Genre: Experimental / Soundscapes / Improvisation

01 Rotterdam.1

One of my bug bears…and I have so many it would scare you…is when I get a release to review that was recorded in tandem with a live film projection. Aurally I can write up what I think of the recording but the visual part of the jigsaw is missing. I feel as though I’m missing something from the whole experience as it was meant to be enjoyed. Which makes me wonder. Why don’t record labels include the visuals that go with the music as an extra on the disc? How difficult can that be? There might be contractual problems but I’m pretty sure that those could be ironed out without too much hassle on everyone’s part. I’ve seen it done on lesser projects with great success and for a recording like this it would make a lot more sense to the music currently assaulting my ears. Maybe next eh? Until then…

Any recording with Lee Ranaldo in it needs to be treated with a bit of respect. This isn’t a slur on the other musicians within a Text of Light, formed in 2001, but…Lee Renaldo. Come on. Sonic fucking Youth. Say no more. I’ve all their releases out on CD, including singles, to date. I even bought the deluxe editions of the original releases I already had. That’s the true meaning of a fan in a nutshell for you. Anything that turns up with any member of that combo involved in it automatically has my interest. Accompanying the great guitarist on this platter are Alan Licht (guitar), Ulrich Krieger (sax, sax-tronics), DJ Olive (turntables, powerbook) and Tim Barnes (drums, percussion) and together they play one 19+ minute piece which was recorded at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in January 2005. The film that this ensemble played along to sadly isn’t noted anywhere. If the music is anything to go by I would surmise that it was an avant-garde / experimental piece of film making. In black and white. With lots of grainy effects. And strange angles. Perhaps some nudity. Who knows? Not me that’s for sure.

I’ll warn you right now at the beginning. This is not the easiest recording you’ll ever listen to. What starts off as a beautiful restrained piece of music ends with a blow out of epic soundscaping where all the artists seem to just let go and ramp everything up to the max. Up until that point, which when it happens comes as something of a shock to the system, you have all the artists taking it in turn to lead the music in a free flowing direction that is almost celestial in places. When people talk of shimmering thought provoking music then the first portion of this release reflects that effect. Sounds appear then evaporate in a haze as others take over. Each artist on top of their game as they keep a tight reign over the piece. Guitars hit some feedback. Notes are plucked gently on strings. Musical notes are drawn out from the ether as the percussion is laid down on objects unknown. The sax soon enters and slowly the sum of every part begins merging in a collision course that can’t be avoided. Then the mood of the piece changes. The feedback intensifies. Percussion begins to be hammered rather than caressed. The sax has a life of its own and the walls come tumbling down amid all the tumult. Only when the artists are spent, their exhausted bodies fully discharged, can the final motes of dust settle as the last notes bade farewell.

The only disappointment with this piece of course is not being able to see what the artists are playing along to up on the screen. The artists intensity has never been replicated so well on a live recording. The 19+ minutes flying by so quickly that the piece is over far too soon. Like I said though earlier. This isn’t an easy recording that will have mass appeal. If ever music was meant for the connoisseur, or devout fan of any of the musicians taking part, then this is it. By its very nature, and what the music accompanied, it limits itself to those willing to accept the aural challenges it lays down. But for the sheer exuberance of hearing artists on top of their game this takes some beating. As such it is a remarkable document of a past event that most of you, myself included, missed out on. That it has become available to all and sundry is a credit to the record label and one that deserves wider recognition. Excellent all round.