Summary.
Tortoise basically reinvented progressive-rock for the new millenium when they anchored their musical drifting to dub and jazz pillars. The geometry of their sound started with the very foundations of the line-up, which was basically the union of two formidable rhythm sections, Poster Children's drummer John Herndon and Eleventh Dream Day's bassist Doug McCombs plus Gastr Del Sol's rhythm section (drummer John McEntire and bassist Bundy Ken Brown), augmented with Tar Babies' percussionist Dan Bitney. They were not only inspired by the historical rhythm sections of funk and dub, but they set out to obscure that legacy with a more far-reaching approach. On Tortoise (1994) each musician covered a lot of ground and alternated at different instruments, but basically this was a band founded on rhythm.
With Slint's guitarist Dave Pajo replacing Brown on bass, Millions Now Living Will Never Die (1996) streamlined the mind-boggling polyphony of their jams and achieved a sort of post-classical harmony, a new kind of balance and interaction between melodies and rhythms. Djed, in particular, could swing between sources as distant as Neu and Steve Reich while retaining a fundamental unity, flow and sense of purpose.
The jazz component and academic overtones began to prevail. The sextet (McEntire, Herndon, Bitney, McCombs, Pajo and black guitarist Jeff Parker) that recorded TNT (1998) had in mind the Modern Jazz Quartet and Miles Davis' historical quintet, not King Crimson or Slint, but the result was nonetheless a magisterial application of Djed's aesthetics.
(Translated from my original Italian text by Carol Teri)
Tortoise is one of the most important groups of the nineties.
Not only are they endowed with a technical expertise way above the norm for
this age,
but they have also coined a sound that is a true step up quality wise for
rock and roll.
Tortoise were formed in 1991 thanks to the initiative of drummer and
keyboard player John Herndon
(ex Poster Children
and also in 5ive Style) along with
bassist Doug McCombs (ex Eleventh Dream
Day).
Together they made up the rhythm section, inspired by the vast rhythm
sections of sixties soul music,
which bound tempo together with a fusion of funk and dub.
The first singles, Gooseneck/ Mosquito/ Onions Wrapped In Rubber
(Torsion, 1993)
and Lonesome Sound/ Reservoir/ Sheets (Thrill Jockey)
placed their rhythmic experiments in a desolate landscape, streamed with
menacing environmental drones.
Tortoise (Thrill Jockey, 1994), remixed later by special "guests" in
Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters, is an ingenious experiment in dub
music. This combination became a super-group as never seen before:
the keyboard player John McEntire (ex Bastro and
also in
Sea And Cake
and Gastr Del Sol also ex-Bastro, David Grubbs),
the percussionist Dan Bitney (ex Tar Babies),
the guitar player Dave Pajo (ex Slint) and bassist
Bundy Brown (another ex-Bastro),
that love a constant exchanging of instruments, make up an exceptional
ensemble. It isn't surprising that the arrangements are as meticulous
as they are modest and sparse.
What's more, the cadences are extremely slow, as in a Buddhist trance.
The languid instrumental tracks on the record vary from a jazzy narcotic
style
to a psychedelic dub mood.
For better or for worse,
tracks like Magnet Pulls Through are genuine musical theory: with,
on one hand,
the rigid rhythmic schemes of funk, jazz and dub and, on the other, the
painstaking discord of
the background. So we get ` Tin Cans & Twine and its joining of a
blues
theme lightly strummed on the bass guitar chords with a country theme in a
cryptic
guitar undertone. We also get the jungle of minimalist repetition of
Spiderwebbed.
The emotions seep out from Night Air, a slow and melancholy
blues-jazz, and from
The bubbly and jumpy jam of Ry Cooder.
The melodies sneak into the fragile and confused rhythmic framework.
The great experimental/progressive tradition of Canterbury and kraut-rock
(Neu, Can) of the '70s lives again in these offspring of the sonorous
breeding ground of
Slint and Blind Idiot God.
The 12" single Gamera/ City Dweller (Duophonic) includes two long
pieces
that are evidence of even greater ambitions.
