Joao Sousa
I had listened to the Attic before and loved the communication of the trio. I crossed this record recently, and was amazed with it from the first second.
Trabalho fabuloso! Obrigado.
Favorite track: Walking Metamorphosis.
Boasting a tantalizing and diverse line-up, Sound in Motion’s 2018 Summer Bummer Festival was one for the books, featuring, among others, electronica maverick Craig Leon and master improviser Joe McPhee, as well as a few exponents of Belgium’s own thriving experimental scene. It was also where The Attic recorded its second album.
The concert was a remarkably cohesive 45 minutes of interaction, showcasing the flexibility of Amado, Almeida and Govaert as improvisers. In fact, the performance at Summer Bummer was only the first one with drummer Onno Govaert instead of original member Marco Franco. The drummers’ styles are quite divergent, with Govaert replacing his predecessor’s introspection and remarkable treatment of space with a stronger emphasis on contrasting dynamics and occasional explosiveness. However, the overall result was equally consistent and convincing, which suggests a lot about their individual and collective resources as musicians.
It takes only a short while before you find yourself in Amado’s preferred territory of brooding, contemplative intensity. It is an area of smoldering and robust statements, a zone that somehow combines a resolute fierceness with a meditative flow and flair. Slowly, ever so slowly, the unit evolves with a focus that Stuart Broomer aptly described as “(…) Amado’s ability to control the furies, building tension and form by alternating wails and squeals with precise rhythmic declarations.” It is what happens in “Killing Time”, when the three of them move away from a slow simmer with a masterful control and sense of development.
Listen how Amado organically broadens his palette, enlarges intervals, intensifies repetitions and releases emotive screeches. Meanwhile, the rhythm section keeps the momentum going, unhurried and perfectly attuned to each other and the saxophonist’s progression, rounding off a climax with a powerful solo by Govaert. It is hard to ignore how “Free For All” mirrors the opening movement of the first album, with Almeida’s bowing harmonics and the pinched, yet expressive cries of Amado. It sets the tone for an extended trance that combines a mournful vibe, largely attributed to Almeida’s arco playing, with a forward thrust that emerges in its second half.
“Aimless At The Beach” is perhaps the strongest case for these musicians’ uncanny empathy, with a beautifully restrained solo by Amado gliding into a jittery conversation full of start/stop movements and surprising accents and textures morphing into a rollicking engine of soul and fury. Once again, it is almost eerie how fluently their shared language becomes, as the musicians aren’t just reacting to each other’s statements, but creating a simultaneous discourse, as if steering the music from a shared control room.
This is something to remember from this performance. Improvised music always deals with the possibilities of the now, the interaction between space and time, and the decomposition of time. It is therefore often said that it becomes a thing of the past - sometimes even irrelevant - once it is over. It would be a shame though not to preserve the statements made by contemporary masters. Their invention on the spot can only be witnessed once, but it also tells the story – or paints a (self-)portrait - of their individual and shared urges, strengths and obsessions.
It is proof of The Attic’s capacity to shape sounds into something extraordinary, something that can be analyzed in terms of rhythmic, melodic, harmonic and textural invention, but at the same time also transcends itself and turns into an act of storytelling, of using profound creativity to translate ideas into motion and meaning. Summer Bummer goes a long way into exploring some of the possibilities. “You should have been there”, is what people often exclaim, still dizzy with delight after a concert that shook, excited or moved them. That might be true, as witnessing live music is the most important key to understanding the art of the improviser, but as a captured memory, a snapshot of that particular moment, or an introduction to the practice of the musicians involved, this recording is hard to beat.
Recorded by Nick Symons at Summer Bummer Festival, DE Studio, Antwerp, August 26th, 2018 – Festival curated by Koen Vandenhoudt & Christel Kumpen with production by Sound in Motion
Mixed by Joaquim Monte and Rodrigo Amado
Mastered by Tó Pinheiro da Silva
Produced by Rodrigo Amado & Gonçalo Almeida
Executive production by Danas Mikailionis
Liner Notes by Guy Peters
Cover Painting by Manuel Amado
Inlay Photo by Geert Vandepoele
Design & Layout by Rodrigo Amado
Special thanks to Koen Vandenhoudt, Christel Kumpen, Manuel Amado, Geert Vandepoele, Rui Garrido, Guy Peters, Joaquim Monte and all the Summer Bummer Festival crew.
Recently voted as #1 Tenor Saxophonist on El Intruso International Critics Poll, as stated by a poll of 50 critics and
writers from 18 countries, Rodrigo Amado frequently tours Europe and North America with his own groups. Stuart Broomer wrote: "Amado is an emerging master of a great tradition, more apparent with each new recording or performance."...more
I wrote a combined review of both volumes of "Of Things Beyond Thule" on my blog: https://www.poisonpie.com/publishing/reviews/text/musicreview_2020_0816.html at the Poison Pie Publishing House. Hebeloma Crustuliniforme
This record has such a magical flow to it, it seems to capture so directly the ups and downs of life, the joy of music and dance, and it's just so damn catchy and fun to listen to as well. Giles
The Hein Weingard Trio mix free improvisation and controlled composition, making music for avant-garde jazz adventurers. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 10, 2023
