Grand Line is an album crafted out of the materials of a swirling mist. It has a presence, yet it’s one that is primarily ethereal. From certain vantage points, it seems that contours and definition can be traced to an origin point, yet this is an album that is inherently formless. What makes it so striking is the way Nakama allows certain patterns to emerge, and though they never seem to indicate how they are part of the greater whole, their self-referential nature creates a latticework of melodic phrases and rhythmic concepts… implying cohesion while existing in a state of chaotic randomness.
The hypnotic repetitions from piano on the expansive opening track “Doremingo + Taiko – Grand Line” are echoed in the cyclic phrasings on “Suffering + Daily Choices Fail Compilation,” while the violin lightning strikes from the opener share a common DNA with the flashing bursts on “Daily Choices – Metro.” This, too, in how the sudden furious attack of drums on “Nanika – Decks” is played out again as a peaceful dream on “The Sun – Uzumaki” and the way a skittering bass on “Tsunagari – Split & Curve” is just one degree removed from the stalking cadence on “Kusama – Events.” And these are just the immediately obvious examples of pattern recognition. The more the album is played, the more it has to reveal.
Your album personnel: Adrian Løseth Waade (violin), Ayumi Tanaka (piano), Andreas Wildhagen (drums) and Christian Meaas Svendsen (bass).
Released on Nakama Records.
Listen to more album tracks at the label’s Bandcamp page.
Jazz from the Oslo, Norway scene.
Available at: Bandcamp | Amazon
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Jul 7 2016
Recommended: Nakama – “Grand Line”
The hypnotic repetitions from piano on the expansive opening track “Doremingo + Taiko – Grand Line” are echoed in the cyclic phrasings on “Suffering + Daily Choices Fail Compilation,” while the violin lightning strikes from the opener share a common DNA with the flashing bursts on “Daily Choices – Metro.” This, too, in how the sudden furious attack of drums on “Nanika – Decks” is played out again as a peaceful dream on “The Sun – Uzumaki” and the way a skittering bass on “Tsunagari – Split & Curve” is just one degree removed from the stalking cadence on “Kusama – Events.” And these are just the immediately obvious examples of pattern recognition. The more the album is played, the more it has to reveal.
Your album personnel: Adrian Løseth Waade (violin), Ayumi Tanaka (piano), Andreas Wildhagen (drums) and Christian Meaas Svendsen (bass).
Released on Nakama Records.
Listen to more album tracks at the label’s Bandcamp page.
Jazz from the Oslo, Norway scene.
Available at: Bandcamp | Amazon
Like this:
Related
By davesumner • Jazz Recommendations, Jazz Recommendations - 2016 releases • 0