Friday, May 14, 2010

Dawn Of Midi - First




Debut CD for Dawn Of Midi, packaged with monochrome graphics, which might be misleading compared to the colourful nuances of what it contains.
Initially bewildering, some unexpected feelings experienced, extremely hard to set precise boundaries to this music: improvisational exercises coexist with almost canonic passages of jazz, a piano that leads, narrows paths as long as bass and percussion take the upper hand, fragments of melody to soften a prevailing ruggedness.

Dawn Of Midi, trio formed by Qasim Naqvi (Pakistani percussionist), Aakaash Israni (Indian, on bass) and Amino Belyamani (Moroccan pianist).
“First” represents the beginning, mass of inventions and bright ideas, collection of well-matched setting choices which make it intriguing as a whole.
Ten tracks for a total duration of less than one hour, this work is built on fluctuations in apparently autonomous spheres of sound which cross their paths, collide at times, or, simply, gently stroke each other.

A frenetic start with “Phases In Blue”, out-of-control impulses wander without destination. “Laura Lee” transports us into a peaceful state: delicate piano touches combined with subtle, just whispered, movements of bass and drums, provide a delightful atmosphere.
The third piece (“Civilization Of Mud And Amber”) shifts in a different direction, evolving into elaborate weaves and high-pitched tones.
“The Floor” is primarily structured on Israni’s playing, made of deep, measured bass thumps: piano keys can float on that surface…
“Tale Of Two Worlds” softly flows, slowly moving forward between breaks and disjunctions. “One” maintains this status but adds a stronger imprint of improvisation, whereas “Hindu Pedagogy” discloses rhythm attempts: some piano notes to create a mood for dancing.
The shortest track, “Annex”, substantially offers a twisted dialogue between bass and percussion, the presence of piano (reduced to lonely beats) clearly helps to emphasize their role here.
“No Abhor” shows at first its sad, gloomy face, then turns into something joyful, even romantic.
“In Between” closes the disc by offering an iterative theme based on highlighted piano and tonal emphasis.

In short, three musicians who smoothly achieve a harmonic interaction, “First” that exhibits distinctive features, a highly coherent narration despite its natural vocation to decompose and outstanding peaks of emotional density.

Label: Accretions
Cat. #: ALP-048 CD
Format: CD
Release date: 2010

Tracklisting:
01 - Phases In Blue (04:43)
02 - Laura Lee (05:38)
03 - Civilization Of Mud And Amber (04:13)
04 - The Floor (04:04)
05 - Tale Of Two Worlds (06:47)
06 - One (05:37)
07 - Hindu Pedagogy (03:21)
08 - Annex (01:38)
09 - No Abhor (05:32)
10 - In Between (11:12)

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Links:
Dawn Of Midi
Accretions

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