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Ligro: Dictionary 3
ByHendy, who collaborates with Dewa Budjana in the Indonesian pop band Gigi, has crafted a drum-kit that is a physical manifestation of Ligro's musical worldview. It's a concatenation of Western elements (snare, hi-hats), Westernized "exotic" instruments (China cymbals, gongs), and an array of drums from various regions of Indonesia and Java, used primarily as toms. Though the ethnic drums lack the resonance of Western toms, suffering a bit when pitted against cymbals, they add more than just ethnic flavor to Ligro's music. In a very real sense, Hendy's hybrid drum-kit is completely inscrutable to ears not attuned to the multitude of cultures referenced on Dictionary 3. I certainly can't claim to understand any of the ethnic stuff going on here. Fortunately, it's easy to simply sit back and enjoy!
Unlike label-mates Budjana and Tohpati, who've released a string of excellent albums of high-gloss fusion featuring well- known ringers such as Vinnie Colaiuta and Jimmy Haslip, Ligro have chosen to remain a cohesive, self-contained unit (a guest shot by teenage keyboard whiz Ade Irawan notwithstanding). And Dictionary 3 is, for the most part, completely unlike the work of their label mates. Their music can be incredibly dark, and a lot of it seems completely spontaneous. Hamzah's guitar solo in "Pentagonal Krisis" is one of the most violent you'll hear outside of some sort of metal or doom / sludge setting. Though the piece begins as a moody minor-key meditation with strong ethnic flavors, by the 10-minute mark Hamzah has gone completely batshit crazy, feedback frothing at the mouth, high velocity lines buzzing with so much distortion that he evokes John Coltrane's "sheets of sound." Darmawan's bass playing is no less remarkable: his ringing tone, impeccable technique and spot-on timing are as virtuosic as Hamzah's guitar work.
The rest of the album is no less engaging. "Bliker 4," with keyboardist Ade Irawan, is a melodious, high-energy romp that comes close to the sort of fusion music that Tohpati, Budjana and Dwiki Dharmawan are working with. The simple theme of "Tragic Hero," while a bit of a throwaway, sets the stage for a remarkably interactive and cogent trio conversation. Inspired by, and partly based on, Olivier Messiaen's "Quartet for the End of Time" and Anton VonWebern's "Opus 28," the intensely visceral energy of "20th Century Collaseu" will again invite comparisons to Bill Bruford-era King Crimson. "Lonely Planet" finds the trio delving quietly into the blues and the music of their native lands only to detour, deliciously, into more of that thorny metallic prog-rock- fusion thing they do so well.
Track Listing
Bliker 4; Pentagonal Krisis; Tragic Hero; The 20th Century Collaseu; Lonely Planet.
Personnel
Agam Hamzah: guitars; Gusti Hendy: drums, percussion; Adi Darmawan: bass guitar; Ade Irawan: piano, keyboards (1).
Album information
Title: Dictionary 3 | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Moonjune Records
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Ligro
CD/LP/Track Review
Dave Wayne
MoonJune Records
Indonesia
Jakarta
Adi Darmawan
Gusti Hendy
Agam Hamzah
King Crimson
john mclaughlin
Mahavishnu Orchestra
Dewa Budjana
Tohpati
Vinnie Colaiuta
Jimmy Haslip
Ade Irawan
dwiki dharmawan
Olivier Messiaen
Anton Webern
Bill Bruford
Dictionary 3