Dear Friends,

as we mentioned in the fourth chapter of our Myopic Retrospective, we have now finally prepared the ground for a Hyperopic Per-Spective of 2012.

The first couple of months of 2012 will start, as one expects, where 2011 ended – with the releases in the US of Winter Garden and Animation’s Agemo, which will be followed by a spate of new releases. Please be aware that the release dates vary by country, and that excluding FREQUENT FLYER, most of the artwork is not final)

RNR023 – LORENZO FELICIATI – FREQUENT FLYER – End Of February/End of March 2012

Subtitled “Diary of A Travelling Musician”, Frequent Flyer is a celebration of the musical talents (travels…) of Italian bassist, music producer and founder of Naked Truth, Lorenzo Feliciati as he scours the lands of jazz and progressive rock with a very large cohort of musical conspirers –  Bob Mintzer, Cuong Vu, Roy Powell, Phil Brown, Patrick Djivas, Lucrezio De Seta, DJ Skizo, Paulo La Rosa, Pat Mastelotto, Aidan Zammit, Roberto Gualdi, Stefano Bagnoli, Maxx Furian, Pier Paolo Ferroni, Andrea Di Cesare, Daniele Gottardo, Jose Fiorillo, Daniele Pomo and Guido Block. A multi-faceted record as broad in scope as it is deep in musical ideas, Frequent Flyer is both a voyage as it is a statement of intent, musical intelligence, spectacular taste and grand architectural vision.

and here as her performs a track from the Album, “Law & Order”

RNR024 – METALLIC TASTE OF BLOOD (Eraldo Bernocchi, Colin Edwin, Jamie Saft, Balazs Pandi) – End of March/End of June 2012

Around November 2009 we were very honoured when Colin Edwin, bass player extraordinaire of Porcupine Tree acquired a copy of Arc by Parched, one of RareNoiseRecords’ first releases, featuring the combined talents of Eraldo Bernocchi and Davide Tiso. The seeds of artistic consonance between Edwin and Bernocchi have since flourished  and with the infusion of talent by keyboard-player/composer Jamie Saft and drum powerhouse Balazs Pandi (of Obake fame), have eventually blossomed into a genre-defying instrumental recording spanning the space between metal, progressive, dub, alternative…in a smooth and all-encompassing way. Utterly spellbinding

Very soon (probably early february) we will be able to share one or two tracks with you. For the time being head over to their website and read about it on Colin Edwin’s Blog.

RNR025 – DAVE FIUCZYNSKI’S PLANET MICROJAM (Dave Fiuczynski and musicians, with appearances by Jack DeJohnette and Kenwood Dennard – April/May 2012)

In an article appeared on Fusion Magazine (the literary and Multimedia voice of the Berklee School of Music and community) David Fiuczynski defines the notion of “MicroJam”, which is central to this revolutionary and spellbinding release on RareNoiseRecords, as follows :

“Drawing on unique elements of western classical microtonality and ethnic folk melodies organized in a jazz/groove context, unheard of harmonies and counterpoint are possible. What sets this microJam apart from other microtonal music is its method of organization. Unlike the microtonal chromaticism of Julian Carrillo, the athematicism of Alois Haba and the post-Scriabin style of Ivan Wyschnagradsky (all venerable microtonal pioneers in western classical music), this MicroJam is not so much MICROtonal as microTONAL. The emphasis is on microtonal harmony that has a jazz-based modal origin. New harmonic colors can be expressed vertically through the stacking of, for example, an Arabic maqam (a type of Arabic mode) into chords based on 3rds or 4ths over a tonal center – in other words, harmony derived from a microtonal chord scale. This is not done in eastern music traditions or modern classical music. Music from the Middle East and Asia rarely has chordal harmony and in the modern western classical tradition, either tonal centers are avoided or harmony is produced from counterpoint. In our ever-shrinking global village could Global MicroJam be a shape of Jamz to come?”

