May 26, 2019

Sundaze 1921

Hello, today the Giro saw two big dogs fight over a bone and let a third take it home unopposed, this could be a crucial mistake from Rogliz and Nibali as the third Carapaz is an excellent climber who almost secured his place on the podium today, certainly Nibali should know better than to play poker with a winner like Rogliz, but somehow i think we haven't seen the last of this silly game, they even let Yates whom they had dropped ride back up and past them as they were virtually surplacing, gifting Carapaz 100 sec after they had closed him down to 19 seconds. Anyway an exiting final week coming up. Then there was a qualifying for today's Grand Prix at Monaco, poor Leclerc got timed out as he failed to qualify beyond the first round after being fastest in the third and final training 2 hours earlier, but it's Mercedes again, Hamilton on pole and Bottas behind, latter will undoubtedly be instructed to keep Verstappen at bay, who's Red Bull came up as usual a few tenths short, Vettel on 4 should keep it easy as the battle in front unfolds. And if Verstappen succeeds in passing Bottas it will be much easier for him to do the same. Anyway at Monaco expect the unexpected...




Today's artists are often compared to German krautrock legends Faust and Can, labelled as post, trance, hypno or ambient jazz, they have released more than twenty albums and their sound is an enduring hammer that smashes jazz lethargy. The Australian export trio is an example of three decades lasting virtuosity without limits, whose poetics captivates a wide audience. Tony Buck (drums), Lloyd Swanton (double bass) and Chris Abrahams (piano) – they all belong to the cream of international improvisers. Their impromptu compositions draw on the minimal music tradition and their concerts are often structured around a simple, recurrent melody, gradually reworked in a complex and hypnotic monumentality. They transform ambient chamber sound into a wall of a 'supernatural' intensity  A word of warning is called for here "people who "get it" usually become devoted fans"...  ......N-Joy

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The Necks are a virtually unclassifiable piano trio from Sydney Australia. Neither jazz nor rock, this deceptive unit has kept to a single line of conduct -- whether recording or performing -- throughout its career. Pianist (and sometimes organist) Chris Abrahams, bassist Lloyd Swanton, and drummer Tony Buck usually commence their shows and recording sessions by playing a single, basic, melodic, and rhythmic vamp or figure, that over an extended period of time -- usually an hour or so -- gradually transforms its shape without ever completely discarding it, amid microscopic tonal, dynamic, electronic, and textural changes, as well as similarly minimal harmonic variations are gradually introduced into the music. By the time any particular piece reaches its nadir, the listener will have been transported to very different head and heart spaces as the music evolves into something else entirely -- though all of its root layers are ever present. Some critics have compared them to Krautrock groups like Can and Faust. Others find similarities in the works of minimalist composers like LaMonte Young, Tony Conrad, even Philip Glass. No matter, the Necks exist on a terrain uniquely their own. Whether it is in the gentle, trance-like grooves of 1995's Sex, (issued in the U.S. on the now-defunct, new age-leaning Private Music label, before the group used electronics), the undulating exchange of synth and piano passages in 2003's Drive By, the quaking space rock of the following year's Hanging Gardens, or the dark, brooding, elegantly fractured -- and occasionally explosive -- interludes on 2015's Vertigo, the Necks never remain (quite) static as they shapeshift all through and around the piano trio format. Over the past three decades, their reputation has spread across the globe as a band that only fits comfortably in its own category.

The Necks were formed in 1987 in Sydney by founding mainstays Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion and electric guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass. In 1983 Abrahams (ex-Laughing Clowns) on keyboards and Swanton on bass guitar were founders of the Benders, a jazz group, with Dale Barlow and Jason Morphett on saxophones, and Louis Burdett on drums; which disbanded in 1985. Abrahams had formed the Sparklers in 1985, a dance pop band, with Bill Bilson on drums (ex-Sunnyboys), Gerard Corben on guitar (ex-Lime Spiders), Ernie Finckh on guitar, Melanie Oxley on lead vocals (ex-Sweet Nothing), and her older brother Peter Oxley on bass guitar (ex-Sunnyboys). Abrahams left in 1987 before that group's first album, Persuasion (October 1988). Buck had been a member of a number of groups: Great White Noise (1983), Women and Children First, Tango Bravo and Pardon Me Boys; prior to forming the Necks. In 1986 Swanton had been a member of Dynamic Hepnotics.

