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Hu Vibrational: Timeless
ByThe scale of his different recordings ranges just as far and wide, from the massive around-the-globe epic Ragmala: A Garland of Ragas (Meta Records, 2019) to the minimalist Imaginary Archipelago (Meta, 2020), to name just a couple of this outing's closer predecessors. His return to the Hu Vibrational outfit sits somewhere in between; this is a sizable yet far-from-crowded combo and, while the sonic paintings still lean towards abstract, there is an immediacy which puts the listener right therethe there in this case being some kind of jungle. Rudolph and a handful of fellow percussionists put a bed of tribal rhythms front and center, or rather tapping and skittering on all sides, while the other players build a soundscape half down-to-earth and half alien.
Timeless is as likely to make use of ambient electronics as organic thumps. The instrumentation leans towards organic with the likes of flute and sitar alongside all the drums, though not without a share of keyboards and live sampling. A simple keyboard haze might suggest morning mist; light wood taps can stand for rustles or footsteps; other synthetic tones get turned into the nuanced cries and squeals of half-imaginary creatures in the wilderness. Almost always there remains a trance to allure and maybe hypnotize; the experience is quietly exotic and (as per Rudolph's norm) not much like anything else out there.
Personnel
Adam Rudolph
percussionAlexis Marcelo
keyboardsBrahim Fribgane
oudDamon Banks
bass, electricElvind Aarset
guitarHamid Drake
drumsHarris Eisenstadt
drumsJan Bang
live samplingKaoru Watanabe
fluteMarco Cappelli
guitarMunyungo Jackson
percussionNeel Murgai
sitarAlbum information
Title: Timeless | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: Meta Records
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Hu Vibrational
Album Review
Geno Thackara
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
Timeless
Meta Records
Adam Rudolph