One of the most significant musicians of the 1990s,
New Zealand-born singer and guitarist
Roy Montgomery created a
successful hybrid of all these styles with his ensembles Dadamah, Dissolve,
and Hash Jar Tempo.
Dadamah's This Is Not A Dream (1992) was a magic recreation of the Velvet Underground's psychedelic trance, updated to the new-wave zeitgeist of the
Modern Lovers, sprinkled with effervescent oddities in the surreal vein of Pere Ubu.
Dissolve's That That Is (1995) was merely an ectoplasm for two guitars,
but their Third Album For The Sun (1997), by adding keyboards, percussions and cello to the guitar jamming, attained a spiritual solemnity.
In the meantime, Montgomery's solo albums walked an even more arduous path:
the impressionistic vignettes of Scenes From The South Island (1995) harked back to the transcendental spirit of John Fahey, to the divine introspection of Peter Green, and to the dreamy psalms of David Crosby;
while an obscure, symbol-drenched metaphysics and an obsessive preoccupation with the afterlife led Montgomery through the stages of the imaginary Calvary of Temple IV (1996).
His song-oriented career peaked with And Now The Rain Sounds Like Life Is Falling Down Through It (1998), which contrasted introspective melody and metaphysical setting, resulting in a set of rarified, hermetic prayers, each wrapped into a different universe of haunting sound effects.
But his philosophy was better expressed with the free-form soundpainting of True (1999).
The Allegory of Hearing (2000) overflowed with innovative guitar
techniques and included the 17-minute tour de force of
Resolution Island Suite, which recapitulated the Montgomery's theory of transcendental harmony the same way that the Art of the Fugue summarized Bach's and Rainbow In Curved Air summarized Terry Riley's.
The sonic mandala of For A Small Blue Orb, off Silver Wheel Of Prayer (2001) continued his exploration of the individual's relationship with the eternal.
After a stint in avant-garde theater, Montgomery had already been
at the cutting edge of New Zealand's indie-rock: first in the
Pin Group with
Ross Humphries and Peter Stapleton, revisiting the trance of the
Velvet Underground
(Ambivalence and Coat in 1981 were among the first
singles put out by the label Flying Nun), whose entire catalog is compiled on
Pin Group (Siltbreeze, 1997) and Ambivalence (Flying Nun, 2012;,
and then with the Shallows (who released only one single in 1985).
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Montgomery, dopo una militanza nel teatro d'avanguardia,
era gia` stato uno dei pionieri del rock neozelandese alla testa prima dei
Pin Group (Ambivalence e Coat furono nel 1981 fra i primi singoli
della Flying Nun, poi antologizzati nel 1997 dalla Siltbreeze) e poi degli
Shallows (dei quali usci` soltanto un singolo nel 1985).
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Dadamah's This Is Not A Dream (Majora, 1992 - Kranky, 1993)
is one of the most ingenious records to come out of the second generation of
New Zealand's indie-rockers, a magic recreation of the Velvet Underground's
psychedelic trance, updated to the new wave zeitgeist of the
Modern Lovers,
sprinkled with effervescent oddities in the surreal vein of Red Krayola and
Pere Ubu.
Limbo Swing frantic hypnotic guitar strumming a` la Sterling Morrison,
desolate austere wailing a` la Nico, pounding tribal drums a` la Maureen Tucker
with the addition of a distorted organ a` la Doors' Ray Manzarek floating a
county-fair melody over the manic crescendo and with the variant of vocals
that rapidly lose their composure and begin screaming like the most obsessed
Siouxsie Sioux.
Papa Doc presses on with voodoo tom-toms and distorted organ, while the
singers intone a ghostly hymn (the male in a cavernous register reminiscent
of British dark-punk, the female an
Exene Cervenka of the graveyars).
In Brian's Children the guitar/drums thrust is so epileptic that it
sounds like a bluegrass bacchanal.
Fetid traces of Suicide's depraved and
neurotic ceremonies form the lower layer of Nicotine, a miasma of
trembling organ shrieks and rumbles amid waves of tribal drums.
The nine-minute litany of Too Hot To Dry,
wrapped in loud guitar tones, laid down in a pit of boiling dissonances,
propelled by childish drums,
evokes specters of Patti Smith and
of Jim Morrison, but without the words,
without anything to tell, without purpose or message: pure, unadultered
agony.
