Artist : Kieran Hebden & Steve Reid
Title : NYC
Genre : Avantgarde
Year : 2008
Date : 12/2008
Bitrate : VBR kbps
Tracks : 06
Label : Domino Records
Source : CDDA
Encoder : Lame 3.97
Length : 41:58 min
Size : 57,1 MB
Tracklist:
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01.lyman place 07:05
02.1st & 1st 06:17
03.25th street 06:20
04.arrival 09:23
05.between b and c 05:46
06.departure 07:07
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41:58 min
Think of a studio that's seen Missy Elliot, Miles Davis, The Roots, Chic, Steve
Reich, Ron Carter, and Joe Henderson record classic sides, then try to imagine
a duo whose sound is so open-ended and original that it would be a surprisingly
short step to connect them to anyone of those names √ a sound that fuses the
digital slash-and-staple of sampling and the irresistible momentum of jazz
drumming, all without ever forgetting that there╞s such a place as the
dancefloor.
The studio is Avatar, in Manhattan╞s Hell╞s Kitchen; the duo is Kieran Hebden
and
Steve Reid.
Kieran and Steve recorded NYC at Avatar over two days in February 2008, and
the choice of location is at the heart of what the record is about. ⌠Steve wanted
to
do something with the sound and feel of his home city,÷ explains Kieran. The
whole set, down to the choice of tracks and their sequencing, was influenced by
New York City╞s (in)famous energies.
The duo╞s impressionistic take on their New York surroundings comes out in a
language that╞s got increasingly developed as the two build up their history.
With
NYC, Kieran and Steve are already onto their fourth album together in three
years, not to mention Kieran's contributions to Steve Reid Ensemble records in
the same time (such as last year╞s Daxaar for Domino). This continuous flow
of
collaboration and work has blossomed into its most satisfying shapes yet. While
their earliest sets were instant compositions, Kieran and Steve went into Avatar
with a number of themes already mapped out, and road-tested over the course of
the previous year╞s live shows.
Kieran is credited as playing simply ⌠electronics÷, but that doesn╞t do justice to
the sound collages he whips up here. Sampled fragments of analogue synth,
melodica, Kieran╞s own electric guitar playing, white noise, all are turned into
riffs
that are sent to buzz around the central motor that is Steve Reid╞s
extraordinary
drumming. The ⌠talking drum÷ is a fundamental part of West African musical
tradition; but if drums can talk, Steve shows they can sing too, such is the
bell-like clarity of his tone and touch. With its garrulous give and take, its musical
questions and answers, NYC is Kieran and Steve╞s best work yet. The only
question it leaves the listener with at the close is: what╞s the next destination?
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