Or, as the artist himself wrote in his tweet  ” … all the out of tune notes you always wanted to hear in a funky setting”

It is hard for us to describe the incredibly subtle and mesmerising, at times overwhelming beauty of compositions to be paraded in “Planet MicroJam”, which range from a microtonal re-writing of a fragment from Beethoven’s 5th Piano Concerto to microJam arrangements and performances of microtonal works by Juan Carrillo, Alois Haba and Sun Ra, exquisite arrangements of traditional songs and delightful original compositions by David Fiuczynski, all played by musicians of  unbelievable caliber, from Fiuczynski himself to Evgeny Lebedev, David Radley, Takeru Yamazaki, Evan Marien, Jovol Bell, David Ginyard, and including two guest perfomances by drum masters Jack DeJohnette and Kenwood Dennard.

For the time being, here is “Drunken Longing” recently performed in NYC

RNR026 – INTERSTATIC (Roy Powell, Jarle Vespestad, Jacob Young) – March/May 2012

Shards of light and guitar poke the thick, incessant, impenetrable mass of layered drum rhythms as maelströms of liquid organ notes form and dissolve, to embrace, fracture and propel this aural light. The incredible Roy Powell, who also plays organ and keyboards on Naked Truth, master drummer Jarle Vespestad and guitarist extraordinaire Jacob Young (the last two partners in repeated ECM releases) deliver their second recording (after their previous Anthem) as a trio, this time under their new name InterStatic. 

(video by Neil Loughran)

Their music, again, knows no boundaries, as it flows often incessant, at times lunar and nordic, with over-archingly powerful melodic themes penetrating the dense, at times apparently chaotic but sharply contrasted, always slickly cut layers of sonic architecture. ChiaroScuro, for synaesthetes.

The recording is currently in the final mastering stage – we will soon share a couple of tracks with you all for you to fully appreciate its greatness.

RNR027 – MOLE – WHAT IS THE MEANING? (Mark Aanderud, Hernan Hecht, with David Gilmore and Jorge “Luri” Molina) – April/May 2012

MOLE (or MOLE Productions) is the Musical Juice Collector of the incredible Mexican pianist Mark Aanderud and Argentinian-born and mexican resident (and Brainkiller drummer) Hernan Hecht, here joined by the amazing David Gilmore on guitar and the wonderful Jorge “Luri” Molina on bass. Swinging, poly-rhythmic, incredibly melodic, the new album by MOLE is nourished by the movingly beautiful compositions and virtuosistic piano work of Mark Aanderud, whilst being propelled forward by the jazz/rock/drum’n bass drumming of Hecht and the scintillating guitar-work of Gilmore.

Soon we will be sharing one or two tracks from this beautiful album by a quartet which we think has the potential to follow in the steps of EST and Phronesis.

Here in 2009 in Mexico (audio quality is not exceptional, but you will get an idea of the energy of their live performances)

RNR028 – ANIMATION – TRANSPARENT HEART (Bob Belden, Peter Clagett, Jacob Smith, Roberto Verastegui, Matt Young) – September 11th 2012

After 2011′s Asiento and its Spin-Off Agemo (also here) comes the first work by Animation which was recorded wholly in-house (in Bill Laswell’s studio in West-Orange, New Jersey), under the watchful eye of James Dellatacoma. 2011 was a year of rebirth and intense transition for Animation, as it was brought back to life via the release of the 2006 re-make of Bitches Brew (Asiento), then played a number of gigs  a hybrid formation, featuring Bob Belden on sax, Tim Hagans on trumpet, with the astonishingly young Jordan Gheen on keyboards, Jacob Smith on bass and  Matt Young on drums.

Here in Charleston:

Here at the Jazz Standard (and here the review by JazzTimes)

performing a track from Transparent Heart.

Here, finally, as they played live on a show on WBGO, The Checkout, produced by Josh Jackson just prior to playing at the Jazz Standard.

The formation of Animation has now coalesced and stabilised around Bob Belden, Peter Clagett, Roberto Verastegui, Jacob Smith and Matt Young. Soon we will have one or more tracks to share with you all, as it is quite unmeasurably beautiful.

