The followup to David Virelles' astonishing ECM label debut Mboko, is Antenna, a six track EP rooted in the same musical terrain while differing greatly in its mode of expression. The keyboardist, composer and producer has long been a sonic explorer; he's deeply involved with the experimental electornic music scene in New York. Sound rather music than has obsessed Virelles since he was a child for its ability to create narratives and alter metaphysical percpetions. That's in ample evidence here, where he acts as much like a ...
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The followup to David Virelles' astonishing ECM label debut Mboko, is Antenna, a six track EP rooted in the same musical terrain while differing greatly in its mode of expression. The keyboardist, composer and producer has long been a sonic explorer; he's deeply involved with the experimental electornic music scene in New York. Sound rather music than has obsessed Virelles since he was a child for its ability to create narratives and alter metaphysical percpetions. That's in ample evidence here, where he acts as much like a producer and strategist as he does a jazz pianist. In addition to acoustic piano, Virelles employs Hammond B3, Roland Juno-6, electric and prepared pianos, and various samplers. He re-enlists vocalist Román Díaz and drummer Marcus Gilmore from the Mboko team. The latter not only plays drums, but accompanies samples of his playing to create expansive new grooves. Opening track "Binary" is constructed almost entirely of the ritualistic Afro-Cuban rhythms showcased on the earlier album, but with a twist. While congas and bata drums are played in dialogic exchange by Mauricio Herrara and Gilmore, they are appended with sampled birdsong and the fragmented rhythmic sequences of "Los Serres," a fictional percussion ensemble created by Virelles. It's simultaneously hyperkinetic and trance-inducing. Henry Threadgill adds his treated, multi-tracked alto saxophone to the all-too-brief ballad "Water, Bird-Headed Mistress." Co-produced by cellist /electronicist Alexander Overington, it's structured like a story as the bluesy horn is accompanied by droning cello and ambient washes of nocturnal sound. "Threshold" features squawking cello, more birdsong samples, insect sounds, jazz drums, B3 drones, percussion samples and distorted electric guitar. They are all spindled to hallucinatory effect before a multi-layered vocal chant claims the center. (Gilles Peterson grabbed hold of this cut hard, playing it repeatedly on his show.) "Rumbakua," delivers off-kilter breaks, as Cuban rapper Etián Brebaje Man delivers rhymes, while sultry electric piano staggers between funky jazz and carnival melody. The set's finest (and longest) cut, "El Titan de Bronce" trades in electro-acoustic jazz improvisation built on structured rhythmic loop-like sequences from overlaid piano, drums and percussion. Electric guitar and sampled snares attempt to rein in Virelles' labyrinthine solo, which investigates polyrhythmnic scale and mode, but it's too mercurial. While it's hard to say whether fans of Mboko will be able to embrace Antenna or simply scratch their heads at it, those interested in 21st century experimental music should flock to it. This set erases boundaries between genre and sound, placing them in service to the creative process. These six shapeshifting "stories" are as illustrative as they are elusive. If Antenna has a shortcoming, it's simply that it's too brief--a good problem to have for a musician. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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