Record Reviews

ORGANIC NOISES ~ ORGANIC NOISES LYNX 166 (Barcode: 5906395942558) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock-World Fusion Recorded: 2018 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by Polish ensemble Organic NoisesFind albums by this artist, which comprises of multi-instrumentalist / vocalist Zofia Trystula HovhannisyanFind albums by this artist, violinist Joanna ChudybaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Karolina WierciochFind albums by this artist, guitarist Robert WierciochFind albums by this artist, bassist Marcin ChatysFind albums by this artist and drummer Jan RusinFind albums by this artist. Several additional musicians guest on selected tracks. The album presents seven compositions, a short improvised intro and outro and five pieces based on traditional music, one Polish and four Armenian, arranged by the group members. The music is strongly influenced by the Folklore tradition of the beautiful Armenian music, which is brought up to date and ornamented by Fusion / Prog arrangements, creating a Jazz-Rock-World Fusion album, which is fascinating from start to finish. The Folklore influence is represented by the traditional woodwind instruments, such as the duduk, zurna and shvi, the violin and the vocal parts, whereas the keyboards and guitar represent the contemporary Western influence of Rock and Prog. The rhythm section manages to balance between the Caucasian odd rhythm patterns and the contemporary Western pulse with flair and obvious understanding of the entire musical spectrum. Cross-genre explorations are often very tricky undertakings and finding the right balance is always a challenge, which in this case simply works out perfectly. For people familiar with the enchanting and hypnotic Armenian melodies this album is a treasure chest, which manages to preserve the melancholy of the Armenian mountain ridges and expand it into contemporary soundscapes without spoiling the beauty or breaking the charm. The electric improvisations by the keyboards and the guitar are all vey tasteful and respectful towards the origins, which happens relatively rarely. On the album´s artwork the group asks the listener to remember the tragic chapter in Armenian history, the Armenian Holocaust, which happened in the early 20th Century – a dark stain on the human race, like all other Holocausts that we bear on our collective conscience. As someone who knows a thing or two about Holocaust, I can only join them and support their call for Remembrance. Overall this is an excellent debut album, full of beautiful, touching music and perfectly executed by these young musicians. It offers a fresh, but respectful glace at the tradition and manages to bring it up to date with panache. For cross-genre music lovers, World and Prog enthusiasts and just all true good music connoisseurs, this album is a winner!

Updated: 25/09/2019Posted: 25/09/2019

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SEGUE ~ HOLOGRAMS LYNX 176 (Barcode: 5906395942671) ~ POLAND ~ Jazz-Rock Fusion Recorded: 2019 Released: 2019 This is the debut album by the Polish ensemble The SegueFind albums by this artist, which comprises of guitarist Robert WierciochFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Karolina WierciochFind albums by this artist, bassist Marcin EssenFind albums by this artist and drummer Szymon PiotrowskiFind albums by this artist. Three other musicians guest on selected tracks. The album presents seven original compositions by Robert and Karolina (authorship is not specifically stated on the album´s artwork, which does specify the date of the recording either – beginners´ blunders). The music is a mixture or Jazz-Rock Fusion with a dash of Prog and even Rock, which takes no prisoners and kicks ass from the very first note. Like the saying goes, it is one of those albums which start with a full blast and then step on it! But let´s make no mistakes here – this is far from being just a show off of instrumental abilities by these musicians, although there are enough blood curdling moments, but a highly organized presentation of musical ideas, based on well weaved melodic themes and highly developed sense of Fusion aesthetics, such as one finds for example on albums by Jeff BeckFind albums by this artist and other Masters of the genre. Robert is definitely the more Prog / Rock personality here, with his superb guitar work and ability to come up with riffs that don´t let the listener to sit on his behind. Listening to his playing is like watching an imaginary documentary about Fusion guitar Masters. Karolina on the other hand is way more Jazz oriented and her piano and keyboards improvisations have a distinct Jazz tinge and wonderful fluidity. The rhythm section is able to keep up with the two dominant leaders amicably, doing exactly what this music requires, which is to create a steady and solid background base for the lengthy improvisations. Although perfect in every sense and working like clockwork, it does not reach the same level of extrovert expressionism, perhaps rightly so as this might have been a tad too much on the whole. But fans of funky bass and tasty drum rolls will be definitely fully satisfied. Overall this is a brilliant, highly refreshing album, especially so in view of the fact that both of these genres show advanced stages of decay. Definitely the best Polish Fusion / Prog album of 2019 and hopefully just the first light of more exciting things to come!

Updated: 17/01/2020Posted: 17/01/2020

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