The Jazz Project - Album 82: Steve Coleman And Five Elements - "The Tao Of Mad Phat: Fringe Zones"

                 To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 82
Steven Coleman - The Tao Of Mad Phat
Drinking: Black Tea

Photo credit: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/The_Tao_of_Mad_Phat.jpg

1. "The Tao Of Mad Phat": This track begins as a saxophone solo that goes on for several minutes. It's soulful and flowing, full of great licks. The full band joins in and it's one of the funkiest things I've heard in a long time. It's like one part Jazz and one part Funk are jammed into a blender and violently jamming the two styles together into a wonderfully blended mesh of delight. The slap bass is particularly excellent. It's hard not to bounce your head to this hard-hitting groove. While bouncing the groove I look up "Tao" and according to the Oxford Dictionary, its a noun meaning "the absolute principle underlying the universe, combining within itself the principles of yin and yang and signifying the way, or code of behavior, that is in harmony with the natural order." I suppose the album/title track would suggest that Jazz and Funk are the yin and yang, with music being the underlying principle? Perhaps, but the band's control of rhythm and the fiery improvisation on this track is quite incredible. Between the seven and eight-minute mark, it reduces to a prolonged soloing session between the artists that isn't quite as cohesive as the beginning, but it still grooves super hard. The guitar solo around 9:30 and 10:00 is so good, but just under that layer is some incredible drumming. My mind is taken to an inner-city street market, with many different voices calling out to attract viewers and customers. There's an organic nature to the scene the music is painting. We enter a section around the 13-minute mark that maintains many of the rhythmic elements from before but with a much darker tone to the music. The saxophone returns to playing over the band as it closes. So delightful, and such a great track. 
   
   
2. "Alt-Shift=Return": This song opens with some harsh yet funky guitar chords over a walking bass and some popping drums. The music is almost computer-like, or perhaps like a cash register. Whatever it's trying to emulate it fully gripped my attention. It's like the rhythm section is the computer and the brass is what's happening on the screen. A different take, the rhythm section is the shop and the sax is the shopkeeper greeting and ringing out customers. There's a strong repetitive nature to this song that carries at least through ~2:50. Something changes each repetition, and it's only noticeable over time and I'm not catching what it is, which is slightly frustrating. All the elements from the start are there, but it's different as well. Very intriguing, frustrating isn't the right word. I enjoyed this track, but something about the mechanics of this track truly eluded me. 
   
   
3. "Collective Meditations 1 (suite): Changing Of The Guard": I immediately looked up if Kamasi Washington referenced this in any way, but nothing came of that search. this song is frantic, angular, but so full of shred. Rhythm notes and chords are jabbing into the air as the piano has a very off kilter solo, but my gut says it was entirely the plan to paint the music this way. This almost sounds like a riot or a fight. Not a relaxing track, but captivating. 
   
   
4. "Collective Meditations 1 (suite): Guards On That Train": We seamlessly segue into this new song. There's a theme of guards to the titles. This track also maintains a frantic pace, but the walking baseline grounds it and brings some fluidity to it. Additionally, the angular piano lines are gone. This train is going a million miles an hour. Is the band the guard? Is it the old styles of Jazz? If this is all improvisation, I'm stupid impressed. 
   
   
5. "Collective Meditations 1 (suite): Relax Your Guards": Easily the shortest song on the album with a run time of 36 seconds. It operates at a slower pace, with a strong sense of swagger, but the jabbing piano returns for a brief moment. At roughly 15 seconds it goes into this slower funky jam. A quick but enjoyable snippet. 
   
   
6. "Collective Meditations 1 (suite): All The Guards There Are": This song carries the swagger the previous track carried with it and feels a bit more like classic Jazz with a hint of Funk hanging in the background. It's a fast-paced track without the frenetic feeling from the earlier fare. My head is telling me the guards are the musicians, and they're trying to cobble a band together in the musical narrative. 
   
   
7. "Collective Meditations 1 (suite): Enter The Rhythm (People)": This song starts with the same hard funk drums and bass with some seriously menacing chords from the keys. Maybe this is a battle of the bands situation, maybe not. The bass solo around 1:10 is odd, with a tone you don't hear often, but it's an enjoyable solo. This song leaves me feeling perplexed. It takes a small stylish shift at ~2:20 that loses some of the menace and is a big shift from most of the earlier material. Ultimately I left this song feeling lost. 
   
