconsciousness, both at the same time.
There’s a certain slowness, an idea of North, where winter
makes time feel different”.
Throughout the 9 tracks which span 57 minutes,
contemplative lounge-y trumpet wails ooze out like liquid soundwaves
atop of glisteningly restrained keys and Juul’s fragile
but detailed percussive brushes and scrapes. Underpinning this
sound are occasional lashings of dark bass rumblings that lurk
with intent and strike intermittently. The fusing of electronics
with instrumental genres is a technique that is becoming more
and more popular with many contemporary jazz and classical innovators.
The use of electronics in ‘Way Below The Surface’
is extremely subtle acting as a testament to the quality of the
arrangement that seamlessly blends it into the acoustic territory.
Jull utilises live sampling and effects to extend his spectrum
of acoustic colours while Argülles samples and processes
the other three players, routing their mic inputs to delays, loops,
frequency filters and pitch shifters, mixing his time-warp mutations
back into the blend. The featuring of vocals is also a unique
touch for an experimental jazz quartet but on the few tracks that
feature vocals, Henriksen contributes what can only be described
as ghostly and otherworldly vocals that glide across the soundscape
like choral vapors. The subtleness of the vocals blends in and
becomes part of the musical landscape thus allowing the listeners
focus to remain on the instruments.
On ‘Two Fold’ Juul’s
is given the spotlight and makes full use of his 2 and a half
minutes. Like ‘Elvin Jones’ if he was playing with
feathers, it is a delectable and intensely complex percussive
display that focuses on delicate restraint, a theme he continues
throughout the album. ‘Bob Whites’ is an exercise
in solemnity, with the quartet slowing the tempo right down and
engaging in a meditative Eastern-tinged dirge filled with hauntingly
sad trumpet wails, ethereal vocals and agitated percussive shuffles.
On this track time literally stops as the listener experiences
the explosive power of haunting minimalism. The melancholic theme
is continued on the final track ‘Luz’ which shimmers
unnervingly across a widescreen expanse.
Ultimately ‘Way Below The Surface’
is exactly as its name indicates, it is an album that musically
exists on the outer-fringes of jazz and that will be out of reach
to all but the most inquisitive (and lucky) listeners. With this
offering, the quartet has carved out an extremely consistent piece
with plenty in the way of micro-variation but little in terms
of mass shifts in musical direction. This consistency allows an
eerie atmosphere to develop and take the listener on an insulated
journey which is a million miles away from the world outside.
Superb. (KS)
For fans of: Bohren Und Der Club of Gore, Supersilent
meets Sun Ra meets Bill Evans
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