The equally long, suspenseful and unnerving High Tensions House
is mostly free-form jamming, with a short baritone declamation, in an
oppressive landscape of crackling noises, a piece closer to the
Swans than to the Doors.
The dark maelstrom of Scratch Sun obliterates the melody, caught in a
bleak, savage, manic garage-rock frenzy moored to
a bass riff by the Who.
These longer pieces make a magisterial use of cacophony, which, combined with
the utterly demented role of percussions and the relatively primitive playing of
the guitars, makes for an emotionally explosive potion.
A requiem-like intensity shrouds High Time, the most gothic track,
a duet between the
female singer's ethereal vocalizing and the male singer's gloomy recitation.
Prove is a whispered lullaby in the vein of the first Velvet Underground
album with a melody that could be from the first Doors album.
Radio Brain is basically an alien version of
13th Floor Elevator's You're Gonna Miss Me.
By spanning the entire corpus of evil rock, from Bo Diddley's beats to
new wave's noise, Dadamah gave the entire history of rock music a new twist.
The abstract soundscapes of bassist/singer Kim Pieters and keyboardist Janine
Stagg complemented Montgomery's eccentric guitar noises.
Peter Stapleton, former drummer for Pin Group, had been jamming in
Scorched Earth Policy, a group influenced by free-jazz and the Grateful Dead,
and was now in the ferocious Terminals.
The foursome was an impressive amalgam of avantgarde and pop lingos.
When Montgomery left for America, Pieters and Stapleton
continued the Dadamah saga with the Flies Inside The Sun and
Rain.
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(Traduzione di Davide Fusco)
This is not a dream (Majora, 1992 - Kranky, 1993) dei Dadamah è uno dei
dischi più geniali della seconda generazione di indie-rockers neozelandesi,
una magica rivisitazione della trance psichedelica dei Velvet Underground,
aggiornata alla zeitgeist new wave dei Modern Lovers e con un tocco della
vena surrealista dei Red Crayola e dei Pere Ubu. L'accompagnamento ipnotico
e frenetico della chitarra alla Sterling Morrison), il lamento austero e
desolato alla Nico, il ritmo tribale e ossessivo alla Maureen Tucker, con
l'aggiunta di un organo distorto alla Ray Manzarek, fanno librare la melodia
di Limbo Swing su un crescendo maniacale, mentre la voce degenera in urla
alla Siouxsie Sioux. Papa Doc insiste sul ritmo voodoo e sulla distorsione
dell'organo, mentre i cantanti intonano un inno spettrale (l'uomo in un
registro cavernoso reminiscente del dark punk britannico, la donna come una
Exene Cervenka funerea). In Brian's Children il battito delle percussioni e
della chitarra è così epilettico da sembrare un baccanale di bluegrass.
Tracce dei cerimoniali nevrotici e depravati dei Suicide fanno da sfondo a
Nicotine, un caos urlante e brontolante dell'organo in mezzo a ondate di
percussioni tribali. I Nove minuti di Too Hot to Dry, una litania avvolta da
chitarre assordanti e immersa in un crogiolo di dissonanze ribollenti,
sostenuta da percussioni infantili, evoca fantasmi di Patty Smith e Jim
Morrison, ma senza parole, senza nulla da dire: è agonia pura e semplice. La
lunga, sospesa e snervante High Tension House sembra più una jam free-form,
con una breve declamazione baritonale in un paesaggio oppressivo di rumori
crepitanti, tanto da apparire più vicina agli Swans che ai Doors. Il
maelstrom oscuro di Scratch Sun eclissa la melodia, invischiato in delirio
maniacale di garage-rock desolato e selvaggio, ancorato ad un riff che
potrebbe essere degli Who. Questi pezzi più estesi fanno un uso magistrale
della cacofonia che, unita alle percussioni epilettiche e al relativo
primitivismo delle chitarre, dà vita ad una formula emotivamente esplosiva.
Un'intensità religiosa avvolge High Time, il pezzo più gotico, un duetto tra
gli eterei vocalizzi della cantante e la tetra recitazione della voce
maschile. Prove è una ninna-nanna sussurrata nello stile del primo disco dei
Velvet Underground, con una melodia che porebbe stare sul primo disco dei
Doors. Radio Brain è per lo più una versione aliena di You're Gonna Miss Me
dei 13th Floor Elevator. Ripercorrendo l'intera storia dell'evil rock, dai
ritmi di Bo Diddley al rumore della new wave, i Dadamah danno una nuova
visione dell'intera musica rock.