   
8. "Incantation": "Incantation" starts with a strong Coltrane vibe to it. The funky backbone feels very Tom Waits-like and I'm loving it. There's a strong back-alley vibe to this solo, like a group of neighbors playing in the street. Meditation is the word I want to use to describe this, but the rhythm section sounds like it has a stronger intent than a meditation. Incantation was a good choice for the title of this song. There's a big change at ~2:20, it's sultry, somber, and a little nostalgic in sound. Perhaps the incantation has been completed? Maybe the cost was too great? 
   
   
9. "Laid Back Schematics": A fun duet between the sax and bass. Keys slowly enter the mix creating a layering effect. It's hard not to bob your head to the music. This is one of the few tracks where you can hear band members talking. The song is a nice change of pace from the overall album. The layers keep coming and going until it all comes together around 3:10. There is a fun groove to the sax solo that plays over the jam around 3:50. Not my favorite solo on the album, but it fits the mood of the song well. This feels like another meditation or jam, it lacks any real narrative feeling to it. Sounds like it's fun to play in though. Admittedly this is the first song where I'm actively waiting for it to end. Stick around for the bass solo at the end though, it's worth the wait. 
   
   
10. "Polymad Nomads": This clocks in at over 10 minutes in length, so saddle up! Solid rhythm to the intro. It feels like it's building to somewhere, though it may not, given the nature of other tracks on the album. A minute and a half in there's a duet passage with the bass and keys that is pretty great. The rhythm is still vamping on that first passage. At roughly 3:15 the drums start shaking free of the meditation and change up the overall vibe of the track. A trumpet cuts in and starts soloing over the mix, and it feels good to hear some fresh instrumentation hit the sonic landscape. The trombone solo is excellent. About halfway through the song and we are still vamping around this moment. Brass has a nice passage at ~5:20 that breaks up the feeling a bit. This is a fun jam session, but beyond the fun of listening to musicians do their thing there doesn't feel like it offers anything else. That being said, this would make for a great show in a live setting. It has a solid end making for a pretty solid track overall. A journey for sure. 
    
    
11. "Little Girl On Fire": A beautiful piano opens this track with a very classic Jazz sound. Full and somber, with little flourishes of licks tossed in. It's so good. Where has this been all album? I get a Herbie Hancock vibe from the piano performance. The sax joins in around 1:20 with a soulful solo that is also excellent. It all washes over you like a memory, intangible yet sweet, real yet elusive. Drums and bass join in around 3:10, and it's masterfully done. Such a great sounding band. It walks the line of feeling old and new, classic yet fresh. It cannot be stated enough, the drums on this song are so good! It makes me want a cocktail and a cigarette. The piano solo around 4:50 is delightful. This is such a dynamic piece. It piques my interest that they'd open the album in such a contemporary manner and close it with such a classic soundtrack. Perhaps that is to make the album inline with the idea of Tao. I'm going to take another moment to say that the drums are so good! This sounds like night time on the streets, cold yet tantalizing, with cold drinks and hot nights. Some of the structure gets lost around 10:40, but the soloing makes up for it. The Funk kicks in super hard at roughly 11:55, and the song breaths in new life. It's a great, yet jarring, change up. The band is going at it so hard, and push to dial up the Funk even more. The slap-bass work is mind-bendingly good. This song could act as a history piece, taking the listener from classic Jazz to Modern Funk. Perhaps that was the point. 

Overall Thoughts: This album was quite the journey. I liked a lot of it, I loved some of it, and a few tracks left me watching the clock. Overall, I think you should certainly check out this album if not for the first and last track. There is some incredible musicianship on this album that you shouldn't miss.

Info: This album was released in 1993 through the Novus label and produced by Steve Coleman. It features Steve Coleman on alto saxophone, piano, and vocals, Andy Milne on keyboards, David Gilmore on guitar, Reggie Washington on bass guitar, Gene Lake on drums, Roy Hargrove on trumpet (track 10), Josh Roseman on trombone (track 10), Matt Garrison on bass guitar (track 10), Kenny Davis on acoustic bass (tracks 8 and 10), and Junior Wedderburn on percussion (tracks 8 and 10). 

Stay safe, stay informed.

         We're skipping today's post as to not interfere with the news cycles surrounding the incident in Washington D.C. To the people keeping the citizens safe, stay safe and keep doing the good work. To the election workers in Georgia, stay safe and keep doing the good work. To the world, stay safe, and keep doing the good work. 

