Wingfield Reuter Sirkis
Lighthouse
Moonjune Records
This
‘boy band’ wasn’t put together by producer Leonardo Pavkovic because they could
sing or dance, but because he knew each is a master of his musical field. The collaboration gives improvisation a fresh
makeover suitable for the twenty-first century.
It’s almost new age yet employs both jazz and progressive rock ideas.
Mark
Wingfield’s signature sound is to push his guitar to the limit by manipulating
the notes and pitch into something visionary by pedals, pick-ups and processors
that create a cleaner feedback sound whilst simultaneously being able to lay
down chords in the background.
Composer
and instrument designer of TouchGuitars, Markus Reuter who has built on the
premise of fretboard tapping that emerged in the 1950’s, brings his
eight-stringed beast of bass to keyboard ambient textures and soundscapes but
is also capable of taking his turn in the spotlight of lead performer.
Drummer
Asaf Sirkis has built an impressive CV with his own groups The Inner Noise and
his own Trio, but has also worked with the Gilad Atzmon & the Orient
Ensemble, Natasha Atlas, Polly Scattergood and the inimitable Norman Watt-Roy
on his solo album Faith and Grace. Sirkis
says music gives him the legitimacy to be who he really is and the rhythms and
cymbal work are enthralling and it feels like he takes the lead especially on
the first two tracks of Lighthouse, Zinc
and Derecho.
There
were no prior compositions of this recording.
The only methodology was to decide which notes may be called upon in
each improvisation. Each musician
produces an intermittent signal, a navigational aid for the others to absorb
and react to in real time.
Fans
of albums that break genre boundaries, and throw the template away, have a new
leading light to follow.
NE
