Tag Archives: free jazz

Devin Drobka’s Bell Dance Songs – Amaranth

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

The mouthfully-baptised Devin Drobka’s Bell Dance Songs band is a quintet made of three woodwind players, one acoustic bass player, and a drums person that also acts as the composer: the aforementioned Devin Drobka. It is without a surprise that you will read my words telling you that this is a merciless sonic assault! Amaranth came out on 28 September through Shifting Paradigm Records. Let’s dissect the beast.

The album loses no time to show its colours. At the fluid-tempoed start of “Skip Skip” and the dialogue between the bass and the drums, it’s quite fun … Read more

Andrew Bernstein – An Exploded View of Time

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Andrew Bernstein is a saxophone player and composer most recognized for his involvement in experimental band Horse Lords. He is releasing his latest album, An Exploded View of Time, through Hausu Mountain Records.

When listening to it, I can’t help but summon a comparison with saxophone virtuoso Colin Stetson. Of course, the palette of solo sax releases is pretty wide even for this relatively niche and narrow canvas, but the choice of techniques and soundscapes with which Andrew decided to paint it are remarkably similar. A short list of those include overblowing, circular … Read more

EXCLUSIVE STREAM: Kurushimi Feigns Ignorance on What Is Chaos?

by Dæv Tremblay

Sydney’s improvisation grind-jazz ensemble Kurushimi—or 苦しみ—is a strong musical statement since their self-titled debut in 2016, which I pretty much adored. Whether you call it directed improvisation or a musical game, they fear nothing and owe nothing to anyone.

With What Is Chaos?, the act sees Andrew Mortensen at the helm, and a revolving (and impressive) set of improvisers on their respective instrument. In over an hour of new music, they make hints to many respected and beloved (and sometimes obscure) musicians; from John Zorn to the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble to even … Read more

The Key to Nchuandzel –
N’gasta! Kvata! Kvakis!

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music?

The Words

The tentacled brain behind The Key to Nchuandzel has long teased me about the existence of the N’gasta! Kvata! Kvakis! album, withholding me the privilege of being able to listen to it, peer into its essence, become shattered by its gaze… Fortunately, the time of reckoning is here and the Key is unleashed, for all to be enraptured.

In twenty minutes and five tracks, The Key to Nchuandzel bewilders and astonishes incessantly with its improbable but characteristic black metal. Black metal? That’s the idea I had at first, but I’m far from being certain anymore. Grindcore, … Read more

Bollywood – Bollywood

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Experimental is the land of all possibles. Bollywood paints a rather stellar example of this in the realm of jazz with their self-titled debut album. Released on 12 August, it was briefly available through TVL Rec‘s page, and abruptly taken down—forbidding my sharing it. However, this can’t stop me from talking about it.

A few minutes over thirty, Bollywood is an album of what sounds like free jazz meets lowercase music, with each track fronted by a different solo instrument—here saxophone, here bass, and so on—backed by insectile percussions, noise backing tracks, or electronic experimentations. … Read more