Birdsongs of the Mesozoic - Petrophonics (2000) Avant-Prog (320 kbps)

Один из самых лучших дисков уникальной американской группы, сочетающей в своем творчестве плохо сочетаемые вещи - фри-джаз и панк, и нео-классику и рок, электронику и даже нью-вейв.

Что пишут

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic are, in a word, unique. Their music is a unique blend of styles and textures that, in the end, sound unlike anything else. They straddle the lines between prog and "serious" music, without losing the fire and drive of rock.

One of the things that makes the band stand out from the crowd is their lack of the traditional bass and drum rhythm section. To be sure, the use of auxilliary percusionists, loops, and drum programming gives their music plenty of rhythmic oomph, but the ability to shed those instruments allows them to explore other textures. Most tracks use synths and grand piano as a base, with intricate guitar, keyboard and reed work over top. The title track is a perfect example of this, as the driving piano and drum loops keep things moving while guitar and sax bound on top. "Ptoccata II", on the other hand, is more laid back and atmospheric.

The various sources for the tracks adds to their diversity. "Birdhead" is a collaboration with percussionists Drumhead, with Erik Lindgren composing the song around the Drumhead track "Autobody." "Music Inspired by 1001 Real Apes" was a collaboration with David Greenberger, creator of The Duplex Planet, and was originally a 65-minute work. "One Hundred Cycles" began life as a piece written by Ken Field while he was composer-in-residence at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming.

Petrophonics is an amazing collection of intricate, intenense and nearly indescribable instrumental music. If you're generally not a fan of that kind of thing, don't let the band's unique lineup or presence on Cuneiform scare you away. This is not music that is abstract for the sake of being abstract. It's always well composed and arranged, which leads to it being memorable, even if it's not in a toe-tapping melodies-stick-in-your-head kind of way. Highly recomended.

Jon Byrne, Ground and Sky

О диске

Track listing:

1. Petrophonics (6:13)
2. Ptoccata II (5:13)
3. One Hundred Cycles (5:20)
4. Nevergreen (7:30)
5. Study Of Unintended Consequences (4:22)
6. Birdhead (3:57)
7. Allswell That Endswell In Roswell (6:50)
Music Inspired By 1001 Real Apes:
8. Time Marches On Theme (3:15)
9. Dinosaurs Theme (3:31)
10. Gravity Theme (6:29)
11. Quincy Sore Throat Theme (3:55)
The Insidious Revenge Of Ultima Thule:
12. Part One (2:28)
13. Part Two (3:26)
14. Part Three (3:23)

Musicians:

- Michael Bierylo / guitar, programming, sound design
- Ken Field / Alto & Soprano saxophones, flutes, percussion
- Erik Lindgren / acoustic Grand piano
- Rick Scott / synthesizer, sound design and piano (Study Of Unintended Consequences)

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