Chris Abrahams/Lucio Capece - None of Them Would Remember It that Way (mikroton)

A really good, tough recording with Abrahams (DX7 FM synth) and Capece (soprano sax, bass clarinet, preparations, sruti box) mapping out territory roughly within the Wandelweiserian landscapes that Capece has been exploring in recent years but with a generous helping of needle sharp interjections and shards from Abrahams. I've somehow managed to acquire absolutely no knowledge about The Necks' music, so I have little idea (save from a quick glimpse into You Tube, which yielded so late 90s sessions that seemed almost proto-Radian to me) how representative his contributions are, but his sounds are an excellent foil to the harsh, breath-oriented content of Capece's reeds.

"Ring Road" is pretty much just that: the hollow whistle of a soprano embellished by tiny, sharp plinks (think "Concret pH") that occasionally broaden out into oval, elongated globs. The last few minutes of the 11-minute piece turn an unexpected corner, with a clearer sax tone and a panoply of synth ones, though parceled out with relative spareness. Sort of an L-shaped work. "Southern Patterns", more than twice as long, begins in similar fashion, albeit with bass clarinet, but soon becomes deliciously cooler, darker and sparser, the low reed taking on a sub-aquatic quality, looming in out of the depths, the synth interjections lonelier, like tiny phosphorescent creatures. Bell-like tones are also used as the piece becomes like a nocturnal pastoral, insectile, still very dark, growing progressively rougher as it winds down.

The sruti box (admittedly, I love that sound!) appears for the final track, laying its thick, rich tones in a multi-layered sheet for the consistently pinging and darting synth. It's in the same vein as the preceding to cuts, just a different color and...warmer.

A fine recording.

Mikroton