Not too long ago my office had a visit from two distraught parents. Their little girl had died a few days previous and were convinced that she was becoming a zombie so they held off burial. Sadly it was not transformation that was taking place, but that of common rigor mortise. Sooner than appreciate what they had, no matter how simple, her passing was blown well out of proportion.
And that brings us to this evenings album: Labyrinths • Occult Improvisational Compositions for 5-string banjo and "percussion". A fine wonderful work it is, just banjo and "percussion" stretched out over 5 tracks. If there was any overdubbing, I could not tell. The improvisations didn't come across as self indulgent, giving the impression that there was more composition involved.
The playing is in the John Fahey style, a little Raga, a lot of Jump Blues. This hybrid of styles comes together beautifully on the albums lone cover, "My favorite things". Perhaps the only alchemy that is taking place is the melding of Western style with Eastern playing, as at times Stavis's banjo sounds more like a koto. But surely this isn't a art learned from the occult as professed on the back cover. Then where is the Magick? There is nothing here that suggests anything of the unspoken arts. A good album, one of down home, be it either Virginia or Kobe. Like the above mentioned parents, accept it for what it is, not what it seems to be.
Please click on the reviews title for sample track: Firelight
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment