#Lloyd Swanton

[donospl]

Co w jazzie piszczy [sezon 2 odcinek 44]

premierowa emisja 4 grudnia 2024 – 18:00 Graliśmy: Ali Watson Quartet “Evening Song” z albumu “Terrarium”       Nesrine  “Ya Lil” z albumu “Ka Ya Makan” – ACT Music Dan Fortin ft. David Occhipinti “Uh Hundred” z albumu “Cannon” – Elastic Recordings Joe Fonda “Inspiration Opus #1” z albumu “Eyes On The Horizon” – Long Song Records Christopher Whitley “for the most part” z albumu “almost as…

[sinceileftyoublog]

The Vampires Interview: A Life Outside the Usual

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Consider Nightjar (Earshift Music) a sharing of the baton. While The Necks remain better than ever, another experimental Australian band has stepped up right beside them, both figuratively and in terms of a series of literal collaborations. The Vampires, who have been playing and releasing music for almost two decades, are an improvisational jazz quartet from Sydney whose songs dabble in reggae and dub rhythms and are generally inspired by music of the African diaspora. Though one wouldn’t mistake a Vampires jam for The Necks’ creeping minimalism, it’s clear listening to them side-by-side that they share the same open-minded creative spirit. From the time saxophonist and composer Jeremy Rose first witnessed The Necks’ marathon live performances, he became enraptured with the band. 

Finally, over the last half decade, the elder statesmen have taken The Vampires under their wing, in a relationship Rose described to me over Zoom a couple months ago as a mentorship. Necks bassist Lloyd Swanton produced The Vampires’ 2017 record The Vampires meet Lionel Loueke. Two years ago, he and Rose released a collaborative album as Vazesh, while Necks drummer Tony Buck contributed to a record by Vampires trumpetist and composer Nick Garbett and multi-instrumentalist Mike Majkowski. Now, with Nightjar, The Vampires’ 7th record, Necks keyboard legend Chris Abrahams has joined Rose, Garbett, bassist Noel Mason, and drummer Alex Masso on the band’s most textured record yet. On the appropriately titled opener “Game Changers”, as if to refer to the epoch-making nature of this fruitful collaboration, Abrahams instantly begins on keys alongside the steady rhythm section, before the two Vampires composers enter on horns; Rose’s main solo and Abrahams’ two-hand, classical style jaunt mesh with the gentleness of the band’s grooves. “Khan Shatyr”’s horn refrain actually quotes The Necks’ “The World at War” from their second album Next. Garbett’s “Ortigara” and its interlude combine the spirit of the two bands, a sort of reggae minimalism, a warped tropicalia with clacking percussion. And “Waves”, “High Plains”, and closer “Sun Gazers” are comparatively muted and mournful, a newfound emotional subtlety I haven’t gleaned from any previous Vampires songs.

Below, read my conversation with Rose, edited for length and clarity, about The Vampires’ process and inspirations, both live and recorded, and their relationship with The Necks.

Since I Left You: Did you grow up listening to The Necks?

Jeremy Rose: I encountered The Necks when I was at music school in my early 20′s. It wasn’t until I got to hear them live that I got to experience what their music was all about. I really believe their music has to be heard live to understand the full impact of what they’re trying to do. [laughs] And to experience the durational quality of their music. I clearly remember coming across one of their live shows. It was sold out. I had to somehow sneak in. I had to sit on the floor. I couldn’t see them--I didn’t have a good visual on them. But it had a profound impact on me. I’ve been following them ever since. Over the last few years, it’s been a great honor to be able to work with Chris. I have a separate project with Lloyd Swanton called Vazesh. It’s really been great. Lloyd Swanton also produced our fifth record, The Vampires meet Lionel Loueke. We’ve had a bit of an ongoing mentorship with the group. Our trumpeter, Nick [Garbett], has worked with [Necks drummer] Tony [Buck] in one of his own projects. They made a record in Berlin not too long ago.

SILY: It seems that The Vampires has continued on the influence of The Necks but also done some things uniquely. A track like “Khan Shatyr” has some reggae in it, like much of the band’s earlier material. How do you go about delving into other genres or styles while still retaining that hypnotic quality of repetition and grooves?