RNR029 – NAKED TRUTH (Lorenzo Feliciati, Graham Haynes, Roy Powell, Pat Mastelotto) – October 2012

2011 saw the release of Naked Truth’s first recording, Shizaru to good critical acclaim – witness Carole Banks’s recent review in TheExaminer “…in ambient, avant-garde jazz-fusion, the hardest thing to do is make the visionary, experimental music melodically easy to follow and impossible to forget. Naked Truth does exactly this in “Touching Corners.” Whoever came up with the fan- and serious musician-friendly melodic line strengthening throughout this rocking, haunting groove, is an off his rocker prophet. It’s easily the best single for a cross-over hit, combining hard-driving rock with an ethereal, ballet-like loveliness. The cascading, intensified piano amplifies an urgency of purpose.”

Naked Truth then performed in Genoa (with Brainkiller), at the Gezmataz Genoa Jazz Festival, as part of a RareNoiseRecords – themed night (about which we will talk in the near future) with the appearance of Nils Petter Molvaer

After Cuong Vu decided to focus on his own projects, Naked Truth found a new stable member in the incredible Graham Haynes, and headed to Bill Laswell’s studio in West Orange to record their second full length. Having had the honour of being there we assure you it takes a further step into the future of music. We can’t wait to share some of the results with you – shortly we will be publishing an EPK and diary of the recording days in New Jersey.

Before we leave you, let us say we have two/three more cards up our sleeve for 2012 – Brainkiller, for example, will tour Mexico in March 2012, appear at the Vive Latino festival and record their second album for RareNoiseRecords …

Until Next time!

Dear Friends,

the next step in our myopic retrospective brings us square into the year 2011, the seeds of which were sown late 2010.

RNR016 – OWLS – THE NIGHT STAYS

“The Night Stays”, the first release by Owls, and our first foray into the world of neo-folk was due to a meeting of minds between renowned neo-folk/neoclassical singer and composer Tony Wakeford (of Sol Invictus fame) and Eraldo Bernocchi, with the added vocal virtues of Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari (longtime collaborator or Eraldo Bernocchi in recordings ranging from Ashes to Obake, of which we will say more later). First and foremost was the choice of name or totem for the band, a creature that would embody the lunar spirit of the project: the choice fell on the Owl, protector and observer  of those who cannot sleep. This mystique was also the principle behind the making of “The Night Stays” – the layering of traditional british and european neo-folk with elements of dark electronica, trip-hop and industrial noise. Dark, broody, introspective and obliquely futuristic, the recording evoques memories of New Order and Johnny Marr layered with the darker moments of Massive Attack as can be heard in the following track, “Hide And Seek”

The album’s wonderful cover was once again produced by Petulia Mattioli. “The Night Stays”, for the first time in our release history, was released as Double LP (180gm vinyl) with three extra tracks and new lush artwork.

RNR017 – ANIMATION – ASIENTO

September 2010 we received an email from Guy Licata, at that time drummer of Method Of Defiance (as can be witnessed on our release RNR003 – Nihon) suggesting I listen to a jazz performance he had participated in in 2006 as part of the Reissue Series curated by Brice Rosenbloom and Simon Rentner at the Merkin Hall in december that year. The lineup featured Bob Belden on sax, Tim Hagans on trumpet, Matt Garrison on bass, Scott Kinsey on keyboards, DJ Logic on turntables and obviously Guy Licata on drums, as they worked through six w0nderful tracks from Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. As we were aware of both the previous Animation recordings, harking back to the turn of the century, that is Animation : Imagination and Re-Animation : Live, both graced with Grammy nominations in 2000 and 2001 and were fascinated by their attempt to weld Hard-Bop and drum’n bass, we decided to give the recording a thorough listen. What cemented our intentions was a long impromptu conversation with Bob Belden, whose larger than life persona and creative spirits really convinced us that RareNoiseRecords’ relationship with Animation would extend well beyond this first release. As it turns out, Animation (in their new stable formation with Bob Belden on sax/flute, Peter Claggett on trumpet, Jacob Smith on bass, Matt Young on drums and Roberto Verastegui in keyboards and sampler) has just finished recording their first completely new record, to be called “Transparent Heart”  in Laswell’s studio in West Orange, New Jersey – more about in a future update.

