Wolf Eyes X Anthony Braxton

Vas-y
Le vice anglais
4DaRecord 4DR CD 025

Should the category of uneasy listening or perhaps harsh hearing exist then these reed and electronics discs would be prime candidates for inclusion. Each involves a distinct trajectory however. The crushing tension projected on Live at Pioneer Works  captures another exhibition of the no-holes-barred meeting between polymath reedist Anthony Braxton and the Michigan noise band Wolf Eyes (WE). Unlike the two extended tracks on the other CD, Le vice anglais’ dozen tracks find a Portuguese duo literally going for it – to swiftly translate the title –  by wheeling and whizzing as many texture as can be expressed by melding live electronic processing and loops with electric guitar and alto saxophone projections.

During the two tracks that make up the live 36-minute disc, Braxton launches as many reed vibrations as can be created by modifying the sounds from his alto, sopranino and bass saxophones. Responding, challenging or trying to eclipse in kind are the textures arrived at when WE members Nate Young on vocals and harmonica and Johnny Olson on pipes (!) mutate their expositions with electronics.

Many of the resulting sonorities are as threatening as they are transformative. As the oscillations shake and hiss, distended hollow cistern-like noises cascade from the pipe while reed harmonica huffs resonate alongside percussion oscillations that suggest thunder sheet shakes, resonating footfalls and spring-like vibrations. As the three continue their intersection, individually expressed timbres harden into an almost impenetrable stasis. Still even as the electronics subsume Olson’s and Young’s rugged exhalations within the assembly line of solid whooshes and drones, Braxton maintains his individual connection to Jazz and improvised music. Although he sometimes operates in tandem with the Woody Woodpecker-like mouth organ bites, at intervals his saxophone strategy moves past peeps and honks to lighten the program with outpourings that briefly reference Bop lines or even simple lyricism.

Neither of those last attributes affect the playing of Portuguese alto saxophonist Bruno Parrinha. If anything he and guitarist Ricardo Guerra Pires seem to go out of their way to reflect looming  pressure and realized violence in their improvisations. There’s also a subtext reflected in the band’s name ands many of the track titles. Le vice anglais or the English vice is a Gallic term for sadomasochism. Meanwhile two of the longer tracks, “Frotteuri à la Messe” I and II  reference frotterism where sexual arousal results from rubbing against a non consenting person in a public place. Mesanwhile “Adonitology” relates to an invented religion centred on celebration of curvaceous women and self-love. “The British Caning Society” is self-evident as may be “La Perceuse Amoureuse” or the drill lover which metaphorically suggests more than carpentry. Mixed in among the looming electronic are snatches of male mumbles and female cries as well. Japanese noise meister Merzbow may have released two album called Music for Bondage Performance, but it seems this duo wants to create their own European version.

That said, a certain balance still exists during the few instances when the reed and string qualities are upfront. Parrinha’s James Chance/Frank Wight-like reed screeches and split tones and Pires’ stretched and ratcheted flanges and metallic clanging solidify and intensify textures which become doubly menacing when modified and amplified by the live processing. Mated with oscillating loops, tracks like “Nicht Weinen!” and “La Perceuse Amoureuse” feature processed timbre that closely resemble bagpipe resonation, a mechanical  drill buzz, bell-like clangs and most generic to this session whip-like cracks.

Still between sadomasochism and stretched multiphonics, the two manage to carve out a distinct identity on tracks like “Frotteuri à la Messe” I and II  and the consecutive  “Estertor” and “Les Foufounes Electriques”. Starting with “Estertor”, rapid reed yowls and vocoder-like vibrations cleave closely enough to sandpaper-like string scrapes to set up responsive tones. These are then resolved on the following track as processing makes it appear as if a group of saxophones are playing as reed cries slide inside prestissimo polyphony which is abruptly cut off.

The same sort of vocoder-like impulses are present on the two “Frotteuri à la Messe”s. As the guitarist clangs thickened frails, oscillations build up the exposition in increments. Parrinha’s equivalent flattment is added to Pires’ feedback and electronic wave forms so that textures from both are reflected back into the exposition,  “Frotteuri à la Messe II” reverses the process with guitar flanges and saxophone honks affiliating with the processed drones in such a way as to create a seemingly unbreakable solid mass.

Those seeking easy listening are recommended to stay away from these discs. Others with a preference for noise or free improvisation can investigate to note how those forms can actually be connected.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Pioneer: 1. Side 1 2. Side A

Personnel: Pioneer: Anthony Braxton (alto, sopranino and bass saxophones); Johnny Olson (pipes and electronics) and Nate Young (electronics, vocals and harmonica)

Track Listing: anglaise: 1. I’m Sorry Miss Franny 2. Frotteuri à la Messe (I) 3. Migraine 4. Estertor 5. Les Foufounes Electriques 6. Frotteuri à la Messe (II) 7. The British Caning Society 8. Vlad 9. The Exquisite Gentlemen Club 10. Adonitology 11. Nicht Weinen! 12. La Perceuse Amoureuse

Personnel: anglaise: Bruno Parrinha (alto saxophone) and Ricardo Guerra Pires (guitar) plus live electronic processing and loops)