A Return, and The Jazz Project - Album 83: Diana Krall - "Love Scenes"

         Hello, world. The holidays and my day job pulled me away from this project for quite some time. That's the way it goes sometimes. But, I'm glad to back at the desk and sharing more of my musical journey. I've been intrigued with the traffic around my jazz entries, so I'm going to start the year off with one and explore the genre some more. So, without further ado, here's album 83! 

Album 83
Diana Krall - Love Scenes
Drinking: Stone IPA

Photo credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/6122hSB27hL.jpg

1. "All Or Nothing At All": This song begins with an excellent bass solo, and is a stellar way to introduce an album to the listener. All the tropes of smooth jazz are present but are presented in a way that feels shiny and new instead of stale. This track is tasty; sparse but flavorful. I wish the guitar was a bit more forward in the mix, though I'm loving the bass. Krall is an amazing singer, and the band is tight. I can feel myself sitting in a smokey cocktail lounge sipping a G&T and letting the band take all the stress off my shoulders for a while.
   
   
2. "Peel Me A Grape": The title made me raise an eyebrow, but the bluesy swing in the backbone of this track grips my attention. Like the previous track, Krall's voice transports me away from my room into a jazz club. The illustrative nature of the lyrics feels flirtatious, especially with the fun chords on this track. I loved the piano solo on this song. A great example that you can't judge a track by its title. 
   
   
3. "I Don't Know Enough About You": A nice change in tempo to something a little quicker, featuring some excellent piano work. The guitar and the bass solos gripped my attention. I missed writing about this song because it sucked my attention in so well, a real winner. 
   
   
4. "I Miss You So": This track features some incredible tone from the guitar playing, which is quite welcomed. The song sounds like snowy days, warm blankets, and longing for your lover. I get where the phrase smokey lyrics come from with this song. It closes with some excellent guitar playing. 
   
   
5. "Can't Take That Away From Me": This mix seems muddy compared to the previous tracks, but I can't put my finger on why. The clarity from the previous tracks is gone, and it feels like people are stepping on each other's toes. This yields a lack of coherency in the feeling for me. What saved this track for me was Krall's performance, which was quite enjoyable. It took me this long to realize they don't have a drummer in this group, which is an interesting choice, and really telling of the skill of the rhythm section. I didn't care for the piano solo either, it felt like it was far too wandering, and it took the drive of the song with it. Thankfully the direction of the song is returned with the guitar solo which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed the closing to this track. 
   
   
6. "Lost Mind": The bluesy swing feel to this album speaks to me on many levels, and this track continues to drive that home. It's like a slow and sexy Stevie Ray Vaughan song, which feels a little weird to say, but the lick is very SRV in sound. I'm not in love with the guitar tone when it dips into the lower registers, but the song overall is enjoyable. 
   
   
7. "I Don't Stand A Ghost Of A Chance With You": I'm feeling and enjoying the music in the intro of this song, but not the vocal delivery as much. Something about it feels off-kilter compared to the delicate nature of the music. The slow and soulful guitar work is excellent and has a hint of Chet Atkins' vibe to it. I think some bass would have been cool, but the duet does provide an intimate feeling to the setting. This track leaves me feeling quite conflicted, it has a beautiful and personal vibe to it, but it runs on too long. The lack of other instruments leaves it feeling incomplete. So far this was my least favorite song. 
   
   
8. "You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me": The full band returns on this track and they do so fully in sync with each other. We also return to a perfect vocal delivery from Krall. One of the best parts of this song is how successfully the band fills in the space between each moment of Krall's vocals. It's tight and it's effective, and a strong moment on the album. My only wish was this song ran longer as it's the shortest song on the album at two minutes and fifteen seconds. 
   
   
9. "Gentle Rain": We open with some truly tasty guitar playing. There's just a hint of breakup on the tone, which sounds so good, almost hypnotic. A wonderful intro. I think Leah Zeger from Leah And The Moonlighters could have drawn a lot of inspiration from this track. Slow, and sadly sweet in sound this song sucked me into it thoroughly. 
   
   
10. "How Deep Is The Ocean (How High Is The Sky)": The piano intro is sad and delightful to listen to. I played the first 25 seconds over and over about five times. Everyone sounds excellent, and it creates such a soulful environment. The Piano solo hits home, albeit that it makes up most of the song so perhaps it's no longer a solo. A heavy-hitting track on this album. 
    