In agreement with Bob, we opted for a very aggressive, edgy mastering, with the aim of highlighting the near-brutal immediacy of the performance. The results were very favourable, as the album garnered excellent press from across the world, and also managed to ruffle some feathers, as was expected (a fact which we welcomed with open arms). The striking artwork was again due to Petulia Mattioli, who was tasked with devising a cover which would both reference the original and significantly depart from it – a task she managed to accomplish admirably, we say…

RNR019 – NAKED TRUTH – SHIZARU

Very early 2011 we received an email by Italian bassist Lorenzo Feliciati, asking us to consider releasing a recording he had recently finished editing, featuring himself on bass joined by Mr Mister, XTC, The Rembrandts’ and King Crimson drummer extraordinaire Pat Mastelotto, by organist and keyboard maestro Roy Powell and by Pat Metheny Group trumpet innovator Cuong Vu. An ardent fan of Mick Karn, Lorenzo’s interest in RareNoiseRecords had been aroused by a charity compilation we had co-released late 2010 to support the great bass player  in his fight with cancer. In-depth listening of the demo revealed it to be incredibly interesting and innovative, a unique blend of late Crimson, Cecil Taylor and early 80′s Miles Davis artfully tailored and stitched together by master editor Lorenzo Feliciati. The recording by  the group, called Naked Truth, was released early July 2011, generating very positive responses in press and music lovers alike. Cuong Vu’s decision to decline further participation in the future development of Naked Truth led us to search for a temporary replacement to perform in Genoa on July 22nd 2011 (RareNoiseRecords night, part of the Gezmataz Genoa Jazz Festival), a role temporarily but admirably filled in by Nils Petter Molvaer. The future though, was not assured – long searches eventually lead us to the great Graham Haynes, but this is a matter for a future article. For the time being, enjoy  ”Faster Than An Automatic Door”:

The artwork for Shizaru, Naked Truth’s first recording for RareNoiseRecords, was again invented by Petulia Mattioli. It depicts the Four Monkeys of the Confucian tradition (See, Speak, Hear and, most importantly Do No Evil, i.e. Shi-Zaru).

RNP003 – SEMETIPSUM 2011 (@Michele Satta’s wine cellar)

In the previous episode of our myopic retrospective, we had talked about the event held in 2010 in Michele Satta’s wineries in Castagneto Carducci, Tuscany, Italy. The event was repeated again this year early July, this time with Nils Petter Molvaer performing solo trumpet and electronics. Semetipsum 2011 will see a signed bottle of 2010 Viognier (“Giovin Re”) in the now well known limited edition box, accompanied by the beautiful graphics of Petulia Mattioli. Head over to Michele Satta’s internet portal to secure yourself a limited edition boxset.

RARENOISERECORDS NIGHT (@GEZMATAZ GENOA JAZZ FESTIVAL)

On the 22nd of July 2011 we were honoured to be given the opportunity to host a two-set night as part of the Gezmataz Genoa Jazz Festival at the Arena Del Mare in Genoa, Italy. About 700 people came to see Brainkiller and Naked Truth perform to great acclaim and commotion.

Witness here Brainkiller’s new track “Otaku Goes To The Rave” (which will grace their new 2012 recording – out late 2012 or early 2013 on RareNoiseRecords)

and Naked Truth, performing here with Nils Petter Molvaer, showcasing their entire new album “Shizaru”

We thank Marco Tindiglia and Gezmataz for the opportunity afforded us, in the hope we might organize a further date for 2012.

