Great Waitresses

Spill
mycelium
Corvo Records core 022

Establishing herself in Berlin and internationally, German keyboardist Magda Mayas created minimalist outpourings that depend as much on perception as projection. Nowhere is this more obvious than on these discs Recorded four years apart, they trace a gradual refinement of the form. Fascinatingly enough both sessions involve collaborations with Antipodeans. Back, before from 2018 is a textural blend of Mayas’ piano tones with those from clarinetist Laura Altman and accordionist Monica Brooks, both of whom have been members of the Australian Art Orchestra. Meanwhile mycelium from 2022 is a session with her closest collaboration, percussionist Tony Buck, who is also one-third of The Necks. Besides featuring twice as many tracks as the Great Waitresses’ CD, the Spill duo inflates the number of sound sources. Mayas plays piano, clavinet, Fender Rhodes and organ while Buck uses drums, percussion, guitar, waterphone and monochord.

Distinct from earlier Waitress discs, this one further intensifies the flat-line airiness of reed trills, accordion tremors and stopped piano key clunks by integrating Altman ‘s electronic feedback. During “Before” widening shakes and embed oscillations outline mewling reeds, while keyboard clashes and accordion shakes add impetus to the track’s forward motion. Still, balance is maintained so that the accordion pressure is prevented from dominating the aural space. Consequently the pianist’s unique expositions, encompassing implements shaking on the instrument’s internal strings and the clarinetist’s mewling reed development are more prominent. Climax arrives as variable piano clips blend into distinct undulations as the other instruments’ screeches and electronic quivers intensify the unbroken connection. “Back” presents a similar strategy, except that pointillist reed trills and woody keyboard clunks are more accommodating to more dominant pressurized accordion thrusts.

Neither partner on the other disc is more dominant than the other. However the duo’s progressive minimalism avoids excessive fragmentation as broken chord evolution spills onto joint textural transformation. As part of the languid narratives which characterize the four tracks, the distinct attributes of each member’s instruments are overdubbed, so that they brush against and/or blend with other timbres. Dedicated to delay and processing, time and progress are stretched so that dynamics change only gradually. At times Mayas’ electric piano echoes, as on “Pure” or acoustic piano comping, as on “Patina lines” are emphasized. At other points wiggling outer-space like synthesized vibrations come to the forefront. Meanwhile Buck’s bass drum smacks, snare rattles and stick abrasions against cymbals are integrated into the noise evolution, which also includes monochord buzzes, guitar string strums and waterphone resonations. At points as primitive as it is futuristic, the program uses fragmentation and ambiguity to advance the themes without concrete definition. A type of melodicism is also present throughout. While bare string scrapes and clavinet tension/release create an undulating continuum, Mayas and Buck define interaction with singular expositions on the concluding “Residue”. Reverting to acoustic piano and drum kit their evolving identity is confirmed, although this track, like mycelium’s others, appears able to continue to infinity.

Definition may still be a bit cloudy, but these session help confirm Mayas’ distinct if chameleonic identity.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Back: 1. Back 2. Before

Personnel: Back: Laura Altman (clarinet and feedback); Magda Mayas (piano) and Monica Brooks (accordion)

Track Listing: mycelium: 1. Aerate 2. Pure 3. Patina 4. Residue

Personnel: mycelium: Magda Mayas (piano, clavinet, Fender Rhodes, organ) and Tony Buck (drums, percussion, guitar, waterphone, monochord)