Freedom,
experimentation and telepathy are the watch words for RGB, the latest
transcendent collaboration of pianist-composer Mark Aanderud and drummer Hernan
Hecht under their collective name of Molé. Joining the two longstanding
partners on their second RareNoise outing is the inventive Japanese bassist and
longtime New York resident Stomu Takeishi, whose highly expressive and
adventurous low-end presence has graced albums by such forward-thinking,
cutting-edge artists as saxophonist Henry Threadgill, cellist Erik Friedlander,
trumpeter Cuong Vu, saxophonist Patrick Zimmerli, pianists Myra Melford and
Satoko Fuji. Together these three refined, deep-listening musicians strike a
rare accord on pieces that range from meditative motifs to rhapsodic crescendos,
from spacious, ECM-ish soundscapes to turbulent, collective jams.
It was
nearly ten years ago that Mexican-born pianist-composer Mark Aanderud (now
living in Prague) began playing with Argentinian drummer Hernan Hecht. Their
chemistry was immediate and natural, eventually leading to the formation of
Molé, a vehicle to explore their common interests. As Aanderud explained,
"Hernan and I do have certain unspoken philosophies. We love sound,
groove, freedom and songs. The first things we did were all related to free
music, with electronic elements or not, but always with the idea of creating
songs or forms in the moment. We do have some incredible magic going on, as
much as we can play concerts or record without ever speaking of music, and
never repeating ideas or stop developing. This actually hasn't changed over the
years."
After
exploring their tight duet chemistry together on gigs, Aanderud and Hecht began
inviting other musicians into their inner circle to see how it affected their
music. "In the process of creation, we always considered the possibility
of working with more people to achieve different characters, sounds and
experience new artistic possibilities," explained Hecht. To date, those
musicians who have stepped into Molé's inner circle have included American
saxophonist Tim Berne, Israeli saxophonist Eli Degibri, Austrian saxophonist
Edith Lettner, American guitarists Jonathan Kreisberg and Mike Moreno, Mexican
bassists Aaron Cruz and Marco Renteria. Mole's hard-hitting 2012
RareNoiseRecords debut, What's the Meaning?, featured Mexican upright bassist
(and Aanderud's boyhood friend) Jorge "Luri" Molina and New York
guitarist David Gilmore, whose impressive list of credits includes tours and
recordings with the likes of Wayne Shorter, Trilok Gurtu, Don Byron and Steve
Coleman's Five Elements.
On RGB,
with bassist Takeishi affecting the overall vibe with his intuitive genius,
things opened up and became more conversational and telepathic in the process.
"After What's the Meaning?, it became very clear that the music we should
continue doing had to go back to what we always did, and that was to
experiment," says Molé's principal composer Aanderud. "And we always
had Stomu in mind. We always loved his sound, his approach and concepts. He is
unique artist. We couldn't think of anybody better for this, so we just decided
to send him an email and invite him to do a tour and record. Once he said yes I
started composing all the music thinking of the three of us. I wanted to do
music that would be as open as possible but that would provide a rhythmic and
structural base to start with. As you can imagine, Stomu absorbed and exceeded
the music."
From the
meditative soundscape of "Sub-All" to the frantic funk of
"Reasons," fueled by Hecht's slamming backbeats and Aanderud's hyper
piano solo, to the suite-like "Trichromatic," which travels from an
evocative rubato into to a free section in the middle which resolves to a
lyrical theme, this edition of Molé is perhaps the most flexible and
experimental of all. "Winip" opens with a hymn-like refrain before
heading into a heavy-duty Bad Plus-like theme underscored by Hecht's
big-as-a-house backbeats. "Freelance" has Takeishi pushing the
envelope with effects before soloing over a drum 'n' bass groove by Hecht while
"Rodriguez" is Molé's unique take on the classic Clyde Stubblefield-Jabo
Starks funky drummer groove from classic James Brown bands of the '60s. The
extremely spacious "T-Overlap" leads into some provocative collective
improv while "Ine Sest" opens on a classical not with a piano etude
by Aanderud before evolving into a whimsically tuneful number underscored by
Hecht's supple brushwork. And the closing three-way conversation on
"Wix," paced by an exacting and infectious 6/8 over 5/8 groove, is
perhaps the best example of collective improvisation on the record.
"I
had written eight songs for this record," says Aanderud. "Some, like
'Winip,' 'Reasons,' 'Wix' and 'Rodriguez', had a lot of notes. So I thought I
had to balance it and add some songs that would be easier and would provide an
atmosphere for creating something. So I wrote other four songs -- 'Sub-All,'
'Ine Sest,' 'Freelance' and a fourth one that became the ending part of
'Winip.' But for the recording I thought we should start playing something
free, and that was 'T-Overlap.' I liked it so much that I proposed to do
another free improvisation which became 'Trichromatic.' After that we just went
on to do what was planned. There is a lot of experimenting in the music, but
there is very precise stuff. There are no chords on this music. There is no
structure for improvisation either. Some ideas are very chromatic with hard
rhythms and others are just the simplest I could think of. But there was always
a direction towards improvisation."
Aanderud
is also quick to point out, "I had some clear influences for writing this
music. Tim Berne was one, Paul Motian another. I was also inspired by other
bands like Aphex Twin, Massive Attack, Lamb or Sigur Ros and, of course, Cuong
Vu, Peabody and many other bands that may be of inspiration." While eight
of the titles on RGB were composed by Aanderud, his kindred spirit Hecht is a
key component in the band's overall sound. "In this Molé project, Mark is
the composer and I create opportunities for the music to thrive," says the
inventive and flexible drummer. "I'm involved in the creative process of
interpreting the songs. In this environment, our aesthetics work
together." Adds Hecht, "I think we are part of a worldwide movement,
a generational shift that has fewer stylistic prejudices. I am interested in
music that is broad, not determined by a style. I like breadth of concepts and
the possibility of being in infinite change, refreshing me, trying to find
freedom for the child in me and permit manifestations to occur in music; a deep
love of life and nature, a freshness to grow and advance in years, sure to
shape a better person and hopefully help make this world a better place for
everyone."
In the
company of the extraordinarily sensitive and expressive bassist Stomu Takeishi,
Aanderud and Hecht make some startling sonic discoveries together on RGB.
TRACKS
1.
Sub-All
2.
Reasons
3.
Trichromatic
4. Winip
5.
Freelance
6.
Rodriguez
7. T.
Overlap
8. Ine
Sest
9. Wix
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