RNR020 – OBAKE – OBAKE

We always knew that our relentless search for ever-mesmerising music to offer RareNoise aficionados old and new would eventually lead us to confront the world of doom and doom drone. The opportunity arose halfway through 2011 when the collective creative juices of Eraldo Bernocchi and Massimo Pupillo (remember for example Black Engine, released in 2008, featuring Eraldo Bernocchi’s guitar alongside ZU – Massimo Pupillo, Luca Mai and Jacopo Battaglia) coalesced and were joined by, once again Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari and by the great hungarian drummer Balazs Pandi to give rise to a music behemoth of rare power and intensity. Named after the japanese term for “Ghost/Shapeshifter”, their collaboration has its feet strongly rooted in doom, drone and grind, interweaved by onirical, lunar passages and lifted by Lorenzo Esposito Fornasari’s extraordinary vocals, here ranging from tender growl to near operatic crescendos . Released in September 2011, Obake encountered the favour of large parts of the press in UK and Italy. It was nominated 6th in the first 50 Albums of the Year by Rock-A-Rolla and among the 50 best by great british music blog The Quietus, by great writer John Doran. Obake will be performing live from late spring 2012, with Trevor Dunn on bass.

The next three releases are the most recent, dating back hardly a month, and we recently dedicated each of them a separate article – see here, here and here). Nevertheless, we think it appropriate to spend more words on each of them. We love all of our releases to bits, and could go on talking about them forever ….

RNR018 – ANIMATION – AGEMO 

Late Q1 2011, about the time we released Asiento by Animation, our friend Gaudi introduced us to a new recording and mixing process he had been involved in, when producing a remix of David Gilmour’s and The Orb’s Metallic Spheres: 3D60. This process, squarely aimed at the new and blossoming market for high quality earphones, allowed the creation of a new spatial/3-dimensional mix of existing recordings. Always looking out for innovative ideas to enhance the listening experience we were immediately fascinated by the recording technology invented by Mike Brady and Ian Thompson with the collaboration of Killing Joke and Fireman bass player/producer Youth. Very quickly we decided to submit Animation’s Asiento, which had been released early April, to this transformation. The results were rather astonishing, as they deeply affected the listening experience – a wider, near-spherical listening stage, focused instrument placement, accompanied by a much softer mix, aimed at increasing the dynamic range of the music (up to 20db!). – HOOK UP YOUR EARPHONES TO YOUR COMPUTER OR MOBILE PHONE to listen to the 3D60 Mix of track 3 from Animation’s Asiento, “John McLaughlin” so as to make sense of our words above:

Concurrently we had started to toy with the idea of producing a recording of remixes of Asiento – as we were fascinated by the opportunity of giving world-class remixers the opportunity to express their own point of view on Miles’ Bitches Brew. For a variety of reasons, chief amongst which legal and of respect, most remixers would have shied away from producing mix reconstructions of original Miles Davis material (with the notable exception of Bill Laswell’s Panthalassa). Presented with the opportunity to remix material which itself was an interpretation of the original left them with much greater freedom. Six remixers were given a track to work on in isolation, and were impeded from listening to each other’s work in the process. The result, again, was astonishing, as it was both cohesive yet markedly individual, ranging from Laswell’s drum’n bass take on Pharaoh’s Dance to DJ Logic’s deep dub take on Bitches Brew, to Youth’s Dancefloor/Trance take on “John McLaughlin” (listen to it just below) to Gaudi’s fast dub take on “Miles Runs The Voodoo Down” to Fanu’s Breakbeat take on “Spanish Key” to Joaquin “Joe” Claussell’s complete Hypno re-construction of “Sanctuary”. The red thread behind this release was, as was now clear to us, that of “transformation” and change (many of our releases deal with that notion): in this case transformation through technology and process (3D60) and transformation through artistic wizardry (the remixes).

Agemo, Vodun deity of transformation, gave the 2 CD recording its name, and influenced Petulia Mattioli in producing a most striking artwork superimposing the original vision of Asiento onto a chameleon skin.

