Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » The Geordie Approach: Why Eye

94

The Geordie Approach: Why Eye

By

Sign in to view read count
The Geordie Approach: Why Eye
The Geordie Approach is an experimental collaboration between Norwegian alto sax/electronics player Petter Frost Fadnes, drummer Ståle Birkeland with Geordie-born Englishman guitarist/ electronics player Chris Sharkey, all proud members of the Leeds Improvised Music Association. All have collaborated with some of the most prominent figures of the fertile music scene in Leeds, UK, including pianist/composer Matthew Bourne and percussionist Paul Hession.



The group's debut album was recorded on Simon H. Fell's French label, Bruce Fingers, with Fell as producer. All seven titles refer to past football heroes of England's premier league and national team, all North-East England Geordies, but behind these humorous titles lie uncompromising and challenging attempts to link a broad range of musical flavors, from free improvisation through indie rock to raw electronics and noise, all without loosing their groove-based textures.



The trio's condensed energy, just on the verge of violent outburst, can be heard on the opener "Beardsley, sounding similar to Finnish/American guitarist Raoul Björkenheim's Sorch Trio. The trio's abstract envoys on "MacDonald come close to the musical territory of Norwegian electro/improv quartet Supersilent, where Fadnes and Sharkey toy with ambient, analog sound sources, and on "Keegan," where they construct an eerie, mysterious soundscape.



The trio succeeds in articulating a firmer original voice on subsequent tracks, and weaves the contradictory approaches of its members on the longest track, "Gascoigne," "Shearer" and "Milburn, where the players pursue their incessant and tribal-metallic drumming, funky guitar acrobatics with heavy doses of distortion, and inspired noisy ambient-grooves; but all sounding as though converging organically into one close musical sphere. The closing "Robson is a sometimes focused, other times looser and funk-based piece, with some noisy and distorted ornaments, but still uncompromising and determined in its structure, much as football player Bobby Robson was in his finest hours.



Original and daring.

Track Listing

Beardsley; MacDonald; Keegan; Gascoigne; Sheare; Milburn; Robson.

Personnel

Petter Frost Fadnes: alto saxophone, electronics; Chris Sharkey: guitar, electronics; St

Album information

Title: Why Eye | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Bruce's Fingers

Comments

Tags


For the Love of Jazz
Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who create it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

You Can Help
To expand our coverage even further and develop new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for a modest $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination will vastly improve your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

What Was Happening
Bobby Wellins Quartet
Laugh Ash
Ches Smith
A New Beat
Ulysses Owens, Jr. and Generation Y

Popular

Eagle's Point
Chris Potter
Light Streams
John Donegan - The Irish Sextet

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.