The original lineup of pianist Chris Abrahams, bassist Lloyd Swanton, and drummer Tony Buck has remained stable, even though they all lead busy and highly divergent careers. Abrahams is an acclaimed session keyboardist who has released a couple of solo piano albums, written music for film and television, and toured the world in 1993 with the rock group Midnight Oil. Swanton is a much in-demand session jazz bassist and a regular on the jazz festival circuit. He has played in the Benders and the Catholics, and accompanied Stephen Cummings and Sting. Buck spends most of his time in avant-garde circles, with multiple collaborations and projects. His best-known engagements have included the trio PERIL and the klezmer-punk group Kletka Red.

The group issued their debut album, Sex on the Spiral Scratch label in 1989. It consists of a single track of the same name, which is just under an hour long. Couture noticed that "The difference between Sex and the many other CDs they would record afterwards is the purity: The trio's hypnotic repetitive piece relies only on piano, bass, and drums; no electronics, extra keyboards, samples, or lengthy introduction. The reviews were enthusiastic, most people praising the group's ability to blend simplicity and experimentation. They would play whenever the three musicians were in Australia at the same time. The next three albums experimented with the format, integrating occasional guests (Stevie Wishart on Aquatic), electronics, and more. But, by the 1998 Piano Bass Drums, the recipe had become fixed and would not change anymore.

In 1996, the Private Music label released Sex in the United States. It was the Necks' first exposure on the North American continent and it did not get them far. But Europe was catching on and the group began a series of annual tours there. Piano Bass Drums and the soundtrack for Rowan Woods' film The Boys both received Australian award nominations in 1998. The more energetic, almost space-rocking Hanging Gardens, released in 1999, opened more doors, including a first American tour in late 2001. The album was picked up for distribution by the British avant-garde label ReR Megacorp the same year. Another North American tour in 2002 followed the release of Aether, the group's studio masterpiece. Drive By followed in 2003, and took home the ARIA Music Awards Best Jazz Album prize in 2004.

Subsequent albums Mosquito/See Through (2004), Chemist (2006), Silverwater (2009), and Mindset (2011) continued to bring in the accolades, delivering consistently fresh takes on the trio's signature riffing. In 2013 they released Open which, like its 2015 single-track follow-up Vertigo, saw a return to the long-form improvisation of their earlier works. Arriving in 2017, the ambitious Unfold, a double album on Stephen O'Malley's Ideologic Organ label, it featured four non-sequential tracks (they could be heard in any order) -- each is its own suite. During the summer of the following year, the trio issued BODY, their 20th album on Family Vineyard, showcasing a return to the single, long-form improvised work.

Geoff Winston of London Jazz News described how "Each performance by [the Necks] begins with a blank page which one of the trio will start to fill in to commence the journey, an uninterrupted set of around forty to sixty minutes. There are no rules, no agreements about who will take that lead and about how the discourse will evolve. The only criteria that apply are those of their own impeccably high standards." Typically a live performance will begin very quietly with one of the musicians playing a simple figure. One by one, the other two will join with their own contributions–all three players independent yet intertwined. As the 'piece' builds through subtle micro-changes, the interaction of their instruments creates layers of harmonics and prismatic washes of sound that lead some to apply the genre label 'trance jazz'. Their live performances can be challenging for those expecting a conventional musical experience.


Their soundtrack for The Boys (1998) was nominated for ARIA Best Soundtrack Album, AFI Best Musical Score and Australian Guild of Screen Composers Award. They have also recorded soundtracks for What's The Deal? (1997) and In the Mind of the Architect (three one-hour ABC-TV documentaries, 2000). The band won two ARIA awards for the albums Drive By (2003) and Chemist (2006).



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The Necks' first album was released in 1989 in Australia and in 1996 on the label Private Music in the U.S. Right from the start, all the elements of the group's sound were firmly in place. The difference between Sex and the many other CDs they would record afterwards is the purity: The trio's hypnotic repetitive piece relies only on piano, bass, and drums; no electronics, extra keyboards, samples, or lengthy introduction. We would have to wait for Piano Bass Drums nine years later before they would come back to these essentials. Apart from the instrumentation, everything here is as one would expect from a Necks album. There is a single hour-long track, a two-bar motif repeated endlessly with minute variations "populating" it. Pianist Chris Abrahams remains self-effaced, keeping things very quiet. The light swing in Tony Buck's high-hat and Lloyd Swanton's bass give the piece a serious jazz feel -- probably the reason why the group continued to be considered jazz, even though their music exists outside standard categories. It all works well, better than in Aquatic. The music here is not as communicative as in Piano Bass Drums, nor as mesmerizing as in Aether or as contagious as in Hanging Gardens. In the end, Sex stands in the Necks' discography as an average example of their work. One cannot point any specific problem, but they did better albums than this one.