JR: The interesting thing about The Necks is that they’re defined more by their process rather than their stylistic boundaries. In fact, I know they talk about what they do as a kind of game. They try to bring other styles into what The Necks do and see if they can force it, if you will, into their way of playing, which is a slowly evolving improvised minimalism. “Khan Shatyr” opens with a quote from one of their tracks, “The World At War”, off their album Next. The Vampires’ music has drawn inspiration from the grooves of the African diaspora, and we’ve played in various reggae bands over the years, so that has a particular flavor. Though we’re not trying to sound like a reggae band, it has references to that music.

SILY: In your collaboration with Chris, did you find the process at all different depending on whether you or Nick composed the track?

JR: Rather than there being a difference between each of our compositions, I’ve found that our live performances are moving towards an expansive, longer durational style of play. Working with Chris has really led us into musical areas that are often different to what the composer’s original intention was. That’s the magic of improvised music, isn’t it? To discover something that wasn’t originally planned but is often just as interesting if not more so than the original composition.

SILY: Is “Khan Shatyr” named after the building of the same name?

JR: Yeah, it’s named after a Neofuturist tent in [Astana,] the capital of Kazakhstan. It’s designed by the renowned architect Norman Foster, who did “the gherkin” in London. I was really intrigued by the contrast of [the city] and this hypermodern interior complete with a cocktail bar.

SILY: What about the title track made you want to name the album after it?

JR: I don’t know if there was anything particularly deep and meaningful on that. I just kind of like the name “nightjar” and the connotation of a night bird. It’s kind of mysterious and has a life outside the usual day.

SILY: Have you been able to perform these tracks?

JR: We’ve been performing these tracks live with Chris for 2-3 years now. This project, like many others, has experienced a bit of delay in recording due to the pandemic. It was nice to give the project a bit of space and [time for] the ideas to develop and the concept to mature.

SILY: I imagine that they’ll take on new shapes as you play them.

JR: That’s the beauty of this music. The melodies and structures are loosely defined by our compositions, and we try to approach them in a way that they can be really opened up in live performance. Our live versions of these tunes are getting longer and longer. What can happen during that period is really left open to the groupthink on the day.

SILY: Much like The Necks, do The Vampires have a defined process for making music, where you try to apply that process to different styles, or do you let the styles in and see whether they mesh with the process?

JR: It’s not quite possible to be as wide, due to the nature of the music being fully improvised. It gives a set of other open parameters to being able to bring in any style, for that matter. Our music is half on the original composer to shape and define and the rest on the band to expand and workshop on those ideas. We try to be as open as possible during performance, and things can take different directions, particularly in the spaces between pieces, where we might have open sessions for people to take it in those directions.

SILY: Do you have a favorite song on here, or at least a favorite song to perform?

JR: I love playing “Khan Shatyr” because I love the way that track builds in momentum and expands on some of the ideas I’ve been talking about. The use of repetition and groove to create those immersive states that I so enjoy when I listen to The Necks.

SILY: Was there any song on Nightjar particularly challenging to nail down?

JR: No, I think for The Vampires, the main challenge is trying to get the grooves and the music to be settled before we record it. Often, we’ll try to jam, let the rhythm section play for a while, and really settle in to the groove before we hit record. That helps the music to feel more at ease and in the pocket.

SILY: Do you do the same thing when playing live, where the rhythm section starts out first?

JR: It depends what track we’re playing. Some start with the sax and trumpet, which is a feature of the group, too, open sections for the two frontline to explore cadenzas and the use of effects and space. It’s important to have a bit of a rest for the rhythm section every now and then. [laughs]

SILY: What’s the story behind the cover art of the record?

JR: That is a painting by an old friend of mine, Mia Taninaka, whose artwork explores various symbiology. I really thought that artwork stood out and was particularly striking, so I thought it was a good match for our music. I think it’s one of her older images now. We were stoked we could use it.

SILY: Do you ever have a visual element to your live sets?

JR: We haven’t worked with A/V or a live artist before, but that’s a really great idea. [laughs] Some of my largest scale projects have worked with video artists in the past. It can be really fun and add another dimension to the music.

