|
Formed in the early 1990s in Providence (Rhode Island),
Space Heater was an odd ensemble of two bass players and a percussionist,
that eventually expanded to a small chamber ensemble and changed name to
Amoebic Ensemble.
Led by accordionist and composer Alec Redfearn, and featuring trumpet player
Shawn Wallace, Jonathan Thomas on cans and kitchenware,
Matthew Everett on bouzouki and mandolin, Laura Gulley on violin,
Steve Jobe on bassons, Paige Van Antwerp on drums, they recorded
Limbic Rage (1995), that contains brief surreal vignettes
such as Tertullian Waltz and Waxing Neuralgic , and
Amoebiasis (Stupeur et Trompette, 1997), again at the border between
progressive-rock and cartoon music.
Jonathan Thomas released Welcome to Septimania (Commodity This, 2002), featuring
Rick Brown (Run On), Chris Nelson
(The Scene Is Now)
and former Amoebic Ensemble members. The album contains
divinely cartoonish "kitchenware" novelties such as
Don't Worry About Rupture
and Bali Hoo, as well as the
organ-driven proto-surf music of In Praise Of Crabgrass,
the demented fanfare of Here Come The Cool Jerks and the
cosmic free-jazz of Visitors 1 Univers 0.
The Pianosaurus used to do something similar
with toy instruments, but Thomas could turn even your kitchen utensils into an
orchestra.
The Coachmen were formed in New York in the early days of the new wave, but
took forever to make an album (Sonic Youth's guitarist Thurston Moore was one of the original founders in 1978).
Coachmania - The Coachmen on Holiday in Septimania (2007) is the follow-up to Jonathan Thomas' Welcome to Septimania.
The 15 fragments run the gamut from the
festive county-fair organ theme of Autumn Heather
to the epic fuzzed-out French ditty Estampie Terrible,
from the subdued (instrumental) folk shuffle of Down Old Church Lane
to the relatively lengthy (six minutes) grotesque pow-wow of
Bernadette's Vision,
from the drunk singalong of Roger Wilco Into the Stratosphere
to the noisy psychedelic jam of
Ballad of Furious Moe Howard (six minutes) from the
chamber music of Vespers Raga to the limping fanfare
of Dino Stomp.
The Coachmen roam a musical territory that extends from high-brow sophistication to utter chaos.
The Coachmen's guitarist also released American Mercury (Ecstatic Peace, 2006), credited to JD King & The Coachmen.
In the meantime accordionist Alec Redfearn formed the Eyesores, a large ensemble that released
the six-song EP The Eyesores (1998),
May You Dine on Weeds Made Bitter by the Piss of Drunkards (1999),
Bent At The Waist (Handsome, 2002),
Every Man For Himself and God Against All (Corleone, 2004).
The Quiet Room (Cuneiform, 2005) marked a more "serious", high-brow approach, reminiscent of both United States Of America and Tom Waits,
and
The Smother Party (Northeast India, 2006) even included a 23-minute
fantasia, Gutterhelmet Ascending.
The music had evolved from a cabaret-influenced style to a more abstract, avantgarde, progressive style.
Redfearn's
The Blind Spot (Cuneiform, 2007), recorded by a 15-piece ensemble,
achieved an even higher degree of timbral and counterpointal splendor.
The first three tracks sounded like an appendix to
The Quiet Room: the surreal instrumental overture The Perforated Veil and the eccentric cabaret ditties Queen of the Wires and Myra.
However, the seven-song religious cycle I Am The Resurrection and the Light considerably upped the ante with the catchy renaissance-style hymns Blue on White and The Radiator Hymn, both constructed around operatic vocals, minimalist crescendos a` la Michael Nyman and, last but not least, angelic melodies, and with the festive pounding rigmarole of Rising.
|
(Translation by/ Tradotto da xxx) Se sei interessato a tradurre questo testo, contattami
|
