Earth Tongues, Rune (n/n 003)
Earth Tongues, Rune (n/n 003)
Consisting of Carlo Costa on percussion, Joe Moffett on trumpet, and Dan Peck on tuba, Earth Tongues creates immersive pieces that weave through a Venn diagram of music, noise, and quiet.
Earth Tongues’ debut album Rune approaches the boundaries of these three facets head-on. As the title suggests, the sounds that appear act as symbols to an unspoken language, suffused with meaning while remaining un-translated and open to interpretation. The ensemble gradually draws the listener deep into a new world of sound, piecing together a landscape scattered with glyphs, hidden forests, frost, tape, and stone.
Personnel:
Joe Moffett - trumpet
Dan Peck - tuba, cassette player
Carlo Costa - percussion
Recorded by Jonathan Goldberger at Firehouse Space, Brooklyn on January 17, 2014. Mixed by Nathaniel Morgan. Mastered by Jim Clouse. All music by Joe Moffett, Dan Peck and Carlo Costa. Artwork and design by Carlo Costa.
Release date: May 10, 2015
Press
“With these three players, it’s mostly about the sound they make, and the interaction is kept on a respectful footing, each man leaving space for his neighbor, allowing the generation of long tones and the development of lines of thought. On ‘Sunblind’, this can result in a lively and engaging dialogue; on ‘Porous Phase’ and ‘Lithosphere’, it can result in lengthy stretches of thought-provoking abstraction, strange and somewhat desolate vistas, and amorphous music that’s moving so slowly it barely seems to cohere at all (...). There’s also ‘Depths’, which is not only slow and bleak but somehow quite alien, where the sound production has now moved well beyond the familiar and the musicians are exploring parts of their inner tubing which they never knew existed.” (January 9, 2016)
“Pour répondre aux phrases courtes de Costa, deux cuivres donc (aux techniques étendues, il va de soi). Qui « font la taille » avec tel grincement long de cymbale ou répondent rondement à des coups plus volontaires. Autant que les gestes, les souffles sont ramassés ; mais l’association n’en compose pas moins de grands paysages suspendus qui se chargent de notes en fuite – augmentées parfois d’une autre, tenue, sortie d’une platine cassette (Peck) – sans jamais rien perdre de leur équilibre.” (September 18, 2015)
“Un’opera certamente diversa dagli standard abituali del jazz contemporaneo che nasce nella New York dei fermenti innovativi, tra musicisti ossessionati dalla ricerca a tutti costi. Ed è così che ci si ritrova ad ascoltare un combo intento a rincorrere una relazione tra suoni di differente natura: rumori, note musicali, battiti di ritmi irregolari e frammenti di melodie. Come entrare in un tunnel sonoro, in puro ambient minimalista e viaggiare tra i meandri di un universo tecnologico e misterioso. Un’esperienza di grande fascino, quasi una scommessa con il pensiero normale di chi arriverebbe a definire inascoltabile questa produzione. E invece….. tutt’altro! perché Moffett, Peck e Costa captano e restituiscono qualcosa di esclusivo, certamente straniante ed imprevedibile. Un’audace scelta espressiva che merita grande attenzione.” (August 16, 2015)
“Šį albumą sudaro 4 ilgos kompozicijos. Jas įgrojo aktyviai džiazo scenoje besireiškiantis trio „Earth Tongues“. Jo nariai - tai trimitininkas Joe Moffett, perkusininkas Carlo Costa ir tūbininkas Dan Peck. Šis puikus muzikantų kolektyvas didžiausią dėmesį skiria garsui ir neįprastoms, išskirtinėms įvairiausių jo tembrinių atspalvių paieškoms.
„Earth Tongues“ muzikantai klausytojams atveria kelią į naują, iki šiol negirdėtą garso sampratą. Kompozicijose eksperimentuojama su garsu, išgaunami neįprasti tembrai, ambientinis garsas, girdima daug elektronikos elementų. Tarp visų šių garsų dažnai įsiterpia ir ilgai užsitęsiančios pauzės, kurios dar labiau paįvairina kompozicijų faktūrą.” (August 2, 2015)
“The music's ambition is to incorporate music, silence and noise into one coherent sound, an ambition which is actually delivered. The sounds may be brief, like drops in a pond, or extended, like the howl of a distant animal, or forceful, like a hammer hitting a rock, or deeply emotional like ... well ... humans. It is a great mixture of organic sounds, that seem to be created by themselves, or precise and decided interventions to create effects. There is a total absence of power or violence, quite to the contrary, all sounds arise from the silence, emerge from it, which gives the improvisers the opportunity to increase the accuracy of what they play. No sound seems superfluous, no sound is wasted, every sound has value, every sound has beauty, and when resonating with other sounds and silence, even more so. You could qualify the sound as low-density/high-intensity. It is austere at times, disconcerting at others, yet it always has a magnificent purity. I love it.” (August 1, 2015)
“(Rune) has a more "primitive" or elemental quality, emphasized by the singular sense of line it sometimes projects. Beyond that, the rubbed surfaces & howling echoes are apparently supposed to evoke the earth itself, unknown ideas trickling through rocks to form some sort of ancient sign.” (May 18, 2015)
“W przypadku tego rodzaju twórczości, najsilniejszym sposobem przekazu jest bezpośrednie uczestnictwo w koncercie, dlatego należy mieć świadomość iż słuchanie Earth Tongues z płyty CD, jest zaledwie namiastką doznań jakich możemy być świadkami podczas spektaklu live. Mimo to odbiór materiału muzycznego zawartego na "Rune", dalece wybiega poza schemat dźwiękowego dokumentu, potrafiąc wywołać głębokie emocje także w trakcie odsłuchu w domowym zaciszu. Wymaga to jednak bezwarunkowego oddania się światowi dźwięków jakie otaczają nas z chwilą uruchomienia płyty w odtwarzaczu. "Rune" to doskonały przykład nowoczesnej i odważnej awangardy XXI wieku, wytyczającej niezmierzone dotąd obszary improwizacji.” (May 27, 2015)
“All three members of this trio deal with careful textures and timbres. This music is ritualistic sounding, good for evoking dark, ominous spirits. Bowed cymbals, rubbed metal of either/both brass instruments, muted and unmuted smears, cracklings and bent notes is what is found here. At times, it sounds like s couple of ships with distant foghorns blaring in the distance. Mutant monsters and cosmic aliens are found here so come join the party if you dare.” (April 30, 2015)
Neither/Nor Records