Agemo is dedicated to the memory of Dora Ramos Claussell and Manuel Claussell, respectively mother and brother of Joaquin “Joe” Claussell, both of whom passed away during the making of Agemo. We would have expected Joe to either not deliver his work at all or to deliver it with great delay. He delivered on time, providing us with a potent example of professional coherence, focus and incredible intensity. We are deeply grateful to him and share in his grieving for his loss.

RNR021 – BERNOCCHI/BUDD/GUTHRIE – WINTER GARDEN

A near simultaneous release to Agemo was Winter Garden, which sees Eraldo Bernocchi join forces with Harold Budd and Robin Guthrie. Their journey had started mid 2010, when they played two live events, in the old Enel powerhouse in Trezzo d’Adda and in Genoa, in Palazzo Lomellino. Around the same time Harold Budd had sojourned in Tuscany, where he started recording the Eraldo Bernocchi (with whom he previously had performed – see Fragments From The Inside from 2005) – they were joined by Robin Guthrie and laid the foundations of this incredibly dense and delicate recording. Further trips to France sealed the work, giving it the dry, frosty and winter-silent qualities associated with its very title.  Listen to “Stay With Me” and rejoice as we do:

and look at their performance in Trezzo

Needless to say, once again the cover was admirably created by Petulia Mattioli (who had provided the spectacular live visuals for the trio’s performance at the Taccani / Enel powerhouse in Trezzo d’Adda in 2010).

RNR022 – THE MANTRA ABOVE THE SPOTLESS MELT MOON – GHOST DANCE 

Agemo and Winter Garden were joined by the second full-length release by The Mantra Above The Spotless Melt Moon, Ghost Dance. This record has currently been launched only in the UK (although it is physically available everywhere). We will talk about it in greater detail when an important announcement regarding the band’s UK and Italian tours are made in about a week. For the time being, enjoy reading about it here and listen to the beautiful “Trieste”:

The wonderful artwork for this release is by Infinity Artworks (who is none other than Adriana Salomone, the band’s lead voice), the spectacular photography is by Lucio Carbonelli, whose photographic work also appeared in the feature on the Mantra which recently graced the pages of Classic Rock Prog. We are very thankful to Adriana and Lucio for the beautiful work they conceived of and consequently created.

So here we are, full circle. The next article will be the MYOPIC PER-SPECTIVE, detailing the numerous new releases  that will grace our catalogue in 2012 – we truly hope we will able to blow your mind 

Cheers to all, and thank you for allowing us to indulge in this romantic exercise in short-term memory titillation.

RNR

Dear Friends,

November 28th 2011 will see the release of the second recording on RareNoiseRecords by Animation, Bob Belden‘s futurebound jazz-drum’n bass-electronica  vehicle – AGEMO (click to listen to free streams).

The term “Agemo” refers to a deity within the pantheon of gods of the West African spiritual practice Santeria (Vodun) which embodies the characteristic of “Change” and “Transformation” and is often represented as a CHAMALEON. Agemo is therefore a Hymn To Transformation, as seen through the lenses of technology and creativity.

(For the more mathematically perverse among you “Agemo” also refers to a subgroup of the class of p-groups – all puns intended)

Asiento was an interpretation of Miles Davis’ seminal work, Bitches Brew. Agemo takes Asiento and “folds” it onto itself . A Dream within a Dream. 

Miles Davis => Animation | Asiento => Animation | Agemo => Selim Sivad

Disc 1 of Agemo, focusing on the emotional impact of change through technology, is a 3D60 mix of the Animation’s previous release, Asiento (RNR017), which saw Bob Belden’s seminal Jazz+drum’n bass band interpret Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew. This exclusive and innovative mixing process (already witnessed on The Orb + David Gilmour’s “Metallic Spheres”), devised and honed by Mike Brady, Ian Thompson and Youth (www.3d60.co.uk), focuses on both increasing the dynamic range (20db!) of the music and providing a 3-dimensional HEADPHONE listening experience, the likes of which most users will never have had experience before. Disc 1 of Agemo will also shortly be available from our store (www.rarenoisestore.com) and selected others as 24bit/96Khz FLAC digital for Audiophiles.

