Jonathan Dobie - guitar
Łukasz Myszkowski - guitar, cymbals
Tomasz Mądry - electronics
Robert Iwanik - bass, voice
Dan Maurer - drums
Dan Maurer - drums
and others
Body Up
REQUIEM 138
This is the debut album by British/Polish duo which consists of British guitarist/composer Jonathan Dobie and
Polish electronics performer Tomasz Mądry. They are assisted by several
additional British and Polish musicians, some of which are well known names in
the avant-garde/ambient music communities. The album presents two extended
original compositions, not credited explicitly on the album's artwork and
therefore assumed to be collective compositions.
The music is a wonderful
amalgam of ambient / drone / electronic music and Jazz improvisations, combined
together in a very original form. The electronic sounds serve as a platform
upon which the Jazzy improvisations float like wind above earth. The sublime
contrast between the heavy, dark sound of the electronics and the gentle,
melodic sound of the saxophone improvisations creates an eerie effect,
perfectly suitable as a soundtrack to an imaginary movie.
This intuitive and highly
adventurous music manages to present a completely coherent structure and sense
of direction. In many respects this music could be treated as contemporary
"Classical" Music, presenting a completely new gateway into
unexplored musical universes. This music offers new discoveries with each
listening session and its scope is truly amazing.
This is revolutionary music in
every sense, as it eschews all conventions and known parameters, simply
creating a new form of collective expression, which combines recorded sounds
and studio manipulation. Although seemingly depressive and sinister, it is in
fact nothing of the sort. It uses the minimalism of the drone background and
"white noise" electronic effects as canvas, upon which the
improvisations act like brightly colored shapes.
Overall this is an amazing
piece of contemporary music, which is a wonderful example of ingenuity and
limitless searching, which still, thank God, happens on this planet, often
against all odds. As usual kudos is due to the Polish Requiem label for the
courage and wisdom to release albums like this one; albums that change the
perception of what music is, for generations to come.
