It’s a common enough event, a group of accomplished improvisers and
experimental artists get together to make uncommonly excellent music. In
this instance, the collective (now performing as Yunohana Variations)
consists of YoshimiO, Susie Ibarra, and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe. All three
have a rich history of making experimental music with each other and other
notables, but Flower of Sulphur marks the first time they performed
together as a trio.
Recorded live at Roulette in Brooklyn, New York, in December 2016, Flower
of Sulphur documents an hour-long improvisation, with YoshimiO on drums and
vocals, Ibarra on drums and percussion, and Lowe on electronics and vocals.
There’s a noticeable balance in the way YoshimiO and Ibarra complement each
other’s percussive styles, Lowe and YoshimiO’s vocals blend and/or clash
sympathetically, and Ibarra and Lowe ring vivid resonances from various
percussion and electronic effects. The overall sound lands somewhere at the
intersection of free improvisation and noise, interwoven with echoes of
trance, ambient, and rock.
“Aaa” begins in a ceremonial vein, with bells, toms, and whole tones
calling the room to attention, focusing the energy to a fine point that’s
first drawn out by Lowe. All three excel in explorations of space and time,
and the gradual blossoming of “Aaa” provides plenty of room for the trio to
bend and warp both. “Bbb” features a dramatic, searching solo from Lowe, as
he takes various ideas and pushes them up against one another. YoshimiO and
Ibarra riff on his rhythms and ideas, before shifting into a
percussion-centric middle section. As “Bbb” fades out, “Ccc” rapidly builds
in intensity, before morphing into an extended wordless vocals feature.
“Ddd” again begins moving in one direction before shifting dramatically in
tone and rhythm. After a rock-influenced opener, drums completely fall away
around the 10-minute mark. Lowe and YoshimiO perform a brief vocal duet
that also signals the final stage of the performance. A counterpart to the
opening, the final section of “Ddd” has an equally cosmic, reverent vibe
with lovely, almost yearning, vocals. Yunohana Variations has been touring
this year, so I hope we’ll see a follow-up album from them very soon.
Yunohana Variations live at Supersonic Festival 2018
Available on CD, digital, and lavender vinyl
3 comments:
Thanks for this review, an interesting and enlightening read. I've ordered a copy of the LP off the back of it. Good to push my musical boundaries occasionally and hoping this will do so
I've been listening to this for a few weeks, it's really good stuff.
Thanks! MJG, I think you'll enjoy this. It goes to some strange and exciting spaces.
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