Tomasz Gwincinski: guitar, leader Renata Suchodolska: cello Tomasz Pawlicki: flute, keyboards Tomasz Hesse: bass Rafal Gorzycki: drums
special guests: Andrzej Przybielski: trumpet Marta Handschke: voice Jacek Majewski: conga Wojciech Kuczyniecki: bass clarinet Wojciech Gibas: fagot Tadeusz Michalski: bass clarinet
I dig this through Musea, blindfold, as I thought it must be pretty in the vein of Univers Zero or Art Zoyd. However, tritons abound (if they wouldn't I'd keep wonder to death, where's that moniquer from), and from that aspect, myself being attracted by that kind of musical expressions as moth by the light, I seemed to be on the right way. After close listening I discovered much, much more, but not entirely on the positive side. More than half of the silvering is usurped by two very long, extended tracks "Jestem UFO" 12 mins+ and "Tulku" 14 mins+, of which the later is a bit closer to the ground. These two could be at home on every headier release of 70's German improgpsychelectro scene, fueled by lysergic acid. Of course, if done only by guitars, fx' and drums. But fortunately dissonances (or at least that kind of feeling) are omnipresent. On later occasionally cello or piano lands, springing dodecaphonic slabs, while other instruments are always somewhere above. The former "smoker" is made esp. for the keyboards which send bats, yes, bats straight to the brain which play blind man's buff in-there and bounce from the cortex (sooo high-pitched, arghhh), and for moaning cello. Both "made-to-measure's" provide a lot of (too much) room for long, smoking guitar-solos and improvisations.
These two mammoths are juxtaposed with four new music/RIO-ish miniatures, which bring to mind U. Zero ("Planiergerat"), Nimal ("Electric Mandala") and even Etron Fou ("Herbatka Yassova"). Why band chose the brevity for these very well accomplished musical themes, is beyond me. If these'd be just a little bit extended, there'd be a great deal fun. I think they could be longer, three minutes each (I cannot help but feel deceived a bit.) And when an album starts with bass-clarinet dodeca-solo, or this is paired with the blaring trumpet (flugelhorn) while bassoon is digging tunnels in neighbourhood, as on "Kalambury", I couldn't think of anything but opposition. Besides that, there's also 6 min+ long "Enoptronia", where nice congas can be heard and which announces headier things, but remains squarely in contempo district. The track no.9, "Columbo" is jazzy-pop with nice flute, sounds like a relief party, yet it is not the closing number. Ironically, silvering fades out with a Schonbergian mini-(morris) "Opus Hokus", thus confusing listener even more.
Nevertheless, despite oddities mentioned (one has to get used to them), this item sounds very original, very fresh and very prog!! And not really quirky or murky. Overall, still very promising and for the prog-explorers, recommended!!!
Nenad Kobal (New Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Roc)
This album is also available for sale in digital format.
