HurdAudio Rotation: Z is for Zone

The Zs: Arms. 2006. Planaria Recordings. PR029.

Sam Hillmer: tenor saxophone, vocals
Matthew Hough: electric guitar, vocals
Charlie Looker: electric guitar, baritone guitar, vocals
Ian Antonio: drumset, percussion, vocals
Brad Wentworth: drumset, percussion

Militant precision that starts and stops (and stutters) on a dime as the Zs take their contrasting extremes into the studio to document their exquisitely crafted textures. By combining the disciplines of a chamber ensemble with a hard core band they bring each genre exactly what the other is lacking. Music with a razor sharp intellectual edge that still holds a kinetic, visceral edge. The group chanting of "Nobody Wants To Be Had" or "Except When You Don't Because You Won't" falls in lock step with the instrumental sonics of the Zs machinery to reveal the creative pulse that thrives within the disciplined brutality of the sound.

Francois Houle: Aerials. 2006. Drip Audio: MAX 21552.

Francois Houle: clarinets, prepared piano

Other than the spare moments when Francios Houle plays the prepared piano along with the clarinet simultaneously the piano serves as a subtle, resonant presence to this sound. Moments when Houle plays the clarinet directly into the piano are balanced against its absence. A subtle, but rich harmonic component that springs forward on a good pair of speakers. Musically, this material exists within spaces between notes and phrases. Spaces Houle's ears are uniquely tuned to play around. This recording is a wonderful document of the material I had the pleasure to hear performed live at Guelph a few years back. Francois Houle is an understated master of this instrument and Aerials provides an extended presentation of his soloistic prowess.

Birgit Ulher/Ernst Thoma: Slants. 2003. Unit Records: UTR 4142.

Birgit Ulher: trumpet
Ernst Thoma: live electronics

While one might be struck by the inventiveness of Birgit Ulher's extended trumpet techniques and the way she matches the timbral twists and unpredictable outbursts of Ernst Thoma's electronics. Knowing of her improvisational prowess first hand I'm more inclined to marvel at Thoma's ability to keep up with the sonic range of Ulher. The truth is that these artists respond to one another and take the listener to some remarkable places. The final moments of "Skyblue" in particular reaches a suspended state that is remarkable.

HurdAudio Rotation: Slanting Time with Open Arms

The Zs: Arms. 2007. Planaria: PR029.

Sam Hillmer: tenor saxophone, vocals
Matthew Hough: electric guitar, vocals
Charlie Looker: electric guitar, baritone guitar, vocals
Ian Antonion: drumset, percussion, vocals
Brad Wentworth: drumset, percussion

Precision with a progressive edge in the service of a relentless creativity. The Zs open up a wide territory with Arms reaching between the chanting vocal unisons of "Nobody Wants To Be Had" over a texture of razor sharp abrasion to the soft lull of "Z Is For Zone." This is a rare band capable of mining both the meditative trance-inducing state and the brutal, high-decibel jump cut without sacrificing their aggressive, almost manic, attention to detail and extreme precision. Ugly beautiful.

Birgit Ulher/Ernst Thoma: Slants. 2003. Unit Records: UTR 4142.

Birgit Ulher: trumpet
Ernst Thoma: live electronics (and the blue wheel instant composing machine)

Birgit Ulher is a sound artist with a background in the visual arts. And the sensibilities come through in the stark lines and track titles named after colors. With "Skyblue" taking up the lion's share of the total duration in this pack of sonic crayons, it's the scarcity of layering that brings out the detail of this trumpet and electronics collaboration. Each element of sound is given generous space as these pieces spell out a desolate, lonely environment of windswept hues.

Mark Dresser/Denman Maroney: Time Changes. 2005. Cryptogramophone: CG124.

Mark Dresser: bass
Denman Maroney: hyperpiano
Michael Sarin: drums, percussion
Alexandra Montano: voice

These Cryptogramophone releases over the past few years have been so impressive and consistent that it's hard not to keep coming back into the sonic worlds so beautifully recorded on these discs. Time Changes is just one of those releases that gives an aural insight into the collaboration between Mark Dresser and Denman Maroney with a set of pieces focused on creative ways to warp the dimension of time. "Apertivio" takes a C minor blues and subjects it to a modulating tempo while Maroney's charts - notably "MC" and "Kilter" - explore an independence between parts and players with its wicked polyrhythms dangling from a steady pulse. The addition of Michael Sarin's percussive wares and Alexandra Montano's wordless vocals fill out the timbral soundscape with arrangements that give equal attention to color and melodic phrasing to match the relaxed intensity of undulating time.