There are various issues to consider, [though]. [Are you going] to be inspired as you’re playing, to play off the A/V material, or are you just adding another dimension for the audience to experience the music? It can also be a challenge to navigate the balance between the visuals taking away focus from the music. You don’t want people to be watching a movie with a soundtrack. It needs to be more than that.

SILY: What else is next for The Vampires?

JR: We’re touring Australia later this year. We’ll consider what’s next after that. We never try to push anything with this group. We try to let it come naturally and see where the wind takes us.

SILY: Are you always sitting down and composing, or do you have to devote a set time period to do so?

JR: These days, I’m really busy in my life, so if I have a particular project I’m working on, I’ll make sure to set aside time. I try to allow space for creative play and to really improvise on my instrument, whether that’s the saxophone or piano. I predominantly compose on the piano. I try to allow my space without any predetermined objectives and see where that can take me. Often, that’s where you can come up with some of your most original ideas.

SILY: It seems like a microcosm of a band’s improvisational process.

JR: For sure.

SILY: Is there anything you’ve been listening to, watching, or reading lately that you’ve enjoyed?

JR: I’m reading Brad Mehldau’s book called [Formation: Building a Personal Canon, Part 1 his first book.] It led to some great insight into the formation of his musical conception. It’s been an interesting exploration of him as an artist. Musically, I’m pretty occupied with getting through all my releases from my record label, Earshift Music, and I have a bunch of other projects I’m finishing off mixing and mastering. After getting through all that, sometimes, it’s good to have a bit of downtime. I’ve been loving and returning to shakuhachi music, the music of Riley Lee, who is my shakuhachi teacher. I’ve been intimately studying it for a few years now. It’s great for me to listen to his music; his control of breath and phrasing is quite staggering.

[burlveneer-music]

The Vampires - Nightjar - dub-flavored soul-jazz, though a few tracks sound like The Necks (which is to be expected as that group's keyboardist Chris Abrahams is on here)

Twenty years ago, composers on Nightjar, Jeremy Rose and Nick Garbett were surfers, housemates, bandmates. A surfer vibe infuses their music: being at ease and alert, sitting in the swell of a magnificent immense natural force, until the wave comes. Ride it as gracefully and as far as possible. The Vampires have been hot-housed in Sydney. Expanses get in our bloodstream, they are visceral. It’s in the music. Think of the 35 year long reverberations of The Necks. The Vampires grew into their own music listening intently to The Necks. Individual members of The Vampires play with individual Necks: Tony Buck on Nick Garbett’s 2019 The Glider; and Lloyd Swanton with Jeremy Rose and Hamed Sadeghi in the improvising trio Vazesh. Chris Abrahams was a compelling collaborator to make music with – which is now Nightjar. The Vampires, here in lush vamping form, meet the singular acute bright and tender touch of Chris Abrahams. Jeremy Rose tenor sax, bass clarinet Nick Garbett trumpet Noel Mason bass Alex Masso drums Chris Abrahams piano, organ, prophet, super 6, quantum, rhodes artwork: Mia Taninaka layout: Pat Harris Recorded 22-23 November 2021 at Free Energy Device by Richard Belkner. Mixed by Richard Belkner. Mastered by Michael Lynch Together since 2005, The Vampires have forged their sound from their travels and musical lives in jazz, improvisation free-diving and the vibrant cultural bleed of bands driven by Caribbean, Persian, Indian, South Korean, West African and Latin beats. The compositions have always been postcards to other Vampires from wherever they were, but have gradually shifted from the early jazz soloing into longer stretches building texture and tone, buoyed on irresistible riffs. Nightjar is The Vampires 7th album, following 2019 Pacifica and 2017 The Vampires Meet Lionel Loueke. It gives a clear nod to a cherished inheritance. The horn refrain opening Track 2 Khan Shatyr quotes The Necks’ The World at War on their 2nd album Next 1990.

[dustedmagazine]

The Necks — Travel (Northern Spy / Fish of Milk)

Photo by Camille Walsh

Travel by The Necks

Australian instrumental trio The Necks have staked out and explored their territory exhaustively over the last few decades. Each release may not be especially different from the last, but there’s always a spark to their collective playing, a mesmerizing focus that makes every new Necks album well worth a listen. In the case of album nineteen, Travel (a double), Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck and Lloyd Swanton documented their routine of beginning each day in the studio with a 20-minute improvisation. Given how inspired they sound here, it’s clear their musical chemistry is as instinctive as ever.

