Gaudi: Magnetic

Per the press release, London-based composer, keyboardist and electronics ace, Gaudi's "initial idea for this the project was to compose an album of entirely new music using sound from the RareNoise catalog as his orchestra of musicians." Another point of interest noted in the press sheet is that the album does not contain any remixes. Gaudi processed / altered and re-combined the parts into his new compositions that encompass music recorded by most of the artists noted here, culled from their recordings for Rare Noise. Hence, "the orchestra of musicians."

Gaudi's brainchild is infused with Dub, ambient-electronica, psyche rock and prog rock, bolted down by drums and bass-heavy grooves. Producer, composer and bassist Bill Laswell—who among other things, is a pioneer of electronica / dub paradigms appears on three tracks, alternating with Tony Levin (King Crimson, Stickmen) and Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree). Subtleties and nuanced treatments are resident on each track, predominately coasting at low to mid-tempo cadences amid streaming synth lines and cosmic background shadings. The ubiquitous dub element is marked by brawny pulses and strategically executed electronics treatments.

Gaudi and others, including Roger Eno added parts to these "re-compositions" containing a horde of delicately engineered nooks and crannies that spark polytonal shadings and multihued vistas with some spaced-out movements, enamored by the pristine audio. On "Electronic Impromptu In E-Flat Minor," Laswell's deep and pungent sound anchors Masami Akita's (aka Merzbow) noise electronics permutations, nicely contrasted by guitarist Erlado Bernocchi's tremolo guitar lines, tinted with a bit of twang. Needless to state, the program boasts a broad tonal palate via pumping beats and the frontline's unhurried gait.

On the final track "Epilogue Leitmotif," Roger Eno's ever-so-gentle piano phrasings impart a soothing melody line atop Gaudi's metronomic drum pattern and ghostly lead synth notes. Moreover, Jan Peter Schwalm adds additional EFX on this textural and hypnotically serene piece. And while this outing may seem like a complicated science project, it is an enchanting groove-centric listening experience that shines brightly on a recurring basis.