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Reviews

Bloodcog — Exoskeleton
(Bandcamp WHI Music whi018, 2023, CD / DL)

Findlestilts — Ballade Imaginaire
(Bandcamp WHI Music no#, 2024, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2024-12-25

Exoskeleton Cover artBallade Imaginaire Cover art

Bloodcog is an improvisational group consisting of Fran Bass (bass), Richard Harding (Chapman Stick), Phil Hargreaves (woodwinds), Richard Harrison (drums, percussion), and Pete Smyth (electronics). When it comes to improvisation, there are a number of possible directions to go. One path is that taken by groups like Tu-Ner, where the results sound almost like composed pieces, with recognizable tonal centers and a relatively consistent pulse. Bloodcog does not follow that path —their music flows without form, lacking melodies or pulse, and the players often wring non-musical sounds out of their instruments. Or at least, that’s the case most of the time. Eight tracks into Exoskeleton, we get “Three Notes of Excuse,” which is built around a minimal drum groove, though the other players avoid taking part in the rhythmic consistency. Hargreaves contributes bleats, honks, whistles, growls, and flurries of notes on flute and soprano and tenor saxes. Bass’s stuttering notes are intermixed with thumps, scrapes, and clicks, sometimes mangled by distortion. Harrison’s battery of instruments includes a lot of metallic objects, and there are a lot of electronic noises he may be responsible for. Harding’s Stick certainly does not play the role we’re familiar with from its use in King Crimson, Stick Men, and others, floating freely and functioning more as noisemaker than melodic or harmonic backing. And Smyth is even more an agent of chaos, with all manner of blips, bleeps, swoops, rumbles, burbles, and sampled voices. Luckily, the density of sound is kept to a tolerable level — certainly if all five of them were wailing simultaneously, things could get unlistenable pretty quickly. As it is, the album is obviously not going to appeal to those who insist on structures and harmonic coherence, but as free improvisation goes, there’s a quirky sensibility to it that is appealing on some level.

When the group convenes without Smyth, they call themselves Findlestilts, and Ballade Imaginaire is their 2024 release. The musicians seem to be in a rather different mood this time out, and the result is much less chaotic. Several of the tracks feature a steady beat, though beyond that things are fluid, and Hargreaves sometimes dials back the skronk and plays more melodically. And on “Kellikek” the Stick contributes some rhythmic chording that leans towards what we expect. After all, what’s the point of free improvisation if you’re not free to groove with a beat from time to time? Certainly, Ballade Imaginaire is more relatable and accessible, so if you’re curious about this corner of the improvised music world, I recommend starting there.

Filed under: New releases, 2023 releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Bloodcog / Findlestilts

More info
http://philhargreaves.bandcamp.com

 

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