A few months later Why We Fight/ Whitewater
comes out (Soul Static Sound).
But Brown leaves the group right away (the start the project
Pullman) and Douglas McCombs (degli Eleventh Dream Day) takes his place on the
bass guitar.
On Millions Now Living Will Never Die (Thrill Jockey, 1996) Tortoise
Begin to sound like a progressive-rock band.
The format itself of the record is proof of the same: a long
Bari-centered suite, followed by a handful of collection pieces.
In the twenty minutes of Djed the influence of Neu and Steve
Reich are strongly felt. The beginning is muted, with a melodic pattern
repeated by the bass
interlaced with a spree of sounds. The pattern multiplies and grows
stronger.
The keyboards begin to glide over that pulsating rhythm with a series of
liquid jazz-rock formulas. After an interval of syncopated dub, the
keyboards
begin to play in repetition and polyphony, as in the suites
of Steve Reich, soon copied by the percussion. During the entire piece,
the group experiments with irregular timbers. This is one of the central
themes
of the record.
The other theme is the deconstruction of the way that rhythm and melody
interact
giving space to the dynamics of a track. In the guitar argeggios and
the vibraphone of Glass Museum and the uproar of The Taut And
Tame the
dynamics are continuously being questioned. The harmonies sound like
progressive-rock,
like Canterbury jazz-rock, but instead of leaning to
a united ideal, they are fractured and contradicted at every
jolting leap.
At the end of the record the group tries to put the puzzle together, and
Along The Banks Of Rivers intones a sad film noir theme. It's the
only
accessible moment on an extremely experimental record, as brainy as
a piece of scientific research and as analytical as a mathematical theorem.
Dave Pajo quit the group (to work on his project
Aerial M) and black guitarist Jeff Parker
took his place (a jazz musician already tested in Isotope 217).
The ensemble for TNT (Thrill Jockey, 1998)
thus becomes a sextet:
John McEntire on percussion and keyboards,
John Herndon on percussion and vibraphone,
Dan Bitney on drums and keyboards,
Douglas McCombs on bass guitar
and Parker on guitar and vibraphone.
In total, there are three percussion players and four keyboard players
(needless to say, difficult
to point out who's playing what).
Tortoise are, simply put, a great rhythm section buried in an electronic
music
scene. Two factors bring this plan to life:
Parker plays the guitar like a saxophone,
and violins and horns are fit into the arrangements.
For the first two tracks, the title-track and Swing From The Gutters,
it's hard
not to think of the jazz-rock of Miles Davis, the first being more concept
oriented
and the second a more bitting tune. But Ten-Day Interval gears
decidedly towards
A minimalistic direction, with the marimba of McEntire played Steve Reich
style,
and a piano melody in the background which is split up and
slowed down Brian Eno style.
I Set My Face To The Hillside confounds things even more: after the
Spanish
flavored guitar opening, first a harmonica theme follows sounding made for
an epic western and after, a Japanese ballad led on the vibraphone.
Suspension Bridge At Iguazu Falls, takes off from the jazzier
progressive-rock
of Canterbury, but arrives at an exotic interlude with a guitar twang
that would make Duan Eddy proud.
Soon after the rhythm experiments follow:
Four-Day Interval, a piece made of metronom-like scannings of the
keyboard,
and above all Jetty, a jumble of leaping beats and woody timbers.
There are few catchier intervals left to keep the audience's attention:
The hybrid funk and dub of Equator,
The soft jazzy Caribbean feel of In Sarah and little else.
The sound leans on two composite processes, an overlay of sound elements
In the studio and a syntony between the members of the group. The former is
a deliciously technological fact, the latter a deliciously musical one.
But the true trademark of the group is the transfixing tone
that is used to execute each and every track.
The critics are right in accusing them of being too studied, but the music
of Tortoise belongs more to the classical repertoire (or at least to jazz)
than to the rock tradition.
(Translation reviewed by George Mills)
The EP In the Fishtank (Konkurrent, 1999), recorded with Dutch
band Ex,
inaugurates another instrumental piece, halfway between
cross between Can, Sonic Youth and free jazz, The Lawn Of The Lamb.