Opener “Signal” is the most straightforward and groove-based of the four sides. Buck pares back to mostly ride cymbal and rim-shots, nailing down a persistent syncopated rhythm. Swanton vigorously plucks out an octave-leaping bassline, shifting his focus between the upper and lower registers of his instrument as the dynamics of the song demand. Atop this foundation, Abrahams traces out typically ambiguous arpeggiated chords, switching back and forth between piano and organ, then combining them both at the song’s climax. If “Signal” is the pulse-racing chase through city streets then “Forming” is the tense, slow-burning confrontation as night gives way to dawn, sustained organ chords blooming like the sun rising over the horizon. Swanton’s bass has the chance to shine here, with its plucked harmonics and rich melodic runs. 

“Imprinting” begins with the players seemingly attempting to disguise the characteristic sound of their respective instruments. Swanton’s tense bowed bass sounds like a muted trumpet, while Abrahams’ muted piano phrases sound like a lo-fi guitar. Throughout the track, Buck holds down a loose, tribal-sounding drum pattern, clattering with percussive details. “Bloodstream” brings the record to a fittingly cathartic close. A radiant arc of organ and bowed bass is filled out by jazzy piano runs, soon overwhelmed by snare rolls that ring out like rain on tin. The rain abates, only to return with renewed vigor as pounding tom-toms and sizzling cymbals flush out the musical space in a roar of thunderous sound. 

Tim Clarke

[stue1967]

The Necks - Café Oto, London, 4 April 2024

It’s possible that there is not a band that is more Café Oto than the Necks. The Australian three piece have been around since 1987, initially happily improvising together in Sydney. Keyboard player Chris Abrahams and bassist Lloyd Swanton still live within 100km of their original base but drummer Tony Buck has lived in Berlin for over 20 years. Pre-pandemic, they’d get together in Australia to…

[t-jfh]

Sex is the debut album of improvised music trio, The Necks, recorded in 1988.

THE NECKS - SEX

Chris Abrahams - piano

Lloyd Swanton - bass

Tony Buck - drums

YouTube audio-video >> The Necks - Sex (full album), 1988 [Released 22 June 2022 / 56mins.+ 09secs.]:

See also >> The Necks via bandcamp:

•

[dankhausen]

GCW Til Infinity, JCW Battlebowl, GCW 56 Nights Reviews

So I finally had time to finish all of the shows GCW (and JCW) put out this past weekend, and let me just say I was blown away! I suppose the best way to handle this mega review would be to go show by show and match by match- so, here it is:

GCW Til Infinity Review:

East West Express vs. Wasted Youth was a very good and fast paced opener to the show, I wasn't familiar with either team going in but I definitely want to see more of them now. One very memorable moment from the match was the Spanish Fly into the Canadian Destroyer, very awesome indeed.

Kerry Morton vs. Jimmy Lloyd was a match that I didn't really click with, although it was still a good match. I loved how Kerry was booed the entire time for just putting on a technical wrestling match, and how this evolved into him hamming it up across all 3 shows the entire weekend.

Effy vs. Blake Christian was a great match, huge fan of Effy already and Blake's pretty hype too. I really liked Effy's version of the Tarantula, Blake hitting a bottom rope 619 was amazing and skinning the cat into a rollup is a great finish.

Leon Slater vs. Tony Deppen was a great match, very fast paced and pretty evenly matched. I was confused going in as to why Tony was getting cheered, but I think it might be because he is local to the area. Leon's Swanton 450 was perhaps the most athletically impressive thing all weekend.

Nick Gage made another hype as hell entrance, I absolutely loved it and getting Maki Itoh involved was a nice touch. This led into Allie Katch vs. Maki Itoh, which was a hell of a match and nearly match of the night for me. Maki basically did the greatest hits of Nick Gage, and I was all in on it.

American Violence Dealers vs. Los Macizos, seriously where do I begin with this one? It was an absolutely brutal match filled with jaw-dropping sequences, and really my notes say it better than I ever could:

Shitheads vs Sc*nt was a really fun and quick match, I've mentioned before that I'm a Dark Sheik fan so it was good to see her involved. I was also really impressed by the others, especially Rob Shit who hit an epic press slam dive.

