Saturday, September 12, 2009

Defibrillators - Live at Colour Ride Club 16/10/08

I recently became aware of the Colour Ride label when Edward, the man behind the mayhem, contacted me about doing a set of reviews. This first one comes from the Defibrillators, a London-based band that seems to thrive on chaotic musical creation. This live album consists of one twenty-four minute monster that paints a portrait of improvisatory freedom at its best. This group wears "free" music on its sleeve but seems to have an element of subtle cohesion that belies a highly developed language of interplay between these musicians. They seem to have a handle on improvisation as their medium of choice rather than just an excuse not to sit down and write music the long way.

Throughout the disc, most of the melodic and harmonic chaos is nestled atop a steady rhythmic foundation that gives the listener a point of reference amidst the constant musical metamorphosis. There are elements of a plethora of musical influences throughout this set, from droning textures to harsh walls of noise as well as everything in between the two. In the transitions of the music, this group excels, seeming to wordlessly decide each change before the listener has a chance to guess their next move. For fans of unabashedly improvised music done well.

8.9/10
www.colourride.co.uk

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