Dan Kaufman - Force of Light (Tzadik/Radical Jewish Culture)
4/5
By: Charlie Potter
I am thrilled that Rockfeedback has been sent a record from Tzadik. Tzadik is the label of the pioneering Mr. John Zorn, who through the label over time has shown a strong work ethic releasing over 8,000 records in 6 years. I would guess that every one of these releases has some sort of musical merit, as well as providing as it does an outlet for artists that otherwise would not be able to do what they do. Tzadik have a long history facilitating otherwise overlooked areas of music. Notably they have had a strong part to play in making experimental Japanese music far more internationally well known; Zorn himself had a huge part to play in bringing us the Boredoms and there affiliates, let alone Ruins, Melt Banana and Keiji Haino. This particular release is part of the Radical Jewish Culture series.
Throughout all Tzadik releases there is a real passion for composition and Force of Light is no exception - there is a lightness and simple joy to the arrangements and melodies on many Tzadik releases that can be seen here, an unforced natural approach to making music that reminds you that original music doesn't always have to be challenging, it's not always something to fight against or to grapple with. This is often partially due to the outstanding musicianship and brilliant production, as it is here, but it would still not be possible without a great deal of consideration and very little ego.
Force of Light deals with a whole bunch of really serious Jewish stuff that a non-religious boy from Devon like me can not really hope to understand. This does at times make the album seem a little overly serious, with many spoken monologues detailing a seemingly fictitious personal point of view about some serious history. It feels bad saying it, but without knowing anything about it, it sounds a little tacky and a little embarrassing, but ultimately this is not a problem because you feel you are merely an onlooker to this strand of the album, and that there is more than enough great music to keep you going.
The biggest flaw to it is that the second track 'Force of light' is by far the best one here, showcasing some of the best of Dan Kauffman's guitar work on the whole album, the track slowly escalates into a rising melody from the strings whilst the guitar part cyclically weaves in and out not only playing some quite impressive six string work, but also providing a brilliant melody with the utmost attention to the rising and falling tension of the music. This skilful exposition of tension can be found on many points of Force of Light as a whole, which provides a dynamic that is near impossible to mimic synthetically and best achieved acoustically.
Although I stick to the opinion that the title track is also the best track here, there are plenty of instances of all of these elements throughout the album. It's basically just a brilliant all round record, with loads of musical ideas that somehow manage to avoid having a hint of gimmick to them.
There are a few lulls to be found however, not bits that are particularly bad, just stretches where you feel there have been a lot of jittering drums and quivering strings and not a lot else other than the monologues. But these lulls themselves can easily be seen as necessary groundwork for the tension. I have really enjoyed reviewing this album and put up against a lot of the young trendy music that I come across the stark difference is frankly embarrassing. Let's not get rid of fun in music kids, but when you're writing your music, maybe you should - like this guy - try and do more for music's sake and less for the sake of impressing people.
Artists in this article: Dan Kaufman
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