It is music that features two guitarists from the realms of
Heldon and Lard Free’s Richard Pinhas and San Francisco/Bay Area guitarist
Barry Cleveland. Now for me, I’m very new to their music. I’m also new to
Pinhas’ music when I heard some of his music with Lard Free 11 years ago when my Mom got me the
OOP (Out of Print) 4-CD box set released on the Rhino label entitled, Supernatural
Fairy Tales: The Progressive Rock Era with a snarling and Jazz-Avant-Rock
territory of Warinobaril. Cut to
2014 when I bought on Wayside Music, his collaboration with Australian
multi-instrumentalist Oren Ambarchi entitled, Tikkun. And then I almost forgot about Pinhas.
Until now. Both he and Cleveland had performed together for
several years in 2013 when Pinhas was doing his North American tour and played
at some of the Bay Area shows with Barry. The two of them invited other
musicians including Bass innovator Michael Manring and Brazilian drummer, Celso
Alberti. And the four of them created a recording session that lasted four
hours entitled on the Cuneiform label, Mu.
Now the word Mu is a Japanese word which means “nothingness”, but it is also the response of Zen’s most famous
Koan, gesturing speaking of a deeper truth than rationalizing dualistic
thinking that can obtain with a creative mindset. The album itself is a
crossover between the genres of; Ambient, Jazz, World Music, Experimental, and
Electronic. And they have created with not only the musical improve, but with
pure form.
The dark opening of Forgotten
Man begins with a swirling mysterious synthesized introduction. With
multiple rhythmic textures and Cleveland’s programmed percussions, it feels
very much like a Sci-Fi Film Noir as you can imagine of what the gentleman
himself will think of his next suspicious move. There is the tension in the rhythm
of the music, but also elements between Peter Gabriel and Tangerine Dream’s
score to the films of Martin Scorsese’s 1986 controversial classic, The Last Temptation of Christ and
William Friedkin’s 1977 film, Sorcerer.
I Wish I Could Talk In
Technicolor is a 26-minute suite that takes the listener to these exotic
locations as Manrig’s bass is taking you to those locations through his
improvisations on the journey you are embarking. It then moves into a
midsection with a trippy effect of the electronic background thanks to Alberti’s
drum kit before heading back into space.
Cleveland’s shrieking effects of the bowing guitar and
Pinhas nightmarish droning shows some reminiscing’s Brian Eno collaboration of
the Berlin trilogy with Bowie and bits of Here
Come the Warm Jets-era that comes to mind with some of the looping effects.
Zen/Unzen sees Richard himself
channeling the styles of the Frippertronics with a sonic-spacey craftsmanship
as he takes the listener towards to the Abyss.
And then both Manrig and Alberti appear for an outstanding
off-the-wall groove as more improvisations and mind-blowing drum work sees the
four of them delve into a Space Jazz Rock adventure with a fusion global
atmosphere. The closing track, Parting Waves
is a somber finale. Here I can feel the vibrations of Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell-era with E-Bow Bass,
12-string guitar layers. And then ending with the sounds of waves, spoken dialogue, and
gulls crying out in the background.
Pinhas, Cleveland, Manrig, and Alberti are a perfect
collaboration when it to taking a spiritual voyage with Mu. With the electronics and experimental genre followed by Jazz
and World Music, I hope that Barry and Richard can continue to do more in the
near future for more adventures into the passages of time. If you love bands/artists
like David Bowie, Stanley Clarke, Tangerine Dream, and Brian Eno, then dive
into the voyages of Mu.
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