Gli astratti paesaggi sonori della cantante e bassista Kim Pieters e della
tastierista Janine Stagg completano l'eccentrico rumorismo della chitarra di
Montgomery. Peter Stapleton, batterista originario dei Pin Group, ha suonato
negli Scorched Earth Policy, un gruppo influenzato dal free-jazz e dai
Grateful Dead, e adesso è nei feroci Terminals. I quattro rappresentano un
sorprendente connubio di avanguardia e linguaggi pop. Quando Montgomery
partì per l'America, Pieters e Stapleton proseguirono il percorso dei
Dadamah con i Flies Inside The Sun And Rain.
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Montgomery's double single
Long Night (Siltbreeze, 1996), recorded in San
Francisco in 1994, is a continuation of Pin Group's experimentation.
The intimate and confessional folk singer of Submerged And Colorful,
the pompous intellectual of Film AS A Subversive Art
are sounds of an artist that is still evolving. But the melancholy brushed
organ atmosphere that recall Nico in
Long Night and It's Cold Outside
and German Sister call to mind the solemn entreaties characteristic
of Popol Vuh.
Later Montgomery formed the group Dissolve, along with fellow guitar player
Chris Heaphy, and the record That That Is was put out (Kranky, 1995).
The guitars, with no percussion, explore sparse sounds and put ectoplasms in
action such as Encounter and Three Films.
The sophisticated combination of tuning, chords and tone unearth ghostly
melodies such as Strand,
Dissong and See The World, that are a continuation of the
experiments attempted by Durutti Column and Wire. Mortal Pleasures of
Wanda Lust was originally
a soundtrack for the theater.
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Il doppio singolo Long Night (Siltbreeze, 1996), registrato a San
Francisco nel 1994, continua in pratica gli esperimenti dei Pin Group.
Il cantautore intimista e confessionale di Submerged And Colorful,
l'intellettuale pedante di Film AS A Subversive Art
e` un artista ancora in transizione. Ma l'organo pennella
atmosfere depresse quasi come quelle di Nico in
Long Night e It's Cold Outside
atmosfere depresse quasi come quelle di Nico in
e German Sister intona una solenne preghiera alla Popol Vuh.
Montgomery ha poi formato con l'altro chitarrista Chris Heaphy i Dissolve, dei
quali e` uscito That That Is (Kranky, 1995).
Le chitarre, prive di percussioni, esplorano suoni scheletrici e mettono in moto
ectoplasmi come Encounter e Three Films.
Dal sofisticato gioco di accordature, accordi
e timbriche nascono melodie spettrali come Strand,
Dissong e See The World, che espandono gli esperimenti tentati da
Durutti Column e Wire. Mortal Pleasures of Wanda Lust era originariamente
la colonna sonora di uno spettacolo teatrale.
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Montgomery then set off on a solo career, recording two albums of
instrumental music that straddle the line between psychedelia and folk:
Scenes From The South Island and Temple IV.
The impressionistic vignettes of
Scenes From The South Island (Drunken Fish, 1995)
constitute a throw back to the transcendental spirit of
John Fahey (the raga-like fingerpicking of Along The Main Divide),
to the divine introspection of
Peter Green
(Twilight Conversation, a 10-minute tour de force with the guitar
imitating natural sounds, mutating into a didjeridoo or a clarinet),
to the dreamy psalms of David Crosby.
Unlike these masters, who were happy to use the traditional guitar in their
spiritual quest, Montgomery had to change the nature of the instrument itself.
By exploiting delay, echo and other techniques,
Montgomery turned the guitar into a chamber orchestra, and one with a keen
propensity for Eastern sounds.
The tones of his guitar and the mood of his music are directly related: one
justifies the other.
But the way Montgomery pens his surreal watercolors is mostly unique .
A Clear Night Port Hills drops an Eastern-sounding vibrato melody in a
lake of watery reverbs.
Rainshadow Over Christchurch lets a distorted drone orbit in a thick,
rumbling fog.
The influence of minimalism is evident on the gradual crescendos of
Nor' wester Head-on and The Last Kakapo Dreams of Flying
(the latter bordering on Michael Nyman's supercharged scores).
Montgomery tops everything else on this album with
the rockabilly-surf vibe of the The Barracuda Sequence,
which comprises Downtown To Vesuvio,
The Road To Diamond Harbour
and the loud, abrasive, Velvet Underground-ian bacchanal of
Winding It Out In The High Country.