"Speedball" Mike Bailey vs. 2 Cold Scorpio was an interesting match, fairly slow pace but it worked. I really liked how it was back and forth for most of it, almost like a physical game of chess between the two. I still love Bailey's finisher, and when he threatened to stomp a vape pen it made me laugh.

Starboy Charlie vs. Willie Mack was a really good match, I liked the dynamic of big man/little man. Willie did some pretty hard hitting and entertaining offense, and there was a sick shotgun dropkick by Starboy.

John Wayne Murdoch vs. Sawyer Wreck was a short but BRUTAL match, and I absolutely loved it- it's my pick for Match of the Night! Highlights for me included the baseball bat with the spikes(?) being used, and the GODDAMN SUPLEX THROUGH THE GLASS PANE.

Yokai vs. Billie Starkz and Brogan Finlay was a pretty good finish to an excellent show, the match was good and I was particularly impressed by Janai Kai.

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JCW BattleBowl Review:

Midas Black & Charlie Tiger vs. Jay Lyon & Ellis Taylor was an interesting and fun opener on this show. It was interesting how two tag teams are split up and made to face each other, I don't know anyone here but I'm intrigued. Jay Lyon's handspring elbow was the highlight of the match, and the surprise rollup was a great finish.

Kerry Morton & Axton Ray vs. Marcus Mathers & Dyln McKay was a good match, I'm happy that Wasted Youth won. I cracked up at Marcus stealing the title at the end.

Gabriel Skye & Austin Luke vs. Griffin McCoy & Alec Price was an awesome match, I didn't know anybody here but they were all very impressive. Luke with the Ambrose rope clothesline was pretty sweet, and McCoy with the modified Boston crab was pretty cool.

Beastman & Sam Stackhouse vs. Yoya & Mago was a hell of a match, I really liked the big vs. little dynamic. Yoya hit one HELL of a Canadian Destroyer in this one, and that was easily moment of the night.

Sawyer Wreck & Azrieal vs. Billy Dixon & CPA was a good match, I especially loved Sawyer just wrecking everyone and CPA's comedy antics.

Jimmy Lloyd & Rob Shit vs. Manders & Bam Sullivan was a good match, there were a couple of really hype lariats here which I enjoyed.

Billie Starkz & Big Vin vs. Brogan Finlay & Janai Kai was an awesome match, MVP of the match was easily Big Vin. He hit a HUUUUUUGE chokeslam, a double side slam, a flipping slam over the ropes... dude's an absolute beast.

The 14 Person Battle Bowl Match was a kickass battle royal, highlights of it were CPA with even more gags and ALEC PRICE ELIMINATING BOTH STACKHOUSE AND BEASTMAN!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

GCW 56 Nights Review:

Cole Radrick vs. Masha Slamovich was a somewhat quick but enjoyable match, I'm glad Masha won. Unfortunately a good chunk of this match didn't air due to technical errors with the stream, but what was shown was excellent.

Nick Wayne vs Leon Slater was a high flying, explosively awesome match. Highlights of the match were Leon diving over the ringpost, the double backflip off the top rope and the TOP ROPE CUTTER, HOLY SHIT.

Joey Janela vs. Blake Christian vs. Tony Deppen vs. Willie Mack vs. Alec Price vs. Jordan Oliver was a good match, lots of cool multi-man moves in it. Highlights included Blake's springboard moonsault and Willie Mack just wrecking everyone with slaps and chops.

Maki Itoh vs. Sawyer Wreck vs. Billie Starkz vs. Dark Sheik was my most anticipated match of the night, I wanted either Sawyer or Sheik to win. Maki Itoh with the full Nick Gage entrance was amazing, and Dark Sheik's spider walk move was pretty cool. Sawyer continued to destroy everyone, including Sheik with a CHOKESLAM THROUGH THE DOOR!!!!

Matt Tremont vs. Mad Man Pondo was a brutal and awesome match, I want to see more from both men now. The weapons were used in creative ways, and of course I should mention this epic moment:

The Do Or Die Rumble was an epic battle royal, and again here only my notes can do it justice:

The post match with Blake doing the punt kick with Masha in the chair was absolutely brutal, I hope she gets her revenge soon.

