Toby Dammit, the dance-music project of New York percussionist Larry Mullins, debuted with
the six-song EP Gopher Edits (Tricatel) and the single Modus Operandi (Omplatten), which offered a surreal electronic percussive mix.
His full-length album, Top Dollar (Omplatten, 2001), is a unique musical
artifact that has almost no precedents.
Number One Famous is an Afro-techno missile with
freakish overtones a` la Gong
smothered in waves of driving polyrhythms.
Modus Operandi is a booming tribal dance roamed by sharp, electronic hisses that, after decaying into African frenzy, resumes its
syncopated, industrial beat.
The noise and frenzy subside for Roadblocks Here and Here, with swampy skittish equatorial rhythm ripped apart by an audio-verite' motorcycle solo,
almost the equivalent of Pink Floyd's Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast for the techno generation.
Jolly Coppers on Parade is Mullins' take on funk-jazz, another relatively slow piece led by steel pan and scratching.
Malmo Nocturne is a dub-jazz shuffle that finally injects some melody
into the mix, although it's a noir and even macabre litany (something like
a bassoon accompanied by church bells).
The 16-minute Escape From Fire Island is the manifesto of his
supernatural art, echoing everybody from
Michael Shrieve to
Bruce Palmer,
from Mickey Hart to
Tackhead ,
Edgar Varese and Frank Zappa's most abstract work, alternating psychedelia, symphonic rock, techno, exotica.
The first part revolves around industrial banging and ringing vibraphone tones.
Fast drilling, pounding distortions and loud crashing drums build up
tension. Then gongs and tablas take over. After several minutes of tablas,
a childish percussive carousel is set in motion. The last section consists of
showers of oneiric reverbs, galloping gongs and sounds of nature (birds and ocean waves).
The six tracks are dense maelstroms of beats and samples that explore a psychological state very close to total nervous breakdown but also very close to absolute nirvana. This is the soundtrack of reincarnation.
Morphosa Harmonia (2004) is
a collaboration with Thomas Wydler of the
Bad Seeds.
Dammit also produced the soundtrack for Mark Whiting's movie
The Legend of Apple Jack (2003), employing a 21-piece orchestra.
|
(Translation by/ Tradotto da Stefano Villa)
Toby Dammit, il progetto del percussionista di New York Larry Mullins, debutt• con l' EP di sei canzoni Gopher Edits (Tricatel) ed il singolo Modus Operandi (Omplatten), il quale offre un surreale mix elettronico percussivo. Il suo vero primo album, Top Dollar (Omplatten, 2001), Š un isolato capolavoro che a momenti non ha precedenti. I 15 minuti di Escape >From Fire Island sono il manifesto di un' arte soprannaturale, echeggianti qualsiasi cosa; da Michael Shrieve a Bruce Palmer, da Mickey Hart a Tackhead, dai lavori pi— astratti di Edgar Varese e Frank Zappa, alternando psichedelia, rock sinfonico, techno e musica esotica. Number One Famous, Roadblocks Here and Here, Malmo Nocturne, Jolly Coppers on Parade, sono densi gorghi di beats e samples che esplorano uno stato psicologico molto vicino ad un collasso nervoso e contemporaneamente si connettono ad un nirvana assoluto. Questa Š la colonna sonora della reincarnazione.
|
