Reviews:
(Kathodik) Trio di impro elettroacustica da San Francisco. Tania Chen, Ben Salomon e l'ideatore/grande capo di Public Eyesore / Eh?, Bryan Day. Strumentazione homemade, feedback, percussioni metalliche, giocattoli elettronici e qualche intrusione di piano. Dieci livide movimentazioni notturne. Tra consunzione e ossidazione. Sferragliamenti e sfregamenti, gracchiare elettronico/disastrato, stringhe di Larsen. Tasti in sgocciolio ad ipotizzar una contemporanea rotta e disossa. Materia nota egregiamente organizzata, in pigolante ironia da collasso. Rughe da soundtrack, Bali e qualche campanaro in performance bendata. Abbasta? Abbasta. - Marco Carcasi
(Improvijazzation Nation) This release features Public Eyesore label owner Bryan Day on "invented instruments", as well as Tania Chen doing Electronic Toys, Bells, Piano and Ben Salomon with Invented Instruments, Feedback, Percussion – and despite the band name & title – it's not "b-a-d" at all. It's a CD-R, but with VERY high sound quality, and on songs like "Polonaise", you'll quickly appreciate the sonic intricacies of this kind of playing; odd, but quite comforting! My personal favorite of the ten songs offered up was also the longest one on the album – 7:21 – and as you listen to the aural exploration on "Firefly", your ears will light up, without doubt. If you're at all into "different" songs, you'll get this one and treasure it for many eons to come. I give these folks a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for listeners who yearn for experimental with true taste… "EQ" (energy quotient) rating is 4.98. - Dick Metcalf
(Monk Mink Pink Punk) This trio of noisemakers is "bad" only in the sense that if you were expecting any kind of jazz this side of AMM, you'd be disappointed. Instrument maker Bryan Day joins forces with with Ben Salomon and Tania Chen to combine Day's unique instruments with electronics, piano and sometimes accordion. When the piano enters in "Polonaise," [Chopin composed many pieces called Polonaise which I generally enjoy, but I am concerned the word might refer to a type of exceptionally gross Polish mayonnaise that forced Chopin to flee to Paris—I've not yet read a detailed biography of him. -Ed.] you may think for a moment you are listening to AMM. Chen has performed works by Cage and Cardew before, so she displays an interesting sense of timing. Quiet feedback whines, bumpy percussion and metal sounds meld with the keyboard instruments into interesting, tactile music that constantly surprises. Bad jazz but great music. - Josh Ronsen |