    
11. "My Love Is": The snapping fingers are produced shockingly well, and it matches the bass remarkably well. This song is minimal and perfect with the layers stacking up like fine china. It works so well! One of my favorite vocal performances on the album, and overall two thumbs up from me. If you like upright bass, check this track out. 
    
    
12. "Garden In The Rain": Worth several contemplative listens, as we close with the soulful sound we started with. A great closer to the album. Not much to say except it's definitely worth your time. 

Overall Thoughts: I dug this album quite a lot. the mix was almost always on point and the performances felt free and flowing while still being wholly deliberate. Huge kudos to the rhythm section for holding it together so well. I made it through the whole album without realizing there wasn't a drummer, which is a feat! If you like the more soulful side of jazz and excellent vocals, this is 100% a must listen. 

Info: This album was released on August 26th, 1997 through Inpulse! records and recorded in Avatar Studios in New York, New York. It was produced by Tommy LiPuma and features Diana Krall on lead vocals and piano, Russell Malone on guitar, and Christian McBride on bass. 

If you dug this album you can pick it up here! 

The Jazz Project - Album 84: Anthony Braxton - "For Alto"

                To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 84
Antony Braxton - For Alto
Drinking: No beverage

Photo credit: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71MdsgavhOL._SL1200_.jpg

1. "Dedicated To Multi-Instrumentalist Jack Gell": While incredibly short, this song was a somber, clear tune. Braxton is a skilled player, though I wonder who Jack Gell is. 
   
   
2. "To Composer John Cage": Right out of the gate my brain is telling me this is going to be a weird one as John Cage has some pretty bizarre things to say in the music world. That being said, the intro to this song doesn't disappoint. I think that featuring the saxophone as the only instrument on this album is a bold statement. You can tell he's giving his all from the frantic breaths peppered in and around each lick. While the Cagian freestyle is beyond my musical comprehension, I enjoy the sound of the solo saxophone. The breathing acts like percussion and creates a very human experience. Say what you will about the listenable nature of the music, this musician has chops. Strangely, it sounds like he's trying to capture the sounds of a child's imagination as it runs rampant from each idea to the next with wild abandon. I must then wonder what John Cage thought of this track, especially those wild sax screams. 
   
   
3. "To Artist Murray dePillars": This track opens with a somber, melodic open which serves as a nice reprieve from the wild nature of the previous tracks. I love that you can hear the tapping of the keys over the music as there's no band to hide it. It continues to create this intimate experience between the listener and Braxton. My mind takes me to the cosmos, where all the wild trills are planets, stars, and comets sailing by my starship piloted by Braxton. 
   
   
4. "To Pianist Cecil Taylor": There's a sense of strut to this song. I wonder if this improvisation is in any way supposed to mimic a piano player. This song does a great job of walking that line between a jazz solo and free jazz, even if it favors the free jazz side of the path. My brain initially wants to discount free jazz because it's not a tune, which is what my brain is used to, but I immediately look back and realize I could never play this music. Still, I do find this to be a challenge to listen to. 
   
   
5. "Dedicated To Ann and Peter Allen": I find it interesting that some songs are "To ____" and others are "Dedicated To ____", why the difference? That said, I do enjoy the naming conventions. Such a sad intro to a song. Had these people left the world before this song was composed? Or perhaps this song reflects a strained relationship. This song is a mammoth, with a running time of 12 minutes and 54 seconds. I love Braxton's use of silence in this composition. It pulls my attention in and makes each note that much more satisfying. The moments of breathing are captivating, creating a beautiful piece. At times his breaths act like a stirred snare. Using the keys to subtly tap out a line. I'd almost call this piece an experiment of playing around with interesting silence. This piece just speaks to me. 
   
   
6. "Dedicated To Susan Axelrod": Another slow and somber intro. I'm surprised this is how he chose to order these tracks. But, I suppose I'm not in line with his vision as I struggle with this type of music. I dig that you can hear his tongue and breath technique in the microphones. I know I've said it before but it creates this intimate experience. where you're almost in the room with him. It almost sounds like he's fighting with the saxophone, which is quite evocative. I'd love to know what his brain was thinking about while he was writing this album. Was it written moment to moment, or was a meditation on an idea? The arpeggios in this song are beautiful, yet extremely wild. 
   
