#chamber strings

Kevin Junior & Los Tupper - Ruins (2016)

Momentum (for Chamber Strings)

Here’s a one minute clip from a summer composition I’ve arranged for chamber strings. I relaxed the tempo, scaled back the aggressiveness and other refinements that ultimately make it easier to listen to.

Original (for String ensemble)

June was a great month for music, not least because Hampshire & Foat’s hard to find Galaxies Like Grains of Sand was graciously repressed ahead of the surprise release of Nightshade, both on Athens of the North. While their first album stands as a masterpiece of cinematic acid folk and spaced out modality, the follow up The Honey Bear largely omitted the jazz, instead imbuing their psychedelic folk dreamscapes with windswept ambiance and spellbinding post-rock. And now for Nightshade, which is subtitled Folk and Jazz Underscores for Small Group and Strings, Woz and Greg head into the library, hitting all the best aspects of their sound while folding in some fusion heat along the way. And there is a clear dedication to concept here, down to the simple yet informative library-style artwork and the short descriptive remarks for each track (an aesthetic also employed by the Snaker series out of Japan).

Hampshire & Foat - Nightshade (Athens of the North, 2018) Most of the A-side is split between gorgeous psychfolk and explosive jazz fusion, starting with “Jasmine.” Here, melancholic guitar and autoharp weave 60s acid fantasies with pizzicato strings dancing over deep contrabass. It evokes the smell of moss, birds in the trees, leaves rustling underfoot, with heart-wrenching flute melodies ringing out and strings swelling underneath. Next comes “Mariposa Lily” and Warren’s old west fingerpicking, like tumbleweeds rolling through some forgotten ghost town. And then there’s that harmonica, all lonesome Morricone magic drifting alongside plucked strings and aching viol melodies, with a rhythmic pulse of gentle double bass. The fusion fire comes with “Antonio’s Theme,” guided as it is by the monumentous drumming of Antonio Feola. We get tight loft breakbeats panned hard left while orchestral streaks of sound hover above thumping funk bass, shining woodwinds, and guitar darkness. And at some point things turn especially driving, with big e-piano bass phasing over the frenetic drumming and climactic GY!BE string crescendos crashing down. The fusion focus continues with “Coastal Drive” and its mellow sax weaving balearic dreams. Electric guitars circle alongside vibing Rhodes solos and just as in “Antonio’s Theme”, the drums are far away, crashing and thrashing underneath layers of swooning symphonic ambiance. The final piece on the A-side is a stunning interpretation of Mikołaj Hertel’s “Zagubiona w Nostalgii”, transforming the originals’ aquatic dreamjazz into cocktail lounge exotica. Rimshots and cymbal taps lead a midnight shuffle, while lonely saxophone drips with the nostalgia of times past. And near the end, the drums become bombastic, while the strings carry irresistible Arabic-leaning moods.

The B-side contains themes and variations of “Nightshade,” as “Introduction” sets the stage with droning bowed strings and wailing streaks of breathy flute, like some mysterious and sorcerous ritual at work. “Echo Flute & Bowed Bass” then establishes a variant of the main theme with double bass bowing hypnotically and flute locking into delirious descents. And true to the title, the aerophone is drenched in echo, every note, breath, and click trailing off to infinity. The “Main Theme” comes next, with thumping prog bass and vibrant fingerpicking underlying cascading bell tone e-pianos and desert-soaked guitar leads, with a brief appearance of strings at the end. “Solo Strings” and its droning bed of bowed ambiance follow, overlaid by darting string plucks and dashing violins. This leads immediately to “Solo Fender Rhodes,” with luscious e-piano running the main theme through chiming glass tones and eternal reverb, while bass keys flow like sensual liquid. “Pizzicato Strings,” on the other hand, recalls filmic horror music, with thrilling plucked string runs that are vaguely sinister in nature. And immediately following is “Walking Bass & Echo Flute,” with contrabass journeys in that Angelo Badalamenti film noir mold overlaid by flute that is no longer tethered to any theme, instead taking off on far-out solo journeys, equal parts interstellar exploration and free jazz fire.

But the best is reserved til the end, starting with “Multi-tracked Piano.” Greg Foat flies solo here, building up sparkling minimalist tapestries, the audio equivalent of a web of jewels tied together by golden strands of light. There are shades of Jordan de la Sierra and Terry Riley to these ears, due to the powerful and spellbinding runs moving across the full breadth of the keyboard like a psychedelic waterfall. And sometimes Greg’s playing grows so fast as to approximate the flutter of hummingbird wings, notes flying from every direction, and any semblance of the “Nightshade” theme heavily obscured in prismatic ivory fog. And the whole band comes together for “Main Theme (Reprise)”, with woodwinds turning out the “Nightshade” theme over a slow drum swing led by sizzling ride work. Psychfolk guitars and autoharps rain down like starlight and soprano sax alights on spellbinding journeys with a spiritual modality that strongly references John Coltrane and his classic quartet. Everything is just vibing and gliding into the night, climaxing with a wonderful piano solo, channeling none other than McCoy Tyner as its dreamtime explorations rush over the hypnotic downbeat jazz rhythms.

Chamber Strings - I Come Apart (A Tragic Comedy) (2009)

Kevin Junior & Los Tupper

En la primavera del 2015, aprovechando unos conciertos que ibamos a dar haciendo de banda de Kevin Junior, nos metimos al estudio a grabar unos temas juntos. Lo que no sabíamos es que aquellas canciones verían la luz a título póstumo, pues desgraciadamente Kevin falleció en Enero de este mismo año. Por suerte, a través de los largos mails que nos enviamos cuando él ya había regresado a USA, pudimos ir mezclándolas, así como puliendo todo lo relativo al diseño de la portada y otros pequeños detalles, tales como el título del mismo. Kevin estaba tan entusiasmado con este nuevo material que decidió usar estas canciones (a excepción de Debris, versión de los Faces) para el próximo disco de Chamber Strings. Pero antes quería que, como adelanto del album, vieran la luz bajo el nombre de Kevin Junior & Los Tupper . Lo que solo iba a ser el comienzo de una serie de posteriores colaboraciones entre nosotros, se quedó en estos cuatro temas, que ciertamente, aún a día de hoy nos emociona volver a escuchar. Para nosotros fue un inmenso placer poder colaborar , así como entablar una sincera amistad, con un artista de tan superlativo talento. Y aunque tristes por su ausencia, nos consuela saber que la luz de sus canciones no podrá apagarse nunca.

Nikki Sudden + The Chamber Strings - Live at WFMU, Stork’s Show, April 19, 1998

Sad to hear of the Chamber Strings’ Kevin Junior passing away this past week. He garnered a bit of critical acclaim for the records he made in the late 1990s and early ‘00s, but never quite broke through to the audience he deserved. Like his heroes/collaborators Epic Soundtracks and Nikki Sudden, Junior was a true believer who unabashedly loved rock ‘n’ roll, perhaps above everything else. Those Chamber Strings LPs are well worth tracking down, and this WFMU session, with a Chamber Strings set and then a set with them backing up Sudden, is a treat.