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Taylor's Universe: From Scratch
ByWhile Taylor's previous two releases Evidence, and Worn Out (Marvel of Beauty, 2013) were comprised of long pieces with extended solos that seemed to emphasize the jazz-rock aspects of his music, From Scratch mixes things up a bit, featuring shorter pieces and varied instrumentation. Clocking in at just under three minutes, "Laura's Lullaby" is a pastoral gem with the always-substantial Vogel soloing eloquently over wordless female vocals (shades of The Northettes) and sweetly resigned piano chords. A multi-tracked duet with Bohling (who does some truly amazing things with his six-string) the atmospheric "Autumn River" is cinematic in scale, as if Jeff Beck was crafting a soundtrack to the Hollywood version of your daydreams.
The remainder of the album consists of Taylor's characteristically dark, episodic, riff-based tunes. "Beta X" briefly journeys into the weird as Taylor weaves an electronic spell around Thrane's motoric drum figure and a dourly repetitive Hammond riff. Somehow this leads into a brief free improvised exchange between Vogel and Ulstrup before giving the young Moog specialist a chance to strut his stuff over a variation of the opening riff. "Balcony People" juxtaposes oddball drones and samples with Taylor's trademark ultra- heavy prog stomp. With its opening drum solo and random guitar sounds over a suspended minor chord, "Interrail" hearkens back to Taylor's free improvising days. The tune develops into one of Taylor's more evocative pieces, with wordless vocals carrying the melody as Vogel, Ulstrup and Taylor solo in and around the swirling keys and pounding multi-tracked drums.
With From Scratch, Robin Taylor's ability to conjure images with sounds continues to impress, as do the spontaneous creations of his comrades, Ulstrup, Vogel, and Bohling.
Track Listing
Other Meetings; Beta X; Balcony People; Interrail; Laura's Lullaby; For Louise; Autumn River.
Personnel
Robin Taylor: electric guitar, bass guitar, Mellotron, Hammond B-3, vocoder, tapes, E-bow, drums, keyboards, percussion; Karsten Vogel: tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones, bass clarinet; Claus Bohling: electric guitar; Thomas Thor Videro Ulstrup: mini-Moog; Klaus Thrane: drums; Finn Olafsson: electric guitar; Jakob Mygind: soprano saxophone; Carsten Sindvald: baritone saxophone; Jytte Lindberg, Louise Nipper, Jan Fischer: voices.
Album information
Title: From Scratch | Year Released: 2015 | Record Label: Marvel of Beauty
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