Before I start on the music I must comment on the presentation of this double disc set as it is delightful. The digipak opens out with a CD on each side and then in the middle is an extensive booklet containing poems and drawings, along with sleeve notes from composer/saxophonist/poet Keith Jafrate explaining how the album came about. Sadly, for me this is the most interesting part about this 9-song, 113-minute-long release. I am no stranger to the avant garde, nor music which is either composed totally live or moves on from a starting point, but this release is just too far removed from normality even for me.
It is a strange combination of carefully derived and played melodies, often repeated, and instruments which are played in a manner which could be called adventurous by some, or unhinged by others. The same is true of some of the female vocals, the result being an album which I found quite difficult to get all the way through. But I am stubborn if nothing else and admit the more I played it the more I felt I was beginning to understand what they were trying to achieve, but this is music which feels likes work as opposed to something which can be enjoyed as opposed to endured. This may be past the limits of what I can find acceptable within the realms of the extraordinary and unusual, but I am sure there will be plenty who will find this challenge something they enjoy, and kudos to Martin Archer and Discus Music for continuing to promote this, just not for me.
Rating: 6/10
Links:
https://discus-music.org/