   
7. "To My Friend Kenny McKenny": This song returns to the wild side of town. I get the sense that Kenny is someone who has explosive opinions on things. It emulates the sound of a piano scraping across the floor as you try to move it from one side of the room to the other. Or perhaps it's a heavy metal table. This track sounds incredibly violent as the sounds created sound far outside of the instrument's normal range. I think this has been the most challenging song on the record for me. The weird humming/feedback at the end was pretty cool. 
   
   
8. "Dedicated To Multi-Instrumentalist Leroy Jenkins": A mono note opening, which is quite interesting. It builds into an explosive crescendo of random honks of alto saxophone. Another track that is difficult to sink my teeth into. I've read some articles espousing the groundbreaking importance of this album, but I must say it's lost on me. Where this movement found footing amazes me, but as mentioned before, I don't think I have the skills and experience to understand it either. It makes sense to me that it's a journey through the possibilities of sound, but I still feel lost. 

Overall Thoughts: Free Jazz is largely lost on me. I don't yet understand the value of the movement, though I recognize that it is there and has a serious following. I hope that one day it will click into place in my mind. All that being said, I have to give Braxton some serious props for pursuing this album, especially as a solo album without overdubs. It found ways to bring humanity into the music and fully exploring what an instrument could offer on the sonic canvas while bringing the listener into the room. It's a wild record, and I'm glad I experienced it. 

Info: This album was recorded in February of 1969 at Delmark Records in Chicago. Solely performed by Anthony Braxton on Alto Saxophone. 

If you liked the album you can stream it at the YouTube link above, and you can pick up a copy of the record here! 

Cheers! 

Spirit Adrift - "Battle High"

Photo credit: https://www.spiritadrift.com/

         Spirit Adrift dropped another track yesterday, and it's holding up quite nicely with their most recent offerings. "Battle High" debuted on the Century Media Records YouTube channel in support of Spirit Adrift's new album Enlightened Eternity which was released October 16th, 2020. Definitely not new to us here at Mainly Tuning Out, we highly suggest you check this band out. "Battle High" starts off with a heavy blues riff before jumping into some classic heavy metal tones. Dynamically this song works well, and feels both traditional and also fresh. The vocal performances and solos are excellent as well! If you dig this track you can stream it here! 

        

        Happy Friday everyone! Be well! 

The Jazz Project - Album 85: Krzysztof Komeda - "Astigmatic"

               To further my understanding of Jazz, I'm listening through Jazzwise Magazine's "The 100 Jazz Albums That Shook The World". Each album is presented with my stream-of-consciousness thoughts for each track, my general thoughts of the album as a whole, and any relevant information I can capture about the album. Also included is my drink of choice while taking the album in. Thank you for joining me on my journey to [partial] Jazz enlightenment.

Album 85
Krzysztof Komeda - Astigmatic
Drinking: PBR

https://img.discogs.com/B0wEucLgfu_22a3yQvcpNFz_yKg=/fit-in/600x598/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2841202-1303486755.jpeg.jpg

1. "Astigmatic": The song opens with a jilted opening. Clean trumpets play over an eerie piano. The piano is almost manic in sound. I like how it's all starting to pull together with the drums and bass, falls away, and then comes back. The staccato rhythm is gripping. As the trumpets continue to perform I catch a mild glimpse of Miles Davis. Musically this feels like a relationship, starting with a fight, but about three minutes in it starts cooling off into a calm moment. Still, it feels like the piano, drums, and bass is operating independently of each other leaving me feeling disoriented. About six minutes in there is an odd trumpet solo that feels like it's trying to display fragility, but gently or gracefully but in a manic, crazy way. It's like looking for your keys in the house when you're already 20 minutes late, this crazed frenetic mindset builds inside until it almost fully takes control of you. This crazed piece segues to a duet between the trumpet and bass. I wonder what this studio session was like. I want to believe they were all on the same page as they performed this music, but how would you recreate these moments? It feels like a stream of consciousness that is freely flowing through these musicians. At ~11 minutes in we get a familiar Jazz moment with free soloing and one hell of a walking bass line. I know it can't last, but it's a nice change of pace from the journey this album has taken me on. At ~13 minutes the saxophone takes the spotlight for a sporadic and clustered solo. Regardless of how it sounds, this player has some serious chops. The bass takes over with a sliding and bend heavy, yet quiet solo. A feeling takes over that the music is mimicking a bad dreamscape. The entity is trapped and hysterical, yet free. A drum solo pops up around the 18-minute mark, which was a highlight, it's arguably my favorite part of this track. The band comes back together around the 19-minute mark to close out this track. These moments are very similar to the opening of the album. As an equally eerie ending comes closing in, I find myself wondering if this was a one-take performance. 
2. "Kattorna": This is the shortest track on the album by far. It features a much more conventional opening to a track, and I find the riffs to be quite pleasing. It sounds like the chase scene in a late-night gangster movie. Or perhaps watching beat cops rolling his way through the night. Highlights for me are the bass work on this track and the drum work. This band likes flirting with varying levels of tension, and we only leave the tension for brief moments. It's almost exhausting to listen to. 
3. "Sventetic": I love what the bass offers up during this intro, it's very vocal! It sounds like a cold and misty morning, and the sun is struggling to break through and burn off the mist. Suddenly, the sun breaks through and at two minutes in it's painfully hot, making the world feel sluggish. This song could be a soundscape, painting pictures with these tight, jabbing lines in black and white. Six minutes in we get a break with some classic jazz noodling. I hate to say it, but my lack of theory knowledge might be impeding my ability to follow along on this track. I want to see it as a song instead of a sonic experiment, but I can't really find the narrative in the song. Perhaps it's because there isn't one, but I'd be surprised if that was the case. With five minutes left on the clock, we make a return to the moments from the intro. That appears to be the formula for this album, passage, intro, repeat passage. 