A few short cacophonous pieces showcase a more experimental side of the group.
Douglas McCombs is also active in Brokeback, a collaboration with
Chicago Underground Quartet's bassist Noel Kupersmith,
Field Recordings From The Cook Country Water Table (Thrill Jockey, 1999)
is a collection of quiet, ethereal, sparse, bass-driven instrumentals:
the haunting, jazzy bass trio After The Internationals, the nostalgic,
Leo Kottke-ian Returns To The Orange Grove, the minimalistic
(repetitive) The Field Code, the soulful and zen-like
Another Routine Day Breaks (with drums), the swinging ballad-like
A Blueprint. A couple of eccentric pastiches
(The Great Banks, that fuses Dada, Ennio Morricone and Brazialian pop)
and the bizarre hallucination of The Wilson Ave Bridge are not fully
developed.
Morse Code In The Modern Age (Thrill Jockey, 2001), that features
the Calexico axle of Burns and Convertino, is mainly occupied with two lengthy
tracks, the oneiric Flat Handed On The Wing (12 minutes) and the ambient
Lives Of The Rhythm Experts (16 mintues), basically a bass duo.
Looks At The Bird (2003), Brokeback's third and worst album, sounds like
atmospheric muzak rather than avantgarde rock.
John McEntire also recorded with various friends the soundtrack
Reach The Rock (Hefty, 1999). Included are seven of his instrumental
pieces and a new Tortoise "groove": In A Thimble.
Tortoise's instrumental music constitutes one of the most important chapters
of modern day rock, and breaks forth from a rock background (Squirrel
Bait, Slint, Bastro, Bitch Magnet, etc) that by now should be considered
one of the most significant chapters of rock history.
It comes natural to link the progressive jazz style of Tortoise to the two
most influential schools of the '70s: Canterbury (Caravan, Matching Mole
and of course Soft Machine) and kraut-rock ( Neu and Can, in particular).
Just like them, Tortoise are aware of the progress of free-jazz and
avant-guarde music
(Steve Reich in particular).
Just like them, Tortoise are able to transfer those creative itches
into a format that is (more or less) rock and are capable of blending
the various sources into a tight and harmonious sonic flux.
As with Soft Machine and Can, the price to be paid is a certain
coldness and frigidity, which are not easily reconciled with the
"cruder" tastes of the rock audience.
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I Tortoise sono uno dei gruppi piu` importanti degli anni '90.
Non solo vantano una delle formazioni piu` qualificate dell'epoca, ma
hanno coniato un sound che rappresenta un reale salto di qualita` per
il rock and roll.
Tortoise nacquero nel 1991 per iniziativa
del batterista e tastierista John Herndon
(ex Poster Children
e anche nei 5ive Style) e del bassista Doug McCombs
(ex Eleventh Dream Day).
I due formavano una sezione ritmica, ispirata alle
grandi sezioni ritmiche nere degli anni '60, che ancorava il ritmo a
un ibrido di funk e dub.
I primi singoli, Gooseneck/ Mosquito/ Onions Wrapped In Rubber (Torsion, 1993)
e Lonesome Sound/ Reservoir/ Sheets (Thrill Jockey)
ambientavano i loro esperimenti ritmici in
un paesaggio desolato solcato da sinistri droni ambientali.
Tortoise (Thrill Jockey, 1994), remixato in seguito da ospiti
d'onore in Rhythms, Resolutions & Clusters, e` un geniale
esperimento di dub. La formazione e` diventata un supergruppo come non se
ne sono mai visti: il tastierista John McEntire
(ex Bastro e anche nei
Sea And Cake
e nei Gastr Del Sol dell'altro ex-Bastro, David Grubbs),
il percussionista Dan Bitney (ex Tar Babies),
e il bassista
Bundy Brown (altro ex Bastro e Gastr Del Sol),
che amano scambiarsi gli strumenti di continuo, compongono un ensemble
d'eccezione.
