Bleed is the twentieth studio album of the Australian experimental trio The Necks – pianist Chris Abrahams, double bass player Lloyd Swanton and drummer-percussionist-guitarist Tony Buck. The album was recorded by Tim Whitten, its sound engineer since 2001, at Studios 301 in Alexandria, Australia.
The Necks is often described as a minimalist jazz unit but this cult band insists that its sonic aesthetics are not entirely avant-garde, minimalist, ambient, or jazz. Cleary, its austere reductionist approach (as reflected by the cover photo by Australian visual artist Traianos Pakioufakis and the cover itself that does not provide information on the instruments), often hypnotic and ritualist one that explores a sublime language of stillness, where every sound, including the brief silences, means the whole world. The 42-minute Bleed gravitates slowly and patiently back and forth from the sparse and reverent to the caressing pulses and tension-filled intensity. It expresses beautifully The Necks’ refined sonic vision and suggests an unspeakable beauty of decay, sometimes even a noisy and unsettling kind of decay, and gently resonating space. This music demands total surrender to its elusive concepts of time and space but guarantees a unique, highly immersive and purifying listening experience that may re-calibrate your listening habits.
Bleed is released as a limited edition of green 12’’ vinyl alongside a black vinyl edition, discs and a download option.
Vazesh is the Australian, Sydney-based trio of The Necks’ Swanton, reed player Jeremy Rose (and the founder of Earshift Music) and Iran-born tar player Hamed Sadeghi. Tapestry is the sophomore album of the trio that was formed in 2018. It follows The Sacred Sky (Earshift, 2021) and deepens its unique sonic palette and the gentle and exquisite dynamics of this trio of master improvisers. The music is inspired by the Persian Radif – a collection of many old melodic figures preserved through many generations by oral tradition, the modal jazz of the 1960s and more contemporary spontaneous improvisation strategies. The music of the trio does not subscribe to any tradition, genre, or style and expresses a strong sense of freedom, and enjoys the experience of these musicians as a pathway to uninhibited musical exploration.
Tapestry, true to its name, is an exotic and organic, free improvised blend of old and new, of an ancient tradition that is open and inclusive, and a fertile camaraderie. The fourteen short pieces were recorded live at the Annandale Creative Arts Centre, and flow naturally and in a relaxed manner. These pieces reflect a strong melodic sensibility and attentive playfulness that radiates a deep, almost telepathic interplay between Sadeghi, Rose and Swanton. All the pieces are beautifully weaved into a rich, nuanced and layered texture.
Eyal Hareuveni
Chris Abrahams (piano, Hammond organ), Tony Buck (drums, percussion, electric guitar), Lloyd Swanton (double bass), Jeremy Rose (tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet), Hamed Sadeghi (tar)