Listen to the 3D60 Version of “John McLaughlin”  – PUT YOUR HEADPHONES ON!

Disc 2 of Agemo, focusing on the emotional impact of change through creativity is a Remix of the original Asiento.

The original six tracks, “Pharaoh’s Dance”, “Bitches Brew”, “John McLaughlin”, “Miles Runs The Voodoo Down”, “Spanish Key” and “Sanctuary” are taken on by absolute masters of their craft, in order Bill Laswell, DJ Logic, Youth (producer of The Verve and Paul McCartney), Gaudi, Fanu and Joaquin “Joe” Claussell, as they reconstruct and reinterpret the original material to extract the essence of what Bitches Brew means to them – spacing from Dub to Funk to Breakbeats to Dancefloor and r’n’b.

Listen to DJ Logic’s Remix of “Bitches Brew”

Listen to Youth’s Remix of “John McLaughlin”

Listen to Fanu’s Remix of “Spanish Key”

AGEMO IS DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF DORA RAMOS CLAUSSELL AND MANUEL CLAUSSELL

DISTRIBUTION:

Direct:

AGEMO will be available from November 28th from the RareNoiseStore (www.rarenoisestore.com) for worldwide shipping as DOUBLE CD SOFTPACK, and digital as .flac/.mp3 Disc 1 of AGEMO will also shortly be available from our store (www.rarenoisestore.com) and selected others as 24bit/96Khz FLAC digital for Audiophiles.

Indirect:

UK/EU distributor : CargoRecords (please contact darren@cargorecords.co.uk for stock enquiries in UK and EUROPE)

US distributor : Darla Records (please contact james@darla.com for stock enquiries in US)

DIGITAL: All Digital Stores (Itunes/Emusic/Napster/Spotify….) via IODA

If you wish to stock for JAPAN,  and are a distributor contact giacomo@rarenoiserecords.com or darren@cargorecords.co.uk

Manhattan is the Edge of Forever. Live here and you are always on the edge, one day away from your destiny, fate, obligation or demise. I have lived in Manhattan for 28 years. On the edge for 28 years. DJ Logic grew up in the South Bronx, the birthplace of hip hop, party DJs, break dancing and social engineering in the extreme. Matt Garrison, our bassist, and Guy Licata, our drummer, have lived their entire lives in the shadows of New York City, either directly or by DNA.  In parallel worlds, Scott Kinsey lives in Los Angeles, an American noir-ish metaphor for the extremes of success, failure and quiet desperation. Tim Hagans has lived close to Philidelphia for most of his adult life. Big cities. But only in Manhattan, is there 24/7 energy, an animated cartoon expressing adventure in the midst of wanton criminal behavior. The sound of street life, club life, studio life, a high cost of living, terrorism as tourism, Central Park, Harlem, Limos, no speed limits, fantastic restaurants, jay-walking as a right, After-hours joints, gangsters, endless parties, police with big guns in kevlar everywhere, all taken in the extreme. At night the city comes alive like no other in the world. At any moment you are working directly with multi-national corporations as if they were local businesses or street hustlers straight out of central casting. In many cases you can’t tell the difference. You may hear English spoken on occasion.You find yourself caught up in larger-than-life events such as the World Trade Center attacks, The Subway Vigilante, Guardian Angels, Gang wars, Wall Street Meltdowns (twice!!), and the media interests for the Western World are within walking distance of my apartment. If you live a life where each day you are compelled by necessity to create a new world that will satisfy your muse, pay your bills or keep you from getting in trouble, surrounded by 8 million other people with the same basic idea, one develops a creative survival instinct that defies logic or reason. If you can make it here you don’t care about anywhere else. And reinvention is the Mantra of Manhattan. You prod the status quo, finding new ways to survive as a creative artist. Its all about how you feel at that moment, your own basic instinct carved from your soul, one challenge at a time because things change here first. Manhattan never stops for anyone, you either catch up or move out. One lives and dies in this city always with a dream to chase, a challenge left unmet, a love never fulfilled, a heart oft broken. And take my word, this city will literally kill you. It is that treacherous to live life on the edge in Manhattan.