Non stupisce pertanto che
gli arrangiamenti siano tanto meticolosi e cromatici quanto spartani e dimessi.
Per lo piu` le cadenze sono lentissime, come in una trance buddista.
I languidi brani strumentali del disco oscillano fra un
jazz narcotico e un dub psichedelico.
Nel bene e nel male,
brani come Magnet Pulls Through sono pura teoria musicale: da un lato
i rigidi schemi ritmici funk, jazz e dub e dall'altro le certosine dissonanze di
sottofondo. Cosi` Tin Cans & Twine e il suo incastro fra un tema blues
mormorato sulle corde del basso e un tema country singhiozzato sottovoce dalla
chitarra. Cosi` la giungla di ripetizioni minimaliste di Spiderwebbed.
Le emozioni trapelano da Night Air, un lento e malinconico blues-jazz, e dalla
briosa e swinganta jam di Ry Cooder.
Le melodie si intrufolano quasi di soppianto dentro le fragili e confuse
impalcature ritmiche.
La grande tradizione sperimentale/progressiva di Canterbury e del kraut-rock
(Neu, Can) degli anni '70 rivive in questi figli dell'humus sonoro di
Slint e Blind Idiot God.
Il singolo 12" Gamera/ City Dweller (Duophonic) comprende due lunghi
brani che manifestano ambizioni persino maggiori.
Pochi mesi dopo esce anche Why We Fight/ Whitewater
(Soul Static Sound).
Brown lascia pero` subito il gruppo per suonare con i
Directions e per
lanciare il progetto
Pullman) e al suo posto subentra al basso
David Pajo (ex Slint).
Su Millions Now Living Will Never Die (Thrill Jockey, 1996) i Tortoise
cominciano ad assomigliare ai complessi del progressive-rock.
Lo dimostra il formato stesso del disco: una lunga
suite baricentrica, e poi una manciata di brani di corredo.
Nei ventun minuti di Djed sono pesantissime le influenze dei Neu e di
Steve
Reich. L'inizio e` in sordina, con un un pattern melodico ripetuto dal basso
sul quale si snoda una trama di rumori. Il pattern cresce e si irrobustisce.
Le tastiere cominciano a muoversi su quel ritmo pulsante con una serie di
liquide frasi jazz-rock. Dopo un intermezzo di dub sincopato, le tastiere
si mettono a percuotere in maniera ripetitiva e polifonica, come nelle suite
di Steve Reich, presto imitate dalle percussioni. Lungo tutto il corso del
brano, il complesso sperimenta timbriche irregolari. E questo e` uno
dei temi centrali del disco.
L'altro tema e` la decostruzione del modo in cui ritmi e melodie interagiscono
per dar luogo alla dinamica di un brano. Negli arpeggi di chitarra e
vibrafono di Glass Museum e nel bailamme quasi jazz-rock di
The Taut And Tame la dinamica
viene rimessa continuamente in discussione. Le armonie assomigliano a quelle
del progressive-rock, a quelle del jazz-rock di Canterbury, ma, invece di
tendere a un ideale unitario, sono frantumate e contraddette a ogni pie`
sospinto.
Alla fine del disco il gruppo prova a rimettere i pezzi insieme, e
Along The Banks Of Rivers intona un mesto tema da film noir. E` l'unico
momento accessibile di un disco profondamente sperimentale, cervellotico
come una ricerca scientifica e analitico come un teorema matematico.
Rimangono A Survey e Dear Grandma And Grandpa a mediare
fra cuore e cervello, fra passato e futuro.
Anche Dave Pajo lascia il gruppo (per curare il progetto
Aerial M) e al suo posto entra
il chitarrista di colore Jeff Parker (jazzista di adozione, gia`
sperimentato negli Isotope 217).
L'ensemble di TNT (Thrill Jockey, 1998)
e` pertanto un sestetto:
John McEntire alle percussioni e alle tastiere,
John Herndon alle percussioni e al vibrafono,
Dan Bitney alla batteria e alle tastiere,
Douglas McCombs e Pajo al basso
e Parker alla chitarra e al vibrafono.
