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Reviews

Byron Metcalf / Ari Urban — Rituals of Passion
(Bandcamp Wayfarer Records no#, 2024, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-06-30

Rituals of Passion Cover art

Percussionist Byron Metcalf should be well known to all readers of Exposé, having released collaborations with the likes of Steve Roach, Mark Seelig, Shane Morris, Rob Thomas, and Erik Wøllo, plus a fair number of solo albums as well. Now, for Rituals of Passion he has teamed up with Miami based violist / violinist Arianne Urban, along with guest musician Dashmesh (who plays didgeridoo, pads, drones, and synths, track depending). For his part, Metcalf contributes frame drums, udu, clay pots, ceremonial drums, rattles, and shakers. The three players are open to overdubbing and as a consequence the sound is very robust and expansive, as well as dreamy and introspective, especially when Urban plays both viola and violin layered on top of one another and multiple shamanic percussives track the wide circle in an immersive nature. Dashmesh’s strongest contributions tend to be in the textural realm — didgeridoo, drones, and background synths — though they pull an immense amount of power into the works. Most of the nine tracks are in the seven minute range and evocative of their titles, like “Thunder Goddess,” “The Memory Temple.” “The Invocation,” and “Veils of the Dervish,” many seeming to have an Eastern flavor by way of the strings, but a Native American sensibility by way of the percussion; the effect is at once powerful and captivating. These nine pieces are said to be improvisations, but they sound too ordered and perhaps rehearsed to be pure creations of happenstance. One might find that the ritualistic experience inherent in each piece has its own unique signature, yet all of them flow together surprisingly well much like this was meant to be a nine-part opus. Meditative and mystical, Rituals of Passion immerses the listener in a stunning world of beauty.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Byron Metcalf

More info
http://wayfarerrecords.bandcamp.com/album/rituals-of-passion

 

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