For this project, alternatively known every bit "Normalizer Two", Marco has enlisted several dissimilar musicians to create a total cd, each, from the same drum solo. No editing of the drum functioning was done. All the music had to check amongst what Marco played and, ideally, become far seems similar exclusively this drum functioning could become amongst this music.
"This was the hardest recording I receive got e'er taken on," says Gunn. "The challenges of this procedure examine the old adage that 'with groovy restrictions come upward groovy creative leaps'."
Trey Gunn has a advert reminiscent of an Old West outlaw. He is also i of electrical current progressive rock’s go-to soundmakers, mainly wielding his Warr guitar (a Chapman Stick-like musical instrument built to explore notes from bass to guitar make amongst a tapping technique), touring in addition to performing amongst the likes of Tool, Brian Eno, and, most famously, prog giants King Crimson, of which he was a fellow member for ix years in addition to 4 studio albums.
On Modulator, the music is a thick, weird, pulverizing, battlefield of touching on guitars, spacy audio effects, in addition to gratis jazz drumming. The concept is fifty-fifty weirder—for Modulator, the writing took house backwards, amongst Gunn writing in addition to overdubbing soundscapes in addition to riffs on plow over of “rhythmic illusionist” Marco Minnemann’s 51-minute drum solo, recorded alive inward Senden, Federal Republic of Federal Republic of Germany inward 2006. Gunn spent years toying amongst the material, literally re-thinking the procedure of songwriting earlier lastly settling on an appropriate method of deconstruction: 22 tracks of controlled chaos.
Modulator won’t win over whatsoever doubters. If your sentiment of proggy experimentation is “that Coheed album amongst all the audio effects”, this ain’t gonna float your boat. But if you’re upward for the challenge, Gunn, Minnemann, in addition to Modulator offering a headphone-absorbing headfuck that exclusively gets amend the closer y'all listen. If the sentiment behind “progressive rock” is to literally “progress” stone music beyond its normal confines, exploring the limits in addition to possibilities of what the genre is capable of, in addition to thus Modulator is i of the most progressive (and interesting) things you’re probable to hear this year…or any.
Fusion in addition to electrical avant-garde jazz are ii dissimilar things. Fusion--as envisioned past times artist/miles-davis-mn0000423829">Miles Davis, artist/john-mclaughlin-mn0000223701">John McLaughlin, artist/chick-corea-mn0000110541">Chick Corea, in addition to others dorsum inward the '70s -- combined jazz amongst stone in addition to funk inward a means that didn't emphasize exterior playing, whereas electrical avant-garde jazz (as inward artist/ornette-colemans-prime-time-mn0000484396">Ornette Coleman's Prime Time, artist/jamaaladeen-tacuma-mn0000113125">Jamaaladeen Tacuma, artist/ronald-shannon-jackson-mn0000294931">Ronald Shannon Jackson, in addition to artist/james-blood-ulmer-mn0000114031">James Blood Ulmer) savors the dissonant pleasures of the outside. But in that place are times when the ii merge, in addition to that is what happens on guitarist artist/trey-gunn-mn0000022134">Trey Gunn in addition to drummer artist/marco-minnemann-mn0000672421">Marco Minnemann's Modulator. Actually, this instrumental CD is to a greater extent than than a combination of fusion in addition to electrical avant-garde jazz; it is a combination of fusion, electrical avant-garde jazz, in addition to progressive rock. And artist/gunn-mn0000022134">Gunn in addition to artist/minnemann-mn0000672421">Minnemann cease upward sounding similar a freewheeling notwithstanding coherent "duo," which is interesting inward low-cal of how Modulator was position together. artist/gunn-mn0000022134">Gunn in addition to artist/minnemann-mn0000672421">Minnemann didn't move into the studio at the same fourth dimension in addition to tape every bit a traditional duo. Instead, an unaccompanied artist/minnemann-mn0000672421">Minnemann recorded a 50-minute drum solo past times himself inward 2006, gave the recording to artist/gunn-mn0000022134">Gunn in addition to asked him to compose music for his drumming. artist/gunn-mn0000022134">Gunn was reluctant at first, exactly after agreeing to accept on the hard project, he composed to a greater extent than or less music -- in addition to from 2008-2010, he played diverse instruments (including guitar, bass, in addition to keyboards) in addition to combined them amongst artist/minnemann-mn0000672421">Minnemann's drums. Of course, in that place are those who volition struggle that recording an album that means has no house inward jazz -- that jazz is well-nigh existent musicians playing together inward existent time, non musicians playing separately in addition to after mixing it all together. But then, Modulator never pretends to live straight-ahead jazz; this is a hybrid mixture of fusion, electrical avant-garde jazz, in addition to prog rock. And every bit abstract in addition to eccentric every bit Modulator is at times, the music is also logical; it's clear that artist/gunn-mn0000022134">Gunn position a lot of sentiment into what he added to artist/minnemann-mn0000672421">Minnemann's drums. Music this challenging isn't for everyone, exactly Modulator is good worth exploring if i is the type of broad-minded, eclectic listener who appreciates electrical artist/miles-davis-mn0000423829">Miles Davis in addition to artist/colemans-prime-time-mn0000484396">Coleman's Prime Time every bit much every bit he/she appreciates artist/king-crimson-mn0000076057">King Crimson.