In totale, ci sono tre percussionisti e quattro tastieristi (difficile, insomma,
dire chi suona cosa). In pratica, i Tortoise sono semplicemente una grossa
sezione ritmica immersa in uno scenario di musica elettronica.
A vivacizzare questo programma sono due fattori:
Parker suona la chitarra come un sassofono,
e all'arrangiamento si uniscono per la prima volta anche violini e fiati.
Per i primi due brani, la title-track e Swing From The Gutters, e` difficile
non pensare al jazz-rock di Miles Davis, piu` concettuale nella prima e
piu` graffiante nella seconda. Ma Ten-Day Interval vira decisamente in
direzione del minimalismo, con le marimba di McEntire suonate alla Steve Reich,
e una melodia di pianoforte in sottofondo che viene fratturata e rallentata
alla Brian Eno.
I Set My Face To The Hillside confonde ulteriormente le acque: all'apertura
spagnoleggiante di chitarra, fanno seguito prima un tema di armonica degno
di un western epico e poi un balletto giapponese condotto dal vibrafono.
Suspension Bridge At Iguazu Falls parte dal progressive-rock piu` jazzato
di Canterbury, ma arriva a un quadretto esotico per twang di chitarra
degno di un Duan Eddy.
Poi ci sono gli esperimenti sul ritmo:
Four-Day Interval, un brano per scansioni metronomiche di tastiere,
e soprattutto Jetty, un'acrobazia di tempi saltellanti e di timbriche
legnose in stile drum'n'bass.
A intrattenere il pubblico sono sono rimasti ben pochi intermezzi di musica
commerciale: l'ibrido funk e dub di Equator,
il soft-jazz caraibico di In Sarah e poco altro.
Il sound poggia su due processi compositivi, uno di sovrapposizioni di elementi
sonori in studio e uno di dinamica fra i membri del gruppo. Il primo e` un fatto
squisitamente tecnologico, il secondo e` un fatto squisitamente musicale.
Ma il vero marchio di fabbrica del gruppo e` rappresentato dal tono incantato
con cui vengono eseguiti tutti i brani.
Hanno ragione i critici ad accusarli di essere troppo accademici, ma la musica
dei Tortoise appartiene ormai piu` al repertorio classico (o quantomeno jazz)
che a quello rock.
L'EP In the Fishtank (Konkurrent, 1999), registrato con gli olandesi
Ex, annovera un altro strumentale al confine fra
Can, Sonic Youth e free jazz, The Lawn Of The Lamb. Alcuni brevi
pezzi cacofonici mostrano una faccia piu` sperimentale del gruppo.
Douglas McCombs e` anche attivo come Brokeback.
John McEntire registra con amici assortiti la colonna sonora
Reach The Rock (Hefty, 1999). Ne fanno parte sette suoi brani
strumentali e una nuova "groove" dei Tortoise, In A Thimble.
La musica strumentale dei Tortoise costituisce uno dei capitoli piu` importanti
della musica rock di oggi, e scaturisce da una scuola di musica rock (Squirrel
Bait, Slint, Bastro, Bitch Magnet, etc) che va ormai annoverata fra i fenomeni
piu` salienti dell'intera storia del rock.
Viene spontaneo allacciare lo stile jazzato e progressivo dei Tortoise alle due
scuole piu` influenti degli anni Settanta: Canterbury (Caravan, Matching Mole
e ovviamente Soft Machine) e il kraut-rock (i Neu e i Can, in particolare).
Come loro, i Tortoise sono consci dei progressi del free-jazz e della musica
d'avanguardia (Steve Reich in particolare). Come loro, i Tortoise riescono
a trasferire quei pruriti creativi in un formato piu` o meno rock e riescono
ad amalgamare le diverse sorgenti in un flusso sonoro compatto e armonioso.
Come capito` ai Soft Machine e ai Can, il prezzo da pagare e` una certa
freddezza e rigidita`, che mal si sposano ai gusti "grossolani" del pubblico
rock.
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