Monotype Rec. Brasil & The Gallowbrothers Band : In The Rain, in the noise (PL,2010)***'
Often I have only little patience for slow releases or need to find the time to get the right relaxed state of openness first. And that's how it took a couple of months before I found the right moment for this release. In the meanwhile the band has already released something else.
On the first track we hear a sonic foundation of an environmental recording of blackbirds (and later frogs) with a background of deep and faraway droning voice tones, with an improvisation on what sounds like clarinet (but which is the eastern duduk), slowly played and adapted inside the landscape, with just a few strange subtle interfering recording sounds and subtle ornamental textures of guitar echoing with repeating tones and a few other toy-like sounds-finding improvisations also completely inside the landscape. This is descriptively unfolding its elements for over 20 minutes. After a while it is no longer clear if the background voice drone is from a voice or from something else. Percussive repetitions ramble and echoe like splashes of water, softly and brushed-like, part of it surely is from a guitar origin. While the birds remain present, the soundscape consists now more of new elements attached in a natural rhythm. Newly added is an accordion repeating something simple in the distance, and some small clicks on mbira's. More hand percussive rhythms slowly are added into the loop with one evolving drone in the background and this new rhythmical life in front. Also more guitar is added, improvising with the moments and also a voice improvises a song to it, all being receptive to this pulsating and descriptive background.
The second track starts like a far in the background song with relaxed rhythm of acoustic instruments with an electronic loop of a sound. This is more like slowed down techno-pop still with ambient loop associations. A sitarguitar and again some duduk are also added to the loop-like rhythm, and the song element returns more clearly.
The next track returns to the landscape creating effect, with airy whirling and natural and distant mechanical sounds, the clarinet-like duduk improvises slowly on top, with an effect hanging between direct improvisation in a landscape and becoming one by creating it with more ornamental sounds (like with accordion, vibrating keyboards imitating something like a mixture of a slowly played thumbpiano and a toypiano) and drones.
The fourth track starts from a different environment, something like the sound recording of a metro hall, before this changes to a more natural setting, quiet, with a song, with slowly played electrified guitar and voices further in the background, again hanging between a song in a landscape, dissolving in an environment and creating it.
On the last track, mechanical electro-pop rhythms and more focused slide and picked guitar improvisations smoothly returns to song, not too much louder as an echo of a voice, but more clearly like a total human expression. This directs already a bit towards the Dutch label release mates Mekkanik Commando. More duduk is played over this.
The band consists of T.E.R. on Yamaha CS5, kaossilator, Rafaz Michalowsky on voice, duduk, flute, wavedrum and harmonica, and Tomek Dirt on guitar, mbira and samples.