(Note: Barracuda Sequence is listed as a separate track on the
original CD, while it is a three-track composition).
Montgomery's art is closer to Eastern rather than Western art because of the
way it unravels. There is no linear development (as in "refrain", "bridge",
"chorus", etc). There is, on the other hand, a high degree of concentration
on a pattern. The pattern floats and evolves. The pattern has a life of its
own. Often, one only perceives a dull repetition: the whole is more important
than the parts.
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Montgomery ha poi intrapreso la carriera solista, pubblicando due dischi di
musica strumentale al confine fra la psichedelia e il folk:
Scenes From The South Island (Drunken Fish, 1995) e
Temple IV (Kranky, 1996).
(Translation by/ Tradotto da
Sergio Fiore)
Le vignette impressionistiche di Scenes From The South Island (Drunken Fish, 1995) costituiscono un ritorno allo spirito trascendente di John Fahey (il chitarrismo raga di Along The Main Divide), con l'introspezione spirituale di Peter Green
(Twilight Conversation, 10 minuti di tour-de-force chitarristici ad imitare suoni della natura, alternando il didjeridoo con il clarinetto), nonch‚ i salmi sognati di David Crosby.
A differenza di questi maestri, che hanno utilizzato la chitarra tradizionale per queste ricerche, Montgomery ha realmente cambiato la natura dell'utilizzo di questo strumento.
Utilizando nastri ritardanti, camere eco ed altre tecniche, Montgomery ha fatto suonare la chitarra all'interno di una orchestra da camera, con una propensione ai temi lamentosi delle litanie orientali. I toni di questa chitarra e I modi di questa musica riportano direttamente ad una giustificazione del diverso.
Ma la strada immaginata da Montgomery Š un surreale acquerello pressoch‚ unico . A Clear Night Port Hills distilla I suoni orientali in vibrate melodie di riverberi acquatici. Rainshadow Over Christchurch rilascia in orbita droni distorti in una spessa nebbia carica di rombi di tuoni.
L'influenza del minimalismo si rende evidente nel crescendo graduale di Nor' wester Head-on and The Last Kakapo Dreams of Flying (che segna una linea di demarcazione con Michael Nyman).
Montgomery da il meglio di se in questo album con i rockabilly-surf di The Barracuda Sequence, che comprendono Downtown To Vesuvio, The Road To Diamond Harbour nonch‚ il fragoroso e abrasivo baccanale alla Velvet Underground di Winding It Out In The High Country. (Nota: Barracuda Sequence Š elencato in una traccia separata nel Cd originale, mentre Š in realt… il terzo brano).
L'arte di Montgomery ha creato un raccordo fra l'oriente e l'occidente andando a incrociare le due strade. Questo non con uno sviluppo lineare (cioŠ con un "ritornello", "ponticello", "coro", etc)., ma bensŤ con diverse abilit…, attraverso un alto livello di concentrazione nelle strutture. Le strutture fluttuano e si evolvono. Le strutture hanno una vita propria. Spesso una sola percezione di una tetra ripetizione: il tutto Š molto pi— importante delle parti che lo compongono.
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Equally experimental, Temple IV (Kranky, 1996), a one-man effort
inspired by a visit to Tikal's famous monument, is almost baroque
in spirit: an obscure, symbol-drenched metaphysics and an obsessive
preoccupation with the afterlife lead through the stages of an imaginary
Calvary.
She Waits On Temple IV is a psalm worthy of Popol Vuh's
Hosianna Mantra that revolves
around the trepid and feverish jingling of the guitar, set against a backdrop
of cascading bass tones. The technique is borrowed from Indian and
middle-eastern music, and the mood is an odd combination of ecstasy and
pondering.
The guitar sounds like a piano in Departing The Body, hammering its
funeral theme and setting the stage for a burning distortion that spirals
away to the heavens.
The hypnotic strumming of The Soul Quietens acts as a peaceful ouverture
for the nine-minute monster The Passage Of Forms, a warped raga that
fluctuates on a cosmic radiation, a journey through the darkest depths of the
universe, a symphony of colorful tones that even evokes a choir of ghosts.
The concept comes to a close with the emphatic cerimonial music of
Jaguar Meets Snake, the loudest and most distorted piece.
