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Travis Duo — Hypnagogia
(Bandcamp no#, 2021, LP / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2021-12-11

Hypnagogia Cover art

Somewhere in the mystical interface between cosmic jazz and world music, you can find Travis Duo, which is a pairing between bassist Trevor Dunn and sitarist Jarvis Earnshaw. Dunn is best known as a founding member of Mr Bungle, though he has since been involved with too many projects to mention in virtually every style imaginable; Earnshaw contributes sitar, along with vocals and loops. These two are joined by a variety of others: Daniel Carter (saxophones, flute), Sean McCaul (xylophone), Devin Brahja Waldman (saxophone), and Niko Wood (drums). The music is mostly on the sparse side, and sounds largely improvised, with the players rarely coordinated in any way. Some of the tracks appear to have a loosely defined structure, though this usually plays out in the form of Earnshaw presenting a song-like creation while the others improvise accompaniment. Quite often, it’s just sitar and upright bass with odd noises in the background. The percussion provides texture and not pulse — none of the seven tracks approach any kind of groove or rhythmic energy. Whether this is meditative exploration or pointless fiddling is up to the listener, a judgment call that it has in common with much free jazz.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Travis Duo, Trevor Dunn

More info
http://jarvisearnshaw.bandcamp.com/album/hypnagogia-lp

 

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