Shining: Blackjazz (Indie Recordings / The End)
Beginning as an experimental acoustic jazz ensemble, the brainchild of saxophonist Jørgen Munkeby transformed to a progressive jazz-fusion outfit before the release of its 2005 album, In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster. The band followed in 2007 with what, under normal circumstances, would be considered a magnum opus: the epic, classically infused prog compositions of Grindstone.
Now, as a collaboration with Norwegian black-metallists Enslaved paved the way for another transformation, Shining pushes deeper into music’s dark recesses with Blackjazz, forging a progressive industrial sound for the young century.
Big, complex rock riffs, twisted through gnarly distortion, form the foundation of Blackjazz and support a mass of frantic, whirring synth lines and gut-wrenching black-metal screams. Crucially, Torstein Loftus’ drums are playing “all over, all the time” (in the words of Munkeby), inundating the material with impeccable fills and a gargantuan sound.
The classical interludes and scrupulous arrangements of Grindstone have given way to an unadulterated despondency, albeit one with brilliant technical overtones, and Blackjazz is a new epic — one of powerful grooves, sinister diminished keys, and hefty durations.
Shining: "Fisheye"
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Daníel Bjarnason: Processions (Bedroom Community)
Debut works seldom deserve instant acclaim, but this full-length by Icelandic composer Daníel Bjarnason does just that.
Best known as a conductor and arranger for indie groups such as Sigur Rós, Bjarnason also holds a lofty classical résumé, one that boasts the London Sinfonietta and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
Processions, his proper debut, is, at many points, a challenging classical work. But even listeners who don't gravitate toward classical may find themselves enraptured with the first movement of "Bow to String," the album's first piece.
In the first section, "Sorrow Conquers Happiness," powerful cellos scale and race with crackling percussions before settling into gently bowed and pizzicato string accompaniments; easily half a dozen strings battle for dominance in a sorrowful, harmonic piece that resonates long after hearing it.
The second movement is utterly somber, at times sounding like feedback, and the strings cause dissonance in a delicate fashion. The first movement of the title concerto, "Processions," presents a thunderous piano that trades leads with its orchestral brothers, dancing between irreverent beauty and sudden backlashes of force.
It's a daring and original work. Undoubtedly, Processions will make year-end lists in classical circles.
Daníel Bjarnason: "Bow to String I: Sorrow Conquers Happiness"
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Økapi (& Aldo Kapi’s Orchestra): Love Him: Okapi Plays the Music of Aldo Kapi (1914-1952) (KML / Sonic Invaders)
Allegedly, Aldo Kapi was a Kyrgyz composer whose imperfections on piano led him to experiment and buck classical convention.
For as interesting as his story seems, however, it appears all too fake, particularly in this age of digital duplicity. Perhaps tellingly, the only information on Kapi comes from Økapi, an Italian cutup artist named Filippo Paolini, and the information on Kapi's Wikipedia entry is exactly the same. No other photos of Kapi can be found, nor can information on his supposedly famous parents.
Nevertheless, it doesn't particularly matter, and it wouldn't be the first time that an elaborate story was made to publicize an album. The bottom line is that the first of these two themed albums by Paolini is great.
A semi-IDM affair with glitch elements and chopped vocal cuts, Love Him is a cut-and-paste musician's dream, recalling artists such as End and Tipsy. Samples of soothing, sweeping strings and woodwinds paint a pretty backdrop that wavers between classical and lounge, before cutting into short upbeat bursts, frequently calling upon snare rolls and clattering bits.
Økapi: "Love-him"
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