Not so much a vision as a prayer, Temple IV projected Montgomery
into another orbit, in the company of Peter Green's End Of The Game,
of Bruce Palmer's End Of The Cycle,
of Jimi Hendrix's 1983.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da
Sergio Fiore)
L'egualmente sperimentale, Temple IV (Kranky, 1996), lavoro ispirato alla visita del famoso monumento di Tikal, ha uno spirito quasi barocco: un' oscura metafisica fradicia di simbolismi e una preoccupazione ossessiva della vita dopo la morte attraverso le fasi di un immaginario Calvario. She Waits On Temple IV Š un salmo paragonabile a Hosianna Mantra dei Popol Vuh che ruota intorno a trepidi e febbricitanti jingling di chitarra, insieme cascate di toni bassi. La tecnica Š presa in prestito dalla musica indiana, e i modi alternano l'estasi e la solennit…. Il sound chitarristico e pianistico di in Departing The Body, percuote con un tema da funerale collocato in un tripudio di gravi distorsioni. Lo strimpellio ipnotico di The Soul Quietens anticipa timidamente I maestosi nove minuti di The Passage Of Forms, un raga deformato da fluttuazioni e radiazioni cosmiche, attraverso le profondit… dell'universo, una sinfonia di toni che dovrebbero evocare un coro di fantasmi. Il concept viene chiuso con l'enfatica musica cerimoniale di Jaguar Meets Snake, piece fragorosa e fortemente distorta.
Piuttosto un'opera visionaria che una preghiera, Temple IV proietta Montgomery in un'altra orbita, al livello di Peter Green di End Of The Game, del Bruce Palmer di End Of The Cycle, del Jimi Hendrix di 1983.
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(Translated by Carol Teri)
Out of this major piece of work, two singles emerge:
the hypnotic mantra Just Melancholy (Ajax), with the
transcendent/oriental mood typical of the songs,
Particle (Varispeed),
the hallucinogenic distortion of Strange Attractor (RoofBolt),
which is just as true to form, and the
frenzied ragtime of Something Else Again (Roof Bolt, 1995).
That That Is was actually a record by the Chris Heaphy and Roy
Montgomery duo.
Third Album For The Sun (Kranky, 1997), again credited to Dissolve,
is the continuation (no, not the "third" as stated in the title, but merely
the second). With the addition of keyboards, percussion and cello,
the sound becomes quite a bit more sophisticated.
Rogue Satellite (guitar and bass guitar that play off each other in
the background while an organ stretches out solemnly into infinity) has a
psychedelic atmosphere, that brings back to mind the early days of Pink
Floyd. But this is just the beginning. Behind the indianesque litany of
Into The Black and the haughty psalm of High On Upper Street
there is a roughness and sketchiness that are off key with the project,
which sound almost blasphemous. It isn't surprising that one track,
Street Philosopher, is a throw back to the lazy and haphazard boogie
of Lou Reed (even with no words), or that the ballad of Dream Index
indulges in a wildly discordant combination:
digging beneath the surface, we find a vast array of layers.
The galactic minimalism and the angelic feminine singing of Presume Too
Far
create a world at the border between Terry Riley and Robert Wyatt.
Sunflower Search Engine on the other hand delves once again into
muddy waters,
nine minutes with Syd Barrett soaked in metallic distortions in a dizzying
upsurge, which is when the album loses itself, in the search for its own
origins.
The songs are all jams heading in a slow but continual build up, mostly
instrumental, that sound like closings, tag-ons, appendixes to other pieces
yet to be written.
They amount to a collection of songs that transmit that spirituality which
is akin to the hippie spirit of the sixties and can be considered closer to
New Age music than Environmental.
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A corredo dell'opera maggiore escono anche alcuni singoli:
il mantra ipnotico di Just Melancholy (Ajax), con l'umore
trascendente/orientale che e` tipico dei suoi singoli,
Particle (Varispeed),
la distorsione allucinogena di Strange Attractor (RoofBolt),
che e` altrettanto tipica, e
il ragtime frenetico di Something Else Again (Roof Bolt, 1995).
That That Is era davvero un disco del duo Chris Heaphy e Roy Montgomery.
Third Album For The Sun (Kranky, 1997), di nuovo accreditato ai Dissolve,
e` la sua continuazione (no, non e` il "terzo" come recita il titolo, ma
soltanto il secondo). Con l'aggiunta di tastiere, percussioni e violoncello,
il sound si e` fatto molto piu` sofisticato.