The underlying philosophy of this band we call ANIMATION has always been about reinvention (aka ‘re:Imagination’) and creating conflict within the status quo. Either by abandoning the traditions of jazz forms, the melodic and harmonic basis for improvisation and using dynamics as a sonic weapon, ANIMATION was able to invent music at the moment, invent forms, otherworldly textures and colors and improvisational contextualization. While this may not be “innovative”, it is refreshing. Recording for Blue Note Records from 1997-2001, under assumed names, ANIMATION created a unique sound within the framework of 1950s hard bop-inspired label. The recording had the same energy as a Charlie Parker or Art Blakey recording but with a contemporary texture.  Our followup live recording from the Montreal Jazz Festival did much to further the cause of progressive jazz within the conventional public discourse, bringing elements of Drum & Bass and electronica into the Jazz Melting Pot. We also received two Grammy nominations in the Contemporary Jazz
Category (Tim Hagans “Animation: Imagination” in 2000 and Hagans/Belden “Re:Animation LIVE! in 2001).

Early in 2006, ANIMATION was invited by Francois Zalacain and Brice Rosenbloom to create a performance (scheduled for) December 9, 2006) as part of a concert series based on covering classic jazz LPs. To fit comfortably within the programming I chose Miles Davis’ “Bitches Brew”, thinking this would be a good opportunity to demonstrate our approach to jazz improvisation and add to the bands oeuver. After the usual logistical stresses everyone magically arrived mid-afternoon on the 9th of December at West 67th street instruments in hand. We rehearsed about 30 minutes, enough to understand the phrases that defined the compositions. As our music has evolved into creating phrases as opposed to reinterpreting melodic forms, it was very natural to adapt to the phrases of “Bitches Brew.” Performing in Manhattan sharpens your artistic senses and reflexes. If you close your eyes, having read the above description of the city, you may hear the life and energy of this urban dystopia come alive in your animated imagination.

Each musician brings a unique voice to the performance. Tim Hagans has followed the path of great trumpet players by forging his own intense style, with an emphasis on tightly focused solo statements that resemble an electric guitarists efforts more than your typical trumpet expressions. Scott Kinsey has taken the language of the synthesizer to the highest level in our modern times as he is the first generation of keyboardists who developed electronically as opposed to the acoustic-centric classic piano model. Matthew Garrison has similarly improved the language of the electric bass and his unique technique allows him to redefine the the possibilities of the instrument within modern electronic ensembles. Guy Licata represents the next wave of drummers to emerge from the shadows of sampling, electronica and drum machine programming, and he has an endless supply of drive and energy that has few rivals in jazz. DJ Logic adds his input from a variety of sources, both from the street and from the penthouse, becoming part of the groove or texture, but always hovering about the textures.

This recording is an unfettered representation of the spirit of jazz; improvisation. We could not prepare to regurgitate what we rehearsed in the live performance so the decision was made to abandon intensive preparation and to emphasize the thrill of hearing music created for the first time in front of people. Most bands do not take this kind of risk these days. Many groups are intensely rehearsed and arranged more to show off the ability to rehearse and arrange but reiteration is not improvisation. In a marketplace that values fast tempos, loud grooves, pre-planned climaxes, cliche forms and presentation patterns that go back to the roaring twenties, to approach performance and recording as an act of pure improvisation is becoming a luxury. Often musicians feel that complexity means quality or virtuosity and in some genres this is held to a higher standard than creativity and taste. This is the mark of a desperate ego, a ‘me-and-only-me’ approach to making music (not creating). With ASIENTO, there was no me but us. We are all traveling very fast down a road with only a sketch for a roadmap in a Ferrari with no brakes and a reckless disregard for the dangers that lie ahead.

Cheers to you all.