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Dirk Bruinsma — Low Reliefs
(Cuneiform Rune 3395, 2024, DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2024-12-21

Low Reliefs Cover art

Longtime readers of Exposé will know Dirk Bruinsma from his work in the group Blast, where he was a co-founder, co-composer, and played all manner of saxophone, electric bass, keyboards, electronics, flute, loops, percussion, and even vocals; he was also one half of the duo Otolithen, a member of Brown vs. Brown, N-Collective, and most recently Pumporgan. One thing he doesn’t have a lot of is solo recordings, in fact I believe Low Reliefs is the first I’ve ever heard. And in fact it is mostly solo in the strictest sense, it’s only on one track where he is joined by a cello player, otherwise it’s all Bruinsma playing every instrument by virtue of overdubbing. The centerpiece is the five-part 26-minute “Bassconstruct,” originally composed for an open lineup of low-pitched instruments — and it was performed that way several times, but never recorded. In the end he felt he could give it an additional quality by making it a solo suite for bass guitar, synthesizer, and various MIDI-generated percussive sounds, with the only exception being that cello by Nina Hitz on part three. Interestingly, the five parts of the suite aren’t presented in numerical order, instead 3-2-4-1-5, but it certainly works well this way, the highlight being part four, where crawling fuzz-bass, synth, and percussion drive the piece forward with a mysterious scraping sound appearing around two-and-a-half minutes in, and perhaps the oddest rhythm of anything on the album. Part one has a very programmed feel not unlike some of Zappa’s synclavier works on Jazz from Hell. The album opener is “Scala Vertigini,” a piece originally written for a live performance in 2015, but not being completely satisfied with the result, Bruinsma decided to re-record it as a solo piece, using software instruments to replace some of the acoustic instruments in the original (clarinet, flute, guitar, and strings); it’s definitely one of the liveliest pieces at hand, moving through numerous different sections along the way to its near thirteen minute conclusion. The closing track, “Frozt,” is a busy and energetic number that was written for a band that suddenly ended after two live performances due to covid; in this case, like the other pieces in this collection, Bruinsma decided to rework it as a solo piece, and it shares the same power and majesty as the rest of Low Reliefs.

Filed under: New releases, 2024 releases

Related artist(s): Dirk Bruinsma

More info
http://cuneiformrecords.bandcamp.com/album/low-reliefs

 

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