Quella di Rogue Satellite (chitarra e basso che cincischiano sullo sfondo
mentre un organo dozzinale si protende verso l'infinito con solenne
religiosita`) e` una psichedelia atmosferica, che esala i profumi sulfurei dei
primi Pink Floyd. Ma questa e` soltanto la superficie. Dentro la
litania indianeggiante di Into The Black e il salmo pomposo di
High On Upper Street ci sono un'abrasivita` e un'approssimazione che stonano
con l'assunto, che suonano quasi blasfeme. Non stupisce pertanto che un brano,
Street Philosopher, vada a rispolverare il boogie pigro e trasandato di
Lou Reed (sia pur senza parole), o che la ballata di Dream Index indulga in
un accompagnamento sguaiato di dissonanze:
scalfendo la superficie, si scoprono i sedimenti piu' svariati.
I minimalismi galattici e l'angelico canto femminile di Presume Too Far
delimitano un universo al confine fra Terry Riley e Robert Wyatt.
Sunflower Search Engine affonda invece di nuovo in pantani lisergici,
nove minuti di Syd Barrett imbevuto di distorsioni siderali in vertiginoso
crescendo, e li` il disco si perde, alla ricerca delle proprie origini.
Sono tutte jam in lento ma costante crescendo, prevalentemente strumentali,
che sembrano finali, code, appendici, di altri composizioni, ancora da comporre.
Sono suite dalle quali trapela una spiritualita` figlia di quella hippie degli
anni '60. Volendo, piu` vicine alla new age che all'ambientale.
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Well Oiled (Drunken Fish, 1997), credited to Hash Jar Tempo, is a
collaboration between Montgomery and the
Bardo Pond. The long suite in seven
movements is a sample of a seventy-minute session which was improvised in
1995, and could well constitute the non plus ultra of instrumental psychedelic
rock.
Throughout the first movement (13 minuts) the guitars howl galactic one
against the other, taking turns in the delirium tremens, while the drums
keeps a martial beat. In the third movement (13 minutes) the guitars, without
drums, wail languid tonal chords and croak piercing distortions, ultimately
achieving a loud synchronized pace in the style of
Glenn Branca's symphonies. In the fourth movement (11 minutes), instead,
it is rhythm that rules: driving, pounding, fired by hammering guitar hypnoses
a' la Sister Ray. The fifth movement (14 minutes) is a long flight
of the guitar distortions, soaring in exhausting drones, tickings and nebulas.
Movement number 6 (18 minutes) is another stirring dance, spelled
by guitars and percussionsin full accord, and number 7 crowns this
monumental work with a short but solemn hymn of apocalyptic distortions.
This album is truly a summa of psychedelic rock of all times, a summa of
the Velvet Underground, the Pink Floyd, the Doors, the Hawkwind, the Red
Crayola and so forth.
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Well Oiled (Drunken Fish, 1997), accreditato agli Hash Jar Tempo, e` una
collaborazione fra Montgomery e i
Bardo Pond. La sterminata suite in sette
movimenti e` un estratto di una sessione di settanta minuti improvvisata nel
1995, e potrebbe costituire il non plus ultra del rock strumentale psichedelico.
Nel primo movimento (13 minuti) le chitarre gridano spaziali una addosso all'altra,
alternandosi al delirio, mentre la batteria mantiene un passo marziale,
Nel terzo (13 minuti)
le chitarre, senza la batteria, emettono languidi accordi tonali
e gracidano lancinanti distorsioni, fino a pervenire a un'assordante scansione
all'unisono nello stile delle sinfonie di Glenn Branca.
Nel quarto (11 minuti)
e` invece il ritmo a dominare, incalzante, travolgente, alimentato da
martellanti ipnosi alla Sister Ray delle chitarre.
Il quinto (14 minuti) e` un lungo volo delle distorsioni chitarristiche,
protese in droni, ticchettii e nebulose estenuanti.
Il sesto (18 minuti)
e` un'altra danza trascinante, scandita da chitarre e percussioni all'unisono
E il settimo corona quest'opera monumentale con un breve ma solenne inno di
distorsioni apocalittiche.
Questo disco e` davvero un summa del rock psichedelico di tutti i tempi, un
summa di Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, Doors, Hawkwind, Red Crayola e
cosi` via.
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(Translated by Carol Teri)
At this point Montgomery made a return to his roots.
