The ongoing collaborations between Australian guitarist and percussionist Oren Ambarchi and Swedish bass player Johan Berthling began already in 2002 when the two recorded «My Days Are Darker Than Your Nights» (released on Häpna a year later). The two continued to play together, on stage with the different incarnations of the Fire! Orchestra and recorded with the Fire! Trio, «In the Mouth – A Hand» (Rune Grammofon, 2012).
Both Ambarchi and Berthling are known as sound alchemists who focus on transcending their respective instruments common approaches, creating intense and powerful sonic textures, Ambarchi with the metal drones of the Sunn O))) and Berthling with some of the best free-jazz outfits of recents years as the Arashi trio, Martin Küchen’s Angels group and the Fire! Trio and Orchestra.
«Tongue Tied» feature two extended pieces. «Tongue» slowly evolves from meditative, psychedelic harmonic hammond chords, gently punctuated by bass lines, to a nuanced, dense texture, rich with delicate, distant guitar sounds and layers of keyboards. When the bass and drums lock mid-piece in a powerful pulse it begins to take off. Slowly it transform its minimalist movement into an act of great intensity and infectious rhythm.
«Tied» ups the temperature, suggesting a hypnotic, propulsive pulse as its core sound, evolving quickly into a massive, multifaceted rhythmic module. This intense, repetitive pulse has an immediate physical impact as Ambarchi drums and Berthling rock steady bass set an ecstatic, persistent, almost techno-like dance form.
There is no better option but to surrender fully to these two sonic magicians. To paraphrase Funkadelic’s George Clinton immortal words, let your body move freely and than your mind will follow.
Eyal Hareuveni
Oren Ambarchi (g, dr, synth), Johan Berthling (b, organ, synth)