[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

The Necks - Bimhuis, Amsterdam, Netherlands, September 26, 1998

My day job has been doing some work with Australia — so what better soundtrack than the Necks??? Here we've got the trio in Amsterdam, doing what they do best: effortlessly conjuring up spontaneous musical magic. Kind of impressive that bassist Lloyd Swanton seems to hold down just one note for the 45-minute duration of this recording ... and yet the sounds here are far from static, as his comrades weave beautifully around that immovable bedrock. Captivating, as always.

And hey, don't miss Oren Ambarchi's upcoming Shebang, which features Necks pianist Chris Abrahams (along with a whole bunch of superstars). Really an incredible record! Ambarchi is currently competing with himself for most awesome album of 2022 — his Ghosted from this spring is another winner.

[diyeipetea]

Phillip Johnston & The Coolerators: Diggin' Bones (Asynchronous Records, 2018) [CD]

Phillip Johnston & The Coolerators: Diggin’ Bones (Asynchronous Records, 2018) [CD]

Por Carlos Lara.

El compositor y saxofonista de Chicago Phillip Johnston, que capitanea el grupo de Nueva York The Microscopic Septet, ha unido fuerzas con tres músicos australianos que se hacen llamar The Coolerators, los refrigeradores en español. Ya el nombre nos da una idea de que la música de este grupo rezuma cierto sentido irónico en Diggin’ Bones, su primer disco. Trabajo que supone la…

[sinceileftyoublog]

The Necks Album Review: Travel

(Northern Spy)

BY JORDAN MAINZER

In the spirit of their 2017 record Unfold, Australian experimental jazz trio The Necks spent time in the studio jamming out four improvisational, 20-minute tracks, tailored to fit on a double vinyl or 80-minute CD. The masterful result is their latest release Travel, a record where each track truly displays a pointed goal, resulting in four unique stories that form a cohesive whole because of the players behind them. For the most part, it’s the elements you know and love with The Necks: Chris Abrahams alternating between piano and organ, Lloyd Swanton’s double bass, and Tony Buck’s controlled chaos drumming. While occasionally, Swanton electronically processes his bass and Buck adds distorted guitars to the mix, the trio exemplify a barebones approach to contrast the tangible and the intangible.

Though Travel works as a front-to-back listen, that each song occupies a vinyl side is perhaps what makes each track a standalone success. “Signal” and “Imprinting” are more groove-focused, “Forming” and “Bloodstream” meter-less slow-burns. Nonetheless, each song does travel, or at least suggest movement. If the standout sound on the swirling “Forming” is Buck’s rolling toms and shaky cymbals, Abraham’s piano lines do propel the trio atop Swanton’s harmonic hues and plucking. “Signal” is more traditionally shuffling, powered by Swanton’s bass and Buck’s syncopated cymbal and rimshots. As Abrahams alternates between expressive, lilting piano and space-age organ, it’s Buck here that slowly speeds up the trio in a way that’s barely noticeable, akin to walking city blocks for hours without realizing how far you’ve come.

On the back half of Travel is where The Necks toy with expectations a bit more. “Imprinting” sees Swanton’s bass sounding like a cornet, Abraham’s organ taking the shape of a guitar before both emerge more recognizable. Buck’s clanging, yet minimal and metallic cymbals and toms provide the space for the other two’s metamorphosis. And the churchy closer “Bloodstream” is simply stunning, Abrahams delving into blues and gospel piano phrasing alongside Swanton’s bass drones. Five and a half minutes in, Buck enters with pitter-pattering snare rolls, keeping relatively steady until asserting himself with mammoth snare hits and rippling, crashing cymbals. He doesn’t relent until the final moments of the record, at which point you’re able to reflect on where and how the track’s come and gone. In essence, Travel posits that movement, literal and metaphorical, is most enrapturing when it happens at different paces and in different ways.

