AMALTEO

Dear Debaser friends passing by, I'm pasting below one of the few Italian reviews of a Necks album. As you may already know, I discovered these Italian musicians through an article by Geoff Dyer (blessed be he!), but Alfredo Rastelli (an archeologist of independent music) was already familiar with them. Here’s the review: "I must admit: I started getting interested in The Necks a few years ago just because I learned that Tony Buck, the drummer of Kletka Red, was part of the band (among other things, he also played in Peril alongside Otomo Yoshihide and Kato Hideki). Noble or not, this attitude gave me the chance to engage with an incredible reality and musical project, and in the end, that’s all that really matters. These three Australians—Tony Buck on drums, Chris Abrahams on piano, and Lloyd Swanton on bass—have been playing for quite a few years and boast a substantial and rich discography. Once, they would have been called a supergroup because the three individuals involved have never confined themselves solely to the experience of The Necks; they've always pursued a policy of engaging with numerous and different entities, so many that it would truly be an undertaking to list them all. They have constructed a career that is a mastodon capable of resizing and obliterating all the so-called current post-rock in one fell swoop. They have a unique sound but, above all, a career of frightening coherence. For this reason, it’s challenging to isolate one of their CDs from another, because it’s the union that gives them strength, and only by embracing the totality of their work can one have a better chance of understanding their music. Almost always, each album consists of a single track that lasts between forty-five and sixty minutes, and "Drive by" is no exception; it's an uninterrupted sound flow, with hypnotic and minimal grooves, supported by a powerful drum set and a piano that is quite 'in love' with certain electric jazz. A music in progress, moving through crescendos and small additions. A perfect synthesis of rock, jazz, and dub, conjugated in a minimalist yet 'total' sound that leaves you with a sense of wonder that one experiences when confronted with something great and elusive. An important group that was ahead even a few years ago, let alone now, with such skill that it renders most groups attempting to copy Ui and Tortoise today obsolete. Essential." Alfredo Rastelli in Sands-zine - no-zine dedicata alla musica indipendente e ad altre storie di (stra)ordinaria follia

Thank you, gabbox. Hex is on the way. I found it on Cd Universe and ordered it along with a random album by Ui. Now I'm working with "Codename Dustsucker" playing in the background. If Hex is even better, then I'm discovering a new path in my musical journeys. For De Baser, as soon as I find inspiration and time, I want to complete the reviews on the Necks and start the complete works of Nina Simone. Thank you for the encouragement. Speaking of "loves": check out the sans-zine website. There’s a very interesting Cult section there (they're essentially proposing to send in a thought about a piece of music, instrument, or author that has particularly captivated you): "Cos’è un culto sonoro? Può essere un disco… una canzone… un brano strumentale… un concerto… uno strumento… uno strumentista… una voce… una colonna sonora... ma anche quello che, per essere ‘in’, possiamo definire come un field-listening… insomma, un culto sonoro è qualcosa che ha, in qualche modo, modificato il tuo modo di vedere le cose… qualcosa che ti è capitato per caso... che ti si è appiccicato addosso, indipendentemente dalla tua volontà, e nonostante i successivi lavaggi sonori non sei ancora riuscito a ripulire… è sempre lì e, alla prima occasione, fa capolino e ti si insinua nelle orecchie… ti arriva al cervello… ti smuove le memoria… un culto è un culto. Ognuno ha un suo culto sonoro sul quale scrivere due righe… fatelo, inviateci le due righe e noi le inseriremo in questa antologia di piccoli racconti inconsueti."

Dear Logic Probe. I just wrote the same words to betotal. But I wanted to thank you as well. I’m discovering Bark Psychosis, not exactly by chance. Gabbox pointed them out to me for the first time and now I need to check out Hex. Your review is very inviting. I think you would really like my friends The Necks. Listening to them requires an hour of attention. But then you awaken as if from a beautiful dream. Thank you for your attention.

Dear betotal. I'm discovering Bark Psychosis, not exactly by chance. Gabbox pointed them out to me for the first time and now I need to look for Hex. Your review is very inviting. I really think you would like my friends The Necks. They require an hour of attention. But then you awaken as if from a beautiful dream. Thank you for your attention.

Dear Gabbox. I hope you return to this page. I wanted to say that I am very grateful for your recommendation of Bark Psychosis. I am in search of a sound similar to that of the Necks. And this time I'm getting close. I haven't found "Hex," but only "Codename Dustsucker." Of course, it's not the same, but they are close, they're two parallel paths (in jazz and rock). My obsession with the Necks continues. But I am happy to encounter searches that exist in the same horizon: the creation of a space for sound.
Thank you again

beautiful review. very beautiful. thank you symbad
I’ll cut it out and attach it to the record.

Yes. Drive By is more "cultured." It comes 14 years after "Sex." Back then, they invented a genre (I'll send you the entire article by Geoff Dyer that introduced me to them), and now they continue in that vein. But the magnificent thing is the consistency. A "classic" musical project. It's like creating a style. And then, finally, again a new jazz. I'll tell you in the coming days about Mosquito: their latest creation. Thank you for wanting to share your pleasure with me. I hope to hear from you soon.

DICKINSON EMILY
We get used to the dark
when the light is turned off
after the neighbor has held the lamp
that witnesses her goodbye,
for a moment we move uncertainly
because the night remains new to us,
but then our sight adjusts to the darkness
and we face the road with our heads held high.
So it happens with greater shadows,
those nights of the soul
when no moon signals us,
no inner star reveals itself.
Even the bravest gropes first
a bit, sometimes bumps against a tree,
it hits us right on the forehead;
but, learning to see,
either the darkness shifts
or somehow the sight gets accustomed
to the deep night,
and life walks almost straight.

bravo bravo bravo. For many reasons. One is for musical archaeology: DeBaser's strength is not only in commenting on the new, but especially in recovering albums from the past that deserve to be brought back into circulation. It's not just DeBaser's strength: it's the strength of the internet, which connects people and tastes. Also, bravo for Roland Kirk. Imagine that in 1989 I inherited my father's jazz collection. As long as he was alive, I couldn't even get close to his records (typical of an authoritarian and distant parent). Essentially, my journey into jazz began then. Among his LPs (only LPs: CDs were just starting out), there were about ten of Roland Kirk. I listened to some and then pursued other music. But the character has always intrigued me. He is an author still modern today, and so back then he was a prophet/forecaster. You reminded me that the label Splash had released a double or triple CD dedicated to him ... I found it (it's 3 CDs for about 4 hours of music...): "WeDIDit, We DID it! (Rahsaan & The None), the music of Rahsaan Roland Kirk and more re-interpreted by Tiziano Tononi. Alright: sooner or later I'll find the time to listen. In the meantime, I will email you the reviews I had clipped. And finally, bravo for reminding me to check out the writing of JohnPatmos. Thank goodness I didn't miss that deeply felt piece of talent.
ciao

I join the applause. Beautiful review, very engaging (please JohnPatmos: forget about "ending it all" and keep writing about music listening. You'll see that at 35 life is better and even better on the brink of 60). I have a friend here in Como who only listens to classical music. And as a snob, he despises all other music. A true aristocratic disdain. I'm his opposite: I almost exclusively listen to jazz and music composed and performed in the last few decades, and I almost never listen to classical music. But your "Celinian" review is an invitation to listen. Thank you.