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Rating: It was not enough to have been the guitar for incredible musicians.
It was not enough to have taken the lion's share in King Crimson from the 80s until some time ago.
It was not enough to have a solo career with dozens of albums now prog, now pop, now avant-garde, and now rock/beat.
And it was not even enough to have played the guitar as if in an orchestra, breathed new life into electronics (always and only through the guitar) or formed a power trio capable of explosive concerts after discovering exceptional musicians (Julie Slick above all).
No, this is not enough for Adrian Belew.
And that's why at the ripe age of sixty-five, he embarks on a new and revolutionary adventure called “FLUX: music that is never the same twice.”
Flux is neither an album nor a streaming service nor anything similar: I could say it is “simply” an app, for now only for iPhone but under development for Android, into which Adrian has poured the efforts of the last 4 years along with Daniel Rowland, who assisted him during the recordings in his home studio, and Nick Mueller of MOBGEN, who created the visual part.
But concretely, how does this FLUX work?
"I believe the world needs a new way of hearing music."
It's bought (for 8.99 euros), launched, and a new world opens up, a universe made of songs, sounds, compositions, loops, ideas, fragments, intros and much more.
There are hundreds of tracks, always in random sequence, so you might come across full songs (about twenty) with varying durations from 1 to 5 minutes, or short sounds, fragments of songs (maybe a chorus, an intro, a solo) or alternative versions of other compositions present.
All accompanied by animations that continuously change in shape, color, and movement, perfectly enhancing the musical track which obviously must take center stage.
You have the opportunity to create a favorites playlist or skip to the next composition, or visit the store (coming soon, at the moment) or read the latest news and, why not, save an image if the animation particularly appeals to you.
What struck me most is the feeling of absolute freedom you get from listening to the music from this app, as if Adrian finally felt unchained, whether from a Fripp of any sort, the need to sell a certain number of copies or meet expectations; he plays all the instruments in each song and allows himself the luxury of inserting any kind of noise he likes (“Footsteps”), or a soundscape (“Sea Anemone” and many others), or his daughter singing with pitch on her voice (“Annoying person”), just to give you a few non-exhaustive examples.
And not to mention when he sings about his own dog (“Peep”), plays the Japanese Koto (“Two Kotos”) or ventures into country/bluegrass territories (“A Happy Cowboy”).
Then though, among a thousand divertissements, here are the gems; wonderfully pop songs with quite personal and often bitter lyrics, but impossible to forget after one or two listens, without naming too many unnecessary titles; ideas from 40 years ago finally given their due glory, last-second songs or just a guitar phrase to loop and play something over.
The compositional quality is astonishing when you consider there are several hours of music and many more will be added in the future.
A future in which Adrian, I am sure, will not delay in surprising us with something else new and unconventional; by now we are accustomed to it and certainly expect nothing less.
He will continue, by his own admission, to release albums but at the same time, we are sure, he will also invent something else that will leave us open-mouthed.
In his own words: “Can’t wait to see what’s next.”
P.S.: to accompany FLUX, another app called FLUX:FX will be released soon, a virtual multi-effect to connect to the guitar to replicate all the sounds of the Maestro.
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