[burlveneer-music]

The Necks - Travel - hypnotic jazz-not-jazz trio are back with a new 4-track double LP (Northern Spy)

Geoff Dyer’s Book ‘Working the Room’ "(The Necks) are sometimes categorised as a jazz trio - which is fine as long as this is immediately qualified by adding that they've completely re-conceived the idea of the jazz trio." Travel, the 19th studio album by Australian improvisational trio The Necks, documents their recent practice of starting each day in the studio with a 20-minute trio improvisation. The recordings offer some of their most ecstatic and captivating music cut to tape. As bassist Lloyd Swanton puts it: “It’s a really nice communal activity to bring us together in focus each day, and some lovely music has resulted from it.” Although a straight “live” improvisation has never been recorded in the studio by the band, these tracks (save for some light overdubs and post-production) feel closest to their 30 years of celebrated live performances. In 2017 Stephen O’Malley’s Ideologic Organ label released the band’s lauded Unfold, which first offered up this uncharacteristic studio work: four sub-20-minute pieces - instead of the typical 60+ minute arc for which the band is known - along with an obfuscated track list which leaves play order to the listener’s hand. The album quickly sold out, and persists as a treasure in collections or as a high-priced ‘Want’ on Discogs. Travel marks a return to this double-LP format, offered in a beautiful gatefold package that features photography by Traianos Pakioufakis and impeccable mastering by Doug Henderson.

[dustedmagazine]

The Necks — Three (Northern Spy)

Three by The Necks

The Necks make music feel infinite. Pianist Chris Abrahams, bassist Lloyd Swanton and drummer Tony Buck may be wielding the instruments of jazz, but they create the kind of hypnotic, long-form pieces more familiar in the fields of ambient, drone and experimental rock. On their 21st album, Three, their usual album-length evolution is divided into three 20-minute acts, much like 2006’s excellent Chemist.

Opener “Bloom” plunges the listener headfirst into a dense thicket of tangled percussion and driving bass. At times the percussion sounds like being chased by a combine harvester or an enormous egg whisk. Around the five-minute mark a pair of synthesizer arpeggios starts up, wriggling through the spaces around the other instruments like an electric eel. Considering how busy the mix is, it’s amazing how much space each instrument seems to inhabit. In such an ecosystem, each musical organism takes its own turn at prominence.  

If “Bloom” is a teeming rainforest of sound, “Lovelock” is a desert — snare rolls like rain drumming on a tin roof; clusters of high piano notes glimmering like stars; bowed bass like the wind slowly blowing open a creaky gate. It’s a gripping high-wire walk in which the safety of solid ground stretches so far into the distance as to be rendered a mirage.  

Finale “Further” has the loose, percussive rattle of “Bloom,” but scattered around a smoky jazz-bar groove that swings irresistibly. Abrahams’ playing is especially beautiful here, taking full advantage of the rhythm section’s solid foundation to springboard into some aching harmonic suspensions. Fittingly, the music fades out at the end, suggesting that it could stretch on indefinitely, roving wherever Abrahams, Buck and Swanton choose to take it.  

Tim Clarke

[rudyscuriocabinet]

[Music] The Necks – Body It's wonderful to start my work 'weekend' on a happy note. Tony Buck, Chris Abrahams and Lloyd Swanton return with another improvisational one-track masterpiece.

[themaninthegreenshirt]

Lloyd Swanton, The Necks

[paoloferrario]

THE NECKS, Chris Abrahams piano, Lloyd Swanton bass, Tony Buck drums, in BIMHUIS Radio | Mixcloud, 17 maggio 2019. AUDIO, 1 ora e 18 minuti

THE NECKS, Chris Abrahams piano, Lloyd Swanton bass, Tony Buck drums, in BIMHUIS Radio | Mixcloud, 17 maggio 2019. AUDIO, 1 ora e 18 minuti

https://www.mixcloud.com/bimhuis/the-necks-17-05-2019/

The Necks

Chris Abrahams piano, Lloyd Swanton bass, Tony Buck drums

Endlessly fascinating, hypnotic improvisations on piano, double bass and percussion by The Necks, the Australian trio that achieved a world wide cult status.

The Australian trio The Necks plays slowly unfolding, hypnotic improvisations that touch on all kinds of…

[thedaysofdisorder]

The Necks - Open (2013) Chris Abrahams: piano Tony Buck: drums Lloyd Swanton: bass