Abstract Index Playlist - April 2/08

It’s a fine line between jam band fatuousness and cutting edge rhythm abstraction. With so many contemporary instrumental bands, often these two tendencies coexist in the same tune. And I don’t know what it is about trios these days. I blame Scott Lafaro for brilliantly exploding the conventional jazz rhythm section/solo voice. Several dozen musical generations later, we have trios such as this where all three members are multi-instrumentalists switching roles within songs. Electronics can be used as another sound source as they are here, or they can interact with the band as with the Australian piano trio Triosk. In any case, I'd say the trio has been reinvented more thoroughly than the quartet, in which there's still a division between the front and back line instruments.

Despite containing all the elements for disaster - sprightly flute leads, lush keyboard pads, big 'verb - more often than not the Hadouk Trio ends up sounding like a particularly inspired Bill Laswell production. The band is far more of a unit than most studio projects - that 'live album' energy is a big part of the sound here. than a studio session. It doesn’t take long for most grooves to lock into some serious dub postures anchored by hand drums and sintirs.

This is capital 'W' World Music - fusion with all the trimmings. But rarely is the cheese factor sustained for long, though a couple of tracks on this disc leave me cold. When it seems like they're threatening to turn into this decade's Enigma, the use of microtonal harmonies and the good ol' ring modulation gives some much needed tension to these billowing grooves.

Hour 1 Podcast
Hour 2 Podcast

chewing gum delirium - the free pop electronic concept (vampisoul)
little rootie tootie - jerry gonzalez (sunnyside)
exchange - matana roberts (central control international)
untitled 12 - box (rune gramofon)
the tiniest spy - insideamind feat laura barrett (no label)
you make me free - lal (ptr)
alena minena - think of one (crammed)
leanin' - randolph (still)
barretta - brownout (freestyle)
casa leule - abdoulaye n'diaye (justin time)
sufi bhakti - debashish bhattacharya (riverboat)
sonido amazonico - chicha libre (barbes)
parasol blanc - hadouk trio (naive)
maisha haya kufa kupona - les embassadors feat. michael ongaru (nonplace)
stop all the violence - sizzla (greensleeves)
ego - etana (vp)
genocide - queen ifrica (flames)
rastaman - jamayka boyz (junior boys own)
musical revolution - version xcursion feat. ammoye (vx)