Overall Thoughts: This album was largely beyond my comprehension. I certainly tried to follow along but I struggled with the lack of melodic structure. I agree with the quote from Jazzwise magazine, "Stanko himself said that this is an album that could never have been made in America". It's not something that would have survived American culture. I'm glad it found its place though, and I want to come back in the distant future and see if I have a better experience with this album.

Info: This album was recorded over two days in December of 1965, and the album was released in 1966 on the Muza Label. It was produced by Wojciech Piętowski, and features Krzysztof Komeda as the bandleader and on piano, Rune Carlsson on drums, Günter Lenz on double bass, Zbigniew Namys∤owski on alto saxophone, and Tomasz Stańko on trumpet.

If you want to purchase this album, you can do so here! 

Cheers! 

Boris with Merzbow - "Away From You"

Photo credit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9llVjM149U

         Today's track is a bizarre yet oddly calming track created as a collaboration between Japanese Doom Metal/experimental music giants Boris and Japanese noise artist Merzbow. Of the two, I'm only familiar with Boris, and only through friends from college who are huge fans. This was never out of dislike, I just haven't had the time to do the deep dive on them given their massive catalog. Boris has been making music since 1992, with an impressive discography of 26 studio albums, and 14 EPs. Merzbow has been creating music and art since 1979 and has released 342 studio albums and 33 EPs. Needless to say, both institutions are prolific. This track is from the upcoming release 2R012P0 which is expected to drop on December 11th, 2020. 

        

        "Away From You" opens with some percussive noises that sound like clinking cans, clutter being moved around a table or a wind chime made of old food cans. It also closely imitates the sound of several clocks clinking in and out of time with each other. Synth sounds pepper this sound, as do some echoing guitar notes, creating and very organic sound, similar to the sound of the world waking up with the sunrise. A calming bass line starts at ~0:52, and it gives the song an ebb and flow to it. The noise track gets a little more out of sync with the music and more and more sounds are folded in as others start to drop out. 

        As it continues the music continues to grow in depth and complexity while still maintaining this organic, living environment. It's truly captivating. The vocals are gripping and haunting as the lace themselves through all these layers. The music takes a darker turn at ~2:57, and the synth noises grow pointed and unsettling. In this din beautiful tension blossoms in the soundscape adding dynamic moments to this track. The instruments settle back into the calm sounds from earlier, but the synth and noise tracks continue to grow more dissonant and abrasive. While not always the most pleasant thing to listen to, it creates a strong juxtaposition of ideas and sounds that, in this baffling way, works quite well. These two extremes continue to ride out, nearly to the end of the song until the final moment where the clock-like cluttering cans briefly return. 

        This was a truly beautiful track, and worth a listen or two at the very least. I'm not sure if this is a good representation of Boris and Merzbow, but I'm certainly more inclined to listen through their other stuff and their previous collaborations having experienced "Away From You". If you enjoyed what you heard, you can preorder this album here. You can find more info on Boris here, and more info on Merzbow here. 

        Cheers!