Terrascope Online 2005
28-12-2006
I might as well admit what’s apparent to anyone that already has picked up Last Visible Dog’s monumental 6CD compilation ‘The Invisible Pyramid’. It’s simply impossible to find words strong enough to accurately describe exactly how great this compilation is and what an overwhelming task it must have been to put it all together... There's 7 hours and 36 minutes of incredible music presented here, which of course makes it very difficult to grasp but if you have a day on your own I can’t think of anything more exciting than sitting down and listen through it all in one sitting. That might or might not be doable but no matter how you choose to listen to the impressive roster of artists present here (from the US, New Zealand, Finland, Japan, England, Italy and Poland to mention a few) I can pretty much guarantee that the pay-off will be immense. The one thing that binds it all together (apart for the ‘drone’ and the stunning sonic qualities that is) is that each artist/band has dedicated their track to a recently extinct species and also contributed with a short bio to the extensive booklet that also is included in this majestic piece of art.
Choosing favourite pieces here just doesn’t feel right but if forced to a corner at gunpoint I’d throw out a few faves that currently has my head spinning. Black Forest/Black Sea’s slowly evolving ‘Inepta’ combines shimmering blankets of atmospheric guitars with heavily treated cello and the results are nothing short of mind cleansing and pure sonic bliss. Disc one ends with Bardo Pond’s ‘Bufo Periglenes’ that sees the band blending their swirling down-tempo sludge and more ethereal evocations with squealing tenor sax from John Gibbons. It’s a towering piece, and like the rest of this platter, ranks among the band’s most entrancing work. The fact that all contributions are so long is pretty much a guarantee to avoid any filler material, which unfortunately is all too common on all sorts of compilations.
The second disc only includes European contributions and has a certain emphasis on Finnish fringe music and the one artist that really stands out here is Jan Anderzen’s (of Kemialliset Ystävät fame) Tomutonttu project. Anderzen’s suite of five shorter pieces might strike some as surprisingly electronic but I am sure no one reading this will be surprised by the tribal chants, fractured soundscapes and the dementedly beautiful music he’s able to create.
Up-Tight is a new name to me and their start of the third disc doesn’t disappoint. Alien frequencies, epochal atmospherics and plenty of space left for guitar workouts and rumbling bass lines is their key to sonic success. Flies Inside the Sun is just as stunningly weird as we’ve gotten used to while Steven R. Smith once again delivers a meandering instrumental that spirals its way through a withering topography of sound, mainly driven forward by timeless guitar chords but always with scrapings, hums and drones from unidentifiable instruments drifting in the periphery.
Poland’s One Inch Shadow has already proven what a great, but sadly neglected, band they are but ‘You’ll Miss Me at the End” brings things to a completely new level. Trumpet-laced drone fog and all sorts of sustained tone clusters have rarely sounded this organic. Fursaxa (AKA Tara Burke) closes disc four with two tracks that puts her trademark falsetto at the very forefront of the highly imaginative proceedings. The ones who are ready to give Fursaxa a go will be rewarded with transcendent and captivating qualities of drone and raga type music that dives deep into the pool of folk, psychedelia and subtle experimentalism.
Ashtray Navigations are old-time favorites at the Gustafsson residence and Phil Todd doesn’t disappoint this time out either. His four tracks that kicks off disc five covers a lot of ground but all in all it’s really just another one of those epic journeys that are filled with modal guitar-drone bliss, and tape trickery. At most times this is pure contemplation with its subtle ambience but at others it gets surprisingly harsh. And don’t even get me started on Peter Wright…that guy is a genius. I could continue with detailed descriptions of each track present here but I feel that I should leave some of the exploring to you guys.
If you haven’t been convinced by the words above check out the ‘disc list’...and you might as well start wiping that drool of your chin. It just doesn’t get any better, folks."
--Mats Gustaffson
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Andrea Belfi
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