In Situ Ens.

Hexabit
Unrulers
Kokoronoko Records No #

Two European sextets have created their music with among other instruments, a saxophone, drums and a harp. While rewarding, the approaches couldn’t be less similar. A multi-national electro-acoustic ensemble, In Situ Ens.’s improvisations create a minimalist examination of stretched sound techniques and fragmented textures. An all-Swedish combo, Hexabit adds the melodic elements missing on the other disc, but narrowly skirts blandness.

Veteran improvisers, In Situ Ens includes American trumpeter Liz Allbee, Italian percussionist Enrico Malatesta, German pianist Magda Mayas, Welsh harpist Rhodri Davies and two Swiss: saxophonist Christian Kobi and electronics manipulator Christian Müller. Each instrument’s output is trimmed to its least boisterous to promote gradual harmonic transformation. Evolving simultaneously, consistent oscillated hisses, a compendium of downward string plucks, percussion rumbles, stopped piano keys and tensile air seeping from the horns are associated and amalgamated. These pointillistic segues are so established that when reed quacks, brass ripples, harp glissandi and keyboard note scattering are heard they add as much sound of surprise as if the sequence erupted into cacophony. Davies’ ability to invest his traditional instrument with bell-like resolutions and percussive plucks are also amplified with electronics.

The squeezed pressure begins to dissipate by “Same Place 4” as a vocoder-like murmur opens up the narrative to become more aurally translucent. Echoes from Kobi’s distant air blowing and Albee’s portamento brass breaths are gradually overtaken by kaleidoscopic e-bow buzzes, pulls and rubs from the harp strings, and culminate in a trifecta of keyboard, percussion and harp timbres juddering for a joint crescendo. That early climax is blown apart on the concluding “Same Place 5” as polyphony as loud and active as earlier expressions were hushed come to the fore. Bitten off reed split tones, crying brass rips, clip-clop pummels and press rolls from Malatesta and electronic static reach an dense apogee, with the finale signaled with a low-pitched keyboard thump.

One difference between Unrulers and Same Place is that Stina Hellberg Agback’s harp, Orjan Hulten reeds and the dual drums of Karl Jansson and Daniel Olsson are spelled by vibrations from Simon Svärd’s lap steel guitar and Tove Brandt’s bass. Agback and Svärd, who are also involved with pop and notated music, both p[lay regularly in another band. Perhaps because of this harp timbres aren’t as strident as on the other disc with the Swedish player often decorating or comping rather than moving upfront during the six tracks. At the same time pedal steel textures give the proceedings a faint country & western feeling, sometimes intensified when all the strings play at the same time. Overall rather than exploring textures, Hexabit plays songs, a few of which barely prevent andante bounces from settling into smoothness. Agback is more assertive on tracks like “Moon Trip” and “Martin” however. On the former, reflective harp glissandi set up a broken chord challenge to the steel guitar’s irregular vibrations as a walking bass line, cymbal crashes and upward reed trills toughens the sequence until cut off with a single harp stroke. On “Martin” the initial country-styled beginning with arching harp and guitar textures is solidified by reed trills and only become more rugged as harp frails and echoes stretch the theme as they steady it. Elsewhere other players get to make their mark, with Brandt’s bass thumps setting up a couple of tracks. The drummers’ backbeat rumble is prominent throughout, but not really showcased until the concluding “Lokomotiv”. Here the beat is created by bass drum bomb dropping from one and hi-hat and cymbal smacks from the other percussionist until strained sax blowing and Svärd’s string slowly move up the scale to confirm the forward-moving exposition.

Integrating a harp into a creative music program can be done with few fissures as demonstrated here. But while In Situ Ens members use its multiple string textures to add to sound explorations, Hexabit members could be more adventurous in their unified playing for all their instruments.

–Ken Waxman

Track Listing: Same: 1. Same Place 1 2. Same Place 2 3. Same Place 3 4. Same Place 4 5. Same Place 5

Personnel: Same: Liz Allbee (trumpet); Christian Kobi (tenor and soprano saxophones); Magda Mayas (piano); Rhodri Davies (harp, electronic harp); Enrico Malatesta (percussion); Christian Müller (electronics)

Track Listing: Unrulers: 1. Troy 2. Time Is Up 3. Mock Duck 4. Moon Trip 5. Martin 6. Lokomotiv

Personnel: Unrulers: Orjan Hulten (soprano, tenor saxophones); Simon Svärd (lap steel guitar); Stina Hellberg Agback (harp); Tove Brandt (bass); Karl Jansson and Daniel Olsson (drums)