Studio One, by Mawja [Michael Bullock, Mazen Kerbaj & Vic Rawlings]

Studio One

by Mawja [Michael Bullock, Mazen Kerbaj & Vic Rawlings]

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Limited Edition Compact Disc
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All Al Maslakh CD's are hand-numbered and packaged in colored cardboard sleeves, each with individual artwork by Lebanese artist Mazen Kerbaj.

MSLKH 006

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1.	S 1.1 09:14	buy track
2.	S 1.2 07:25	buy track
3.	S 1.3 03:12	buy track
4.	S 1.4 20:33	buy track
5.	S 1.5 06:52	buy track
6.	S 1.6 12:43	buy track

about

Recorded in 2005 and released by the Lebanese label Al Maslakh, which translates as The Slaughterhouse, Studio One documents two compatible performances at Pancake Alley, New York and Candlestick Maker in Chicago by Michael Bullock (contrabass and feedback), Mazen Kerbaj (trumpet) and Vic Rawlings (cello and surface electronics). Theirs is a quiet and occasionally tentative improvised music, allowing drones to establish an atmosphere before the players muddy it, in the process finding new directions and the means to explore them.
None of the acoustic instruments sound as you would expect them to but that's par for the course nowadays. Kerbaj, in particular, can manufacture a wide range of abrasive and percussive sounds from the mutes and resonators he introduce to the bell of his trumpet, all of which he uses sparingly and with discretion.
The lengthy "S 1.4" is introduced, rather unnecessarily, as a quiet piece - nearly all of the six tracks are quiet pieces - and is ghostly resonances billow and distort perception like mist on moorland. The track grinds almost to a halt around the 12 minute mark, and there's a flailing moment, which is nonetheless interesting to hear, before the players manage to re-establish a rapport and carry the music forward. Warts and all, this is a fine example of improvised music in the new millennium, and a good indicator that Improv still has something valuable to offer, something that no other music can provide.

Brian Marley [The Wire]

credits

released January 1, 2007

Michael Bullock: contrabass, feedback
Mazen Kerbaj: trumpet
Vic Rawlings: cello, surface electronics

All music improvised by Bullock, Kerbaj and Rawlings

Tracks 1 to 4 recorded at Pancake Alley, Troy NY on September 14, 2005
Tracks 5 and 6 recorded at Candlestick Maker, Chicago IL on September 17, 2005

Recorded by Michael Bullock
Mastered by Bhob Rainey

Artwork & design by Mazen Kerbaj
Produced in Lebanon by Al Maslakh