The Necks - Sex ( 362mb)

01 Sex 56:06


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Although Next is officially the group's second release, tracks 1 and 3 (Garl's and Pele) are infact the first studio recordings the Necks ever made. In contrast to the single track form of Sex (their first album), Next contains 6 tracks some of which see the band augmented by various guests namely; Dave Brewer on guitar; Michel Rose on pedal steel; Mike Bukovsky on trumpet; and Timothy Hopkins on saxophone. The follow-up album Next literally continues where its predecessor left off, opening with ten seconds of, um, Sex before launching into six new tracks. Additional instruments this time around include guitar, trumpet and saxophone. “Pele” and “The World At War” retain the ambient grace and spare, hypnotic pulse of the previous album. The more upbeat “Jazz Cancer” and “Nice Policeman, Nasty Policeman” both have a certain rude vigor, while the amusing title track owes obvious inspiration to the David Byrne/Brian Eno album My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts (1981) with sampled voice fragments woven into a funky, third world polyrhythms.

The first two Necks albums are best starting points for newcomers, firmly establishing the trio's subtly eclectic sound and spare, minimal style. If these are to you taste then a number of subsequent releases are equally compelling.



The Necks - Next (flac  397mb)

01 Garl's 7:19
02 Nice Policeman Nasty Policeman 4:54
03 Pele 28:31
04 Next 9:49
05 Jazz Cancer 6:12
06 The World At War 16:35

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The Necks make free-flowing music using a very rigid canvas. For Aquatic, they made the rules a bit more supple. First, unlike all their other albums, it doesn't contain a single hour-long piece, but two tracks of a little under 30 minutes each. Second, the trio of Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton, and Tony Buck is joined for the second piece by Stevie Wishart on hurdy-gurdy. This old but still highly unusual instrument shatters the standard mood and pace of a Necks tune. The collaboration works very nicely and is refreshing, even surprising, to an old fan's ears. Yet, Aquatic falls below the group's average and that has little to do with Wishart's guest appearance. One finds the expectable artistry and charm, the almost easy listening/light jazz atmosphere, but this music is all about repetition and hypnotic induction and somehow, for reasons hard to explain, the ingredients of the recipe fail to coalesce into something as soothing as Sex or as captivating as Aether. Not a bad album by itself, Aquatic doesn't showcase the trio at its peak form. The album appeared in Australia in 1994 on the group's own Fish of Milk label. Carpet Bomb released it in the U.S. five years later.



The Necks - Aquatic ( 323mb)

01 Aquatic 1 27:37
02 Aquatic 2 25:31

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Released in 1996, Silent Night is a double-CD set. Each disc contains a single one-hour piece, "Black" and "White." With this album the group firmly established what would remain their highly distinctive sound for years. "Black" begins with samples from what sounds like old movies. Similar snippets will reappear throughout the piece, providing a strange "cinema for the ear" experience for a music that remains pretty static. Things begin with a slow-paced bass riff. Tony Buck keeps the drums very quiet. A short piano motif in the low register and ethereal organ chords help build an atmosphere akin to film noir. The samples greatly contribute to the mood, but they can also be distractive. As suggested by its title, "White" is less dark. The samples are limited to light sounds and electronics, mostly in the middle of the piece and confined to the background. The piece begins on a quirky 12/8 ostinato that eventually evolves into a conventional 6/8 riff. Chris Abrahams plays mostly the piano, but adds occasional drops of organ, scattered staccato notes one could mistake for something more electronic. A small but gradual buildup in the last third leads to a quick finale that leaves only a bass drum pulsating in the distance. Very well done, but not as spellbinding as the group's later works.



The Necks - Silent Night 1 ( flac   368mb)

01 Black 63:29

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The Necks - Silent Night 2 (flac   321mb)

01 White 51:51

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6 comments:

Chris said...

Hi Exy, thanks for your posts, always appreciated. Silent Nights 2 does not work though.

Anonymous said...

Hi Rho

The Necks have been a long-time favourite. Thanks for highlighting a great Aussie band.

Anonymous said...

Thanks once again for the great music. Silent Night 2 has the wrong link for me as well.

Metagnathous said...

Thank you very much. The Necks are pretty great.

youssef said...

great band. thanks a lot Rho

nadja said...

thanks for all the Necks!