The EP Winter Songs (Roof Bolt, 1997) serves a bit like a overview of
his stylistic eclectic foray: the two instrumentals Dawn Fades Over Ocean and the madly percussive
Sister Clean (a tribute to the Velvet Underground's Sister Ray?)
are erudite post-modernist essays on other peoples' leitmotivs;
the other instrumental On The Road is a poem for frenzied fingerpicking,
like a John Fahey suite compressed in two minutes;
Strange Attractor and
Visions Of Emma are two psychoanalytic nightmares
sung in a prophetic tone.
The trio Harmony of The Spheres (Drunken Fish, 1997) contains a
facade of
Variations On A Theme By Sandy Bull.
With And Now The Rain Sounds Like Life Is Falling Down Through It
(Drunken Fish, 1998) Montgomery finally returns to the first person.
The album is surreal just as expected. Short moments of instrumentals (which
get more and more daring) are interspersed between the songs, with titles as
bizarre as they are enigmatic, the lyrics look more like prayers than
ballads, the arrangements are as frugal as they are brimming with emotion;
the melodies as elementary as they are cerebral, the record as a whole is so
moody and rarefied that it sounds more new-age music than rock. In Our Own
Time, the opening track, is an Arabic/Indian litany with a tumult of
rattling bells.
Kafka Was Correct, mere humming like a nasal drone with metallic
touches of the guitar, sinks into a Tibetan Monks trance. The liturgy
continues with Entertaining Mr Jones,
different in its antique fold ballad influence.
The instrumental pieces are a sort of separate record, as if there is one
Roy Montgomery,
composer of avant-guarde music, who is related to Roy Montgomery, the
songwriter.
Down From That Hill And Up To The Pond takes off on a flight in a
psychedelic and minimalist landscape of cyclical chords. (even simpler is
Catherine at Aldeburgh, a guitar solo).
The experimenter amuses himself with the understated and discordant chamber
music of The Small Sleeper.
The dramatic height of the record is A Little Soundtrack, overplayed
by a piercing sound artfully embedded in a gloomy piano melody. Ill At
Home dominates with its eleven minutes: the guitars simulate a martial
beat of drums, distorted murmurs fluctuate in the harmony, a filtered
singing babbles senseless phrases...truly Kafkaesque.
All the songs are enveloped in murmurs, in teeny sounds in the background
and in anguished stretches of sound. Above all, this is an album of
"absence", of things that are supposed to happen but don't (drums, voice,
harmony, apotheoses, chorus)
The singles E.N.D. (Drunken Fish, 1998) are two small gems:
Elegy for Nick Drake is a sturdy homage to his idol in the form of a
modest reggae and serene "hum"; Intertidal is a sing-song that
fluctuates in a cloud of hallucinogenic guitar effects.
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A quel punto Montgomery rientra in patria.
L'EP Winter Songs (Roof Bolt, 1997) funge un po' da summa dei suoi
eclettici excursus stilistici: gli strumentali Dawn Fades Over Ocean e
la follemente percussiva
Sister Clean (un tributo ai Velvet Underground di Sister Ray?)
sono due eruditi saggi postmoderni di rielaborazione di
temi altrui;
l'altro strumentale On The Road e` un poema per frenetico strimpellare, come una suite di John Fahey compressa in due minuti;
Strange Attractor e Visions Of Emma (i brani
cantati) sono due incubi psicanalitici
cantati in tono lugubre/profetico (il primo detonato da una distorsione
violentissima).
Il triplo
Harmony of The Spheres (Drunken Fish, 1997) contiene una facciata di
Variations On A Theme By Sandy Bull.
Con And Now The Rain Sounds Like Life Is Falling Down Through It
(Drunken Fish, 1998) Montgomery torna finalmente in prima persona.
Il disco e` surreale come ci si attendeva. Alle canzoni sono alternate
microscopici pezzi strumentali (che si fanno via via piu` ambiziosi), i titoli
sono tanto bizzarri quanto ermetici, i testi sembrano piu` preghiere che
ballate, gli arrangiamenti sono tanto spartani quanto colmi di effetti, le
melodie sono tanto elementari quanto cerebrali, il disco nel suo insieme e`
talmente atmosferico e rarefatto da sembrare piu` new age che rock.
In Our Own Time apre l'opera con una litania arabo/indiana in un tumulto
di sonagli.
Kafka Was Correct, canticchiata soltanto a droni nasali sui rintocchi
meccanici della chitarra, affonda nella trance dei monaci tibetani.