Some concepts hold off grand on paper, exactly don’t execute well. Some ideas are groovy inward concept, exactly neglect to launch inward practice. Trey Gunn‘s Modulator is a projection that succeeds on both counts.
The quondam King Crimson guitarist approached the making of this album inward a unique manner. First, he enlisted the aid of drummer Marco Minnemann. The percussionist gear upward his kit in addition to recorded a one-hour drum solo. No stopping, i take. I tyke y'all not. Then Gunn took that recording in addition to proceeded to write music to play atop the drum parts. Gunn broke the solo into twenty-two sections, exactly other than that, did no chopping, channeling or editing. In a Seattle studio to a greater extent than than ii years after Minnemann set downward his solo inward Germany, Gunn added guitars, basses, keyboards in addition to samples. Save to a greater extent than or less Uilleann pipes in addition to fiddle on a fleck of cacophony called “Spectra,” the recording is exclusively Minnemann in addition to Gunn.
But how does it sound? Modulator is surprisingly accessible in addition to organic. The pieces don’t bound out at the listener all total of hooks, exactly they’re non cold, remote exercises, either. There’s a constant in addition to welcome juxtaposition betwixt the percussion in addition to the other instrumentation: sometimes when the drums are simple, the other instruments caput toward angular, complex territory. When the drums larn all complicated, the instruments sometimes traverse smoother sonic regions.
Some sections of Modulator — though it’s broken into tracks, it’s best approached every bit a unmarried composition amongst movements — are quite melodic, piece others are static in addition to nearly devoid of melody. Both approaches, move set every bit they are against each other. In a really existent sense, fifty-fifty though the music was carefully constructed, most of Modulator feels (and sounds) to a greater extent than similar a serial of high-level improvisations. One could imagine achieving a similar outcome (assuming i has players of this caliber) if, say, hours in addition to hours of improvisations were recorded over the menstruation of months. Then an intrepid producer could comb over the tapes, select the best bits in addition to edit them together to create a rewarding finished product.
Alas, that’s non what happened here. Such a course, apparently, would receive got been besides easy, besides lacking inward challenge. Artists similar this are sometimes willing to accept chances — because, inward the cease in that place was no guarantee that a projection similar this would yield listenable, enduring music — in addition to adventurous listeners are all the amend for having heard it. And if all this weren’t enough, no less than 5 other musicians — including Mike Keneally — are each planning to accept private cracks at layering their compositions atop Minnemann’s solo. Yikes.
Tracks Listing
1. Contact
2. Flood
3. Spray I
4. Fall Time +/-
5. Fall Time -/+
6. Lumen
7. Switch
8. Daughter
9. Pole
10. Scatter
11. Up Spin
12. Down Spin
13. Spectra
14. Superstish-a-tron
15. Californ-a-tron
16. Spray II
17. Mono-Punkte
18. Coupling
19. Incantation
20. Slingcharm
21. Twisted Pair
22. Hymn
Line-up / Musicians
Marco Minnemann (drums);
Trey Gunn (guitar, fretless guitar, keyboards, sampler);
Michael Connolly (Uilleann pipe)
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