Rating: 8 / Format: CD/LP / Label: VHF
The Flower-Corsano Duo consists of young free-jazz drummer extraordinaire Chris Corsano and Mick Flower, a member of Vibracathedral Orchestra whose main instrument of choice is the shahi baaja (imagine an electrified banjo with Indian tuning.)
Don’t let this obscure combination put you off as this, their second album together is pretty extraordinary, taking you through different settings and strange moods as the record develops. It makes sense that the title refers to the Hindu teachings on the aims of life. Track one ‘I, Brute Force’ comes across like a declaration of war; Flower’s overwhelming, jagged playing simultaneously reminiscent of Lightning Bolt and the ferocious drones of a bagpipe, Corsano filling in and interpreting Flower’s notes with a storm of cymbals and toms.
The next track, ‘The Three Degrees of Temptation’ is more finely balanced between the players: Corsano’s cornucopia of shakers, bells and cymbals work alongside Flower’s one or two note, shivering tremolo, creating a drama that plays out like a boat caught in a storm, full of micro detail and strange tunings. The album’s centerpiece, or the calm before it re-erupts, is ‘The Drifters Miracles’, a beatless Raga-like dual string drone that’s reminiscent of La Monte Young. ‘The Beginning of the End’ delicately explores Indian turnings with a lighter touch, creating sonorous harmonies and overtones which are so rich you can almost smell them, Corsano bookends the track with the twinkle of metal on metal and watery cymbal splashes, leaving Flower to go it alone for most of the duration.
The final and longest track works like a culmination of the album’s strengths, exploring and developing all the themes explored in the first four tracks; striking a balance between the chaos and calm, the richness deepened with the addition of a tambura as the track floats off into deep hypnotic drones.
Marcus Scott
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