News of the Extreme World October 08

In opening, I wanted to cite the Pope in his recent visit to Australia. He said. "Life is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful". At first I was annoyed; has the Pope been trying to copy the vision of Extreme? Then I realized that what he said was close but did not quite capture the essence of Extreme. What I believe is this: "Extreme is a search for the true voice, the great artist and the beautiful expression" ;-)

Sometimes there is so much happening you don't step back to see the good things you have done. In the music business it is always non-stop, especially when there are new releases. And there have been a lot of new releases!

Following up from the success of CLAUDIO PARODI's homage to Alvin Lucier, "Horizontal Mover", PARODI displayed his talents as both a composer and a performer of the Turkish clarinet with "A Ritual which is Incomprehensible (to the Smile of Pauline Oliveros)". To quote from the Tokafi review: "One of the most rewarding compositional projects of the nascent millenium: Parodi's approach stems from the belly, not the brain." Hear excerpts at the Extreme site - http://www.xtr.com/catalog/XCD-062

Sakana Hosomi and Masaki Narita have found a special magic with MAJU and this is profoundly evident with Maju-5. The Cyclic Defrost review says it all: "MAJU have imaginatively dissected the difficult and at times punishing pitches of noise or electronic improvisation and the warmth of stillness of ambient music and joined them together to create a multilayered work who's contradictions can't help but puzzle and amaze. A remarkable work." The other important accolade is the acknowledgement by other musicians that MAJU is an incredible musical expression. With a decade of releases on Extreme, MAJU are building a wonderful oeuvre of music. Check it out here - http://www.xtr.com/catalog/XCD-063

The debut release for THE ANTRIPODEAN COLLECTIVE, a super group of Australian jazz musicians, is improvisation in a pressure cooker environment. "The Massacre of the Egos" is nothing short of wonderful, along with being challenging, diverse and exciting. This is put very concisely in Textura: "the music's ever-changing character demands one's total attention at every moment." Grabowsky, Tinkler, Rodgers, Rex and Edie take no prisoners in this musical adventure - http://www.xtr.com/catalog/XCD-064

TERMINAL SOUND SYSTEM, aka Skye Klein of HALO, has managed to forge a union of electronica and rock on his new release "Constructing Towers". Already the critics are lauding it with praise. In Chain DLK it garnered 4 ½ stars: "His personal blend of Drum'n'Bass, IDM, electronic jazz, post-rock, etc. is brilliant, ass kicking and elegant. If you're one of those filling the ranks of discontent listeners complaining "after Richard D James, Autechre and Seefeel everything had become stagnant" it's time to stop complaining and to try this 2008 viagra for your ears." In Vital Weekly it was considered astonishing work: "Terminal Sound System brings the listeners into a great world of adventurous expressions. Everyone interested in exploring breakbeat-science will definitely have to check this out." If you need more convincing check out the sample tunes on the web site - http://www.xtr.com/catalog/XCD-065

Scott Tinkler, John Rodgers, Marc Hannaford and Ken Edie feature in this latest incarnation of THE ANTRIPODEAN COLLECTIVE. "Funcall" takes improvisation even further over the edge and in doing this produces something amazing. The Sydney Morning Herald described them as "startling" where "Plaintive cries and brutal thumps cohabit the same sentence and the silence spilling around them gives each sound a sudden snap of surprise." Listen to some of the music at - http://www.xtr.com/catalog/XCD-066 - and see them live at the following venues:

Oct 27 2008 8:00PM – 505, Sydney

Oct 29 2008 8:00PM - Blue Birdy, Byron Bay

Oct 30 2008 8:30PM - Jazzworx! Brisbane

Nov 1 & 2 2008 - Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, Wangaratta

Nov 4 2008 8:00PM - Bennetts Lane, Melbourne

As always, explore the music

Roger Richards