La liturgia continua con Entertaining Mr Jones,
questa volta improntata alle antiche ballate folk.
I brani strumentali fanno disco a parte, come se esistesse un Roy Montgomery
compositore di musica d'avanguardia
che e` soltanto parente del Roy Montgomery che scrive canzoni.
Down From That Hill And Up To The Pond spicca il volo in un paesaggio
psichedelico e minimalista di accordi ciclici
(ancor piu` elementare Catherine at Aldeburgh, per sola chitarra).
Lo sperimentatore si sfoga con la piccola musica da camera dissonante
di The Small Sleeper.
Apice drammatico del disco e` A Little Soundtrack, scandita da un rumore
lancinante e cullata in una melodia cupa di pianoforte.
Ill At Home troneggia con i suoi undici minuti: le chitarre simulano
un battito marziale di tamburi, droni distorti fluttuano nell'armonia, un
canto filtrato blatera frasi senza senso... Kafka, davvero.
Tutte sono avvolte in droni, in piccoli suoni di sottofondo, in fasce sonore
angoscianti. Questo e` un disco soprattutto di "assenze", di cose che
dovrebbero succedere e non succedono (batteria, canto, armonia, apoteosi,
ritornello).
Il singolo E.N.D. (Drunken Fish, 1998) comprende due piccole gemme:
Elegy for Nick Drake e` un'accorato requiem per il suo idolo in forma
di dimesso raga e di sereno "om";
Intertidal e` una cantilena che fluttua in una nuvola di effetti
allucinogeni di chitarra.
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Hash Jar Tempo, Roy Montgomery's collaboration with the Bardo Pond, returns
with Under Glass (Drunken Fish, 1999), a collection of seven long
instrumental jams. The experiment had been started with
Well Oiled (Drunken Fish, 1997).
The new work is even more experimental.
The harmonic roar and abysses of
Praludium Und Fugue D-Moll (ten minutes), its symphony of guitar drones
and glissandos spelled by martial drumming and drowned in an icy lake of
keyboards, mounted in a grand wall of organ chords, secrete a
compendium of Amon Duul, Hawkwind, Iron Butterfly and Red Crayola.
Labiomancy (nine minutes), instead, is a dense and chaotic collage of
harsh noises over which fluctuates a feeble female wail, a sort of
Sister Ray (Velvet Underground) in which the tempo in crescendo be
replaced by very dirty loops of keyboards and the role of the viola be
assigned to the guitar.
The album slowly delves into a liturgy of eastern spirituality.
On the slower and more organic molasses of
Sources In Cleveland fluctuates the horribly deformed tone of a
clarinet, bringing back to memory
Eric Dolphy's and Albert Ayler's free jazz.
A duet of mediterrenean melodies makes its way through
Hymenoptera In Amber Crybaby, one tinkled by a guitar and the other
croaked in a raga-like manner by another guitar.
Gravitational Lens Opera attunes a
sideral glissando of the guitars, accompanied by metallic percussions and
electronic fumes, ormai in piena trance trascendente.
Atropine (17 minutes) boasts the epic pace of the grand psychedelic
journeys.
In The Cells of Walken's Corti pays tribute to the King Crimson with
a solemn and majestic "acid" requiem which triumphally crowns the album.
(Note: the cover lists seven tracks, but the CD has only six tracks, as the
fifth contains both the fifth and the sixth tracks).
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Hash Jar Tempo, la collaborazione fra Roy Montgomery e i Bardo Pond, ritorna
con Under Glass (Drunken Fish, 1999), una raccolta di sette lunghe
jam strumentali. L'esperimento era stato varato due anni fa con
Well Oiled (Drunken Fish, 1997), una sessione di settanta minuti
improvvisata in studio. Il nuovo lavoro e` ancor piu` sperimentale
Il fragore e gli abissi armonici di Praludium Und Fugue D-Moll (dieci
minuti),
la sua sinfonia di droni e glissando chitarristici scanditi da un
drumming marziale e affogati in un lago glaciale di tastiere, incastonati
in un imponente muro di accordi d'organo, secernono
un concentrato di Amon Duul, Hawkwind, Iron Butterfly e Red Crayola.
Labiomancy (nove minuti) e` invece un denso e caotico collage di rumori
aspri su cui oscilla un flebile vagito femminile, una specie di
Sister Ray (Velvet Underground) in cui il ritmo in crescendo sia
sostituito da cicli sporchