Izvajalec: Kurai
Založba: Altrock
Izid: year
Ocena: 4.3/5
Kurai je beseda, ki v japonščini pomeni mrak in verjetno je to kar pravšnja beseda za opis atmosfere na tem albumu. Lahko bi rekli, da gre pri tem projektu za ponovno sodelovanje Zaga in Staussa, kot pred tem že pri Zauss, vendar pa je tu glavni mož Zago. Zago je očitno imel v mislih, da bi ustvaril bolj ambientalen in mračen izdelek. Ko album parkrat slišiš, ti postane bolj jasno kaj je želel storiti in vidiš, da mu je to tudi v veliki meri uspelo.
Nekateri deli albuma so skupinske improvizacije (bolj verjetno), ali pa skupinske kompozicije in ti deli so mi osebno najbolj všeč, čeprav imajo tudi Zagove solo stvaritve veliko za ponuditi. Ponavadi slišimo mešanico ambientalne glasbe, jazza, klasike, avantgarde in tudi rocka. Na nek način me glasba spominja na Frippove soundscape, le da je tukaj več zanimivih idej in elementov (kot je že nakazano z velikim številom žanrov v sami glasbi). Verjteno bi še več vzporednic našli med to ploščo in zgodnjimi King Crimsoni (še posebej zaradi pogoste uporabe melotrona pri obeh zasedbah). Tudi oni so skušali mešati atmosferična dela z jazzom, rockom in klasično glasbo, čeprav so bila ambientalna dela v King Crimson ponavadi narejena ločeno od jazz in rock skladb, medtem ko Kurai te elemente pogosto kombinirajo v eni sami kompoziciji.
Glasba je na trenutke tako tiha, da je grozeča, a verjetno je bil takšen tudi namen. Tišina poveča občutek pričakovanja, kot da bi se lahko zgodilo kaj strašnega. Skorajda si želiš neko odrešitev, a pride le do občasnega kaosa, ko vsi glasbeniki igrajo navidezno nepovezane dele, kar ti ravno ne pomiri živcev in niti ne osvobodi pritiska, ki se je do takrat nenehno nabiral. Kljub temu pa, ko se jazzovski deli končajo, smo zopet soočeni z begajočo tišino.
Kurai je kot grozljivka brez prave groze. Slišiš le namige o tem, kaj bi se lahko vsak trenutek zgodilo, a nikoli ne pride do tega. Ideja je zelo izvirna, saj je poslušalec nenehno na trnih in napet. Verjetno si veliko ljudi misli, da takšnemu izdelku mora nekaj manjkati, a zamisel je presenetljivo izvirna in zares dobro deluje. Glasbenim ljubiteljem, ki razmišljajo izven zarisanih črt, bo ta album vsaj mikaven, medtem ko bo nekaterim nekonvencionalen pristop celo briljanten in razburljiv.
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Kurai is a word that means dark in Japanese and I suppose that’s as good a word as any to describe the atmosphere here. We could say that this is another collaboration between Zago and Stauss, like on the Zauss project, but this is much more in Zago’s control. Zago’s vision was obviously to create a more atmospheric record with a a very dark colour to it. When you’ve listened to it several times, you get a sense of what he was trying to do and you realise that he actually did what he set out to do with great success.
Some parts of the record are either group improvisations (more likely) or group compositions and those work best for me, even though the Zago solo compositions have a great deal to offer as well. Usually, we hear a combination of ambient music, jazz, classical, avant-garde and even rock. In a way, I am reminded by Fripp’s soundscapes, but with a lot more interesting ideas and elements thrown in (as can be seen by the many genres incorporated within the music). I guess you could draw more parallels between this record and early King Crimson. They tried to fuse atmospheric pieces with jazz, rock and classical music, but the atmospheric pieces in King Crimson were usually done separately from the jazz and rock pieces, while Kurai usually fuse these elements in one piece.
Occasionally, the music is so quiet that it’s almost eerie, but I suppose this is the point of the album. The quiet brings on a sense of expectation, as if something horrific might happen. You almost want some kind of release to occur, but there’s only the occasional chaos of all the musicians playing seemingly disjointed music, which does nothing to soothe your nerves, or at least put an end to the pressure that’s been building up. Even so, once the jazzy chaotic parts end, we’re again faced with more disturbing quiet.
Kurai is like a horror movie without any real horror happening. You only see hints of what might happen at any given second, but it never occurs. This is a very original idea because the listener remains in a state of agitation and suspense throughout the album. I’m sure many people will say that there must be something missing from an album like this, but the idea is actually surprisingly inventive and works really well. Musical fans who like to think outside the box will surely find this album intriguing, if nothing else, while some may even find its unorthodox content brilliant and exciting.
Zasedba
Enrica Di Bastiano – harfa
Maurizio Fasoli – klavir
Giuseppe Olivini – tolkala, čembalo
Peter Schmid – bas klarinet, kontrabas klarinet, pozavna
Markus Stauss – saksofoni
Christian Weber – bas
Francesco Zago – električna kitara, melotron
Produkcija
Francesco Zago
Seznam skladb
1. Herbert Quain 3:36
2. Cavedio 8:05
3. Premessa Inessenziale 1:15
4. Einigermassen Ruhig 5:22
5. Miniature On Rovine 1:09
6. L’eco Delle Fiamme 7:34
7. L’oscurita Naturale Delle Cose 1:12
8. Fluester-Kadenz 6:58
9. Strassenleuchte 0:53
10. Treffunkt 6:27
11. Fuoco Pallido 5:01
12. Peter Was There Too 5:41
13. Lento “1 0:36
14. Einigermassen Ruhiger 5:29
15. La Folgore Nera 2:06
16. Still Water 2:25
17. White 7:47
