Dimension X - Dimension X (KML)
4/5
By: Charlie Potter
This a trio of superstar drummer Chris Corsano, Massimo Pupillo the bass player from ZU, and Guitarist David Chalmin, a lad who's done some interesting experiments with film scores.
Corsano has got a lot to compete with, as does Chamlin, because the other CD that arrived for me in the post today was a collaborative effort between Zach Hill (of Hella) and Mick Barr (known of Orthrelm, Octis, and Ocrillim). And the drumming on that is out of this world. Oddly, Mr. Corsano takes a bit of a backseat on this album, as do all the musicians to a degree.
As confusing as this may sound, the meat of this album is split almost exactly down the middle between musical and narrative sections. The narrative is provided primarily from what as far as I can ascertain is samples from the 50's science fiction radio show Dimension X, the narrative is edited down to its bare bones and then the band recreate the tension that would have usually been provided by the pacing and the back story on the radio show using the power of free jazz.
The concept is executed very carefully and considerately, and works surprisingly well. Your main focus tends to be on the narrative, particularly in the first track 'Almost Human', a story about a 'Junior', a robot that I think gets kidnapped and ends up getting confused by all the evil in the world, as well as love, and ends up killing everyone, as you might have guessed. The end is the particularly harrowing sound of 'Lola', a friend/lover of the scientist who created the robot (I think) screaming, whilst you hear the repeated sound of Junior muttering 'I love you, I love you', in a sort of robotic voice.
The narratives are more from a classic age of science fiction when the point was still to create a hypothetical situation to pose interesting philosophical questions. The stories don't have the edge of the days when science fiction often was also allegorical (such as in the works of C. S. Lewis, H. G. Wells) which gave an even deeper meaning to the hypothetical questions being posed, but is vastly superior to a lot of recent science fiction which is often a monotonous fantasising of the future.
Unfortunately beyond the first track the samples become an accompaniment to the music rather than vice versa, which makes for a much more conventional sci fi improv sound. Yet the use of samples is still quite unusual and does add the ghost of a narrative tension that is still quite exciting listening.
One would assume that this narrative quality is largely due to the David Chamlin after his experience in the field of film scores and other interesting narrative/music cross over projects, although it would not surprise me if the general sound is more down to Massimo Pupillo due to it's similarity to his other project Zu. Pupillo is certainly the most prominent ingredient in the sound- a welcome force on the album.
As for Chris Corsano, this album suits him and his style well. There is no way that he could compete with Zach Hill's precise and incessant pummelling, but that is clearly not what Corsano is interested in. He's much more fluid, creating a sort of jittery ambience on the album almost.
I think this is a great little project, especially if you are a fan of cross media blurring, and unlike so many collaborative projects of this kind, it's equal to the sum of it's parts due to the thought that has gone into it rather than just knocking some mediocre improvisations out and pandering to fans that fantasise about the musical equivalent of a dream team.
It should also be said that this is one of the first releases from what looks to be a very intriguing and stimulating label in KML, particularly the Sonic Invaders branch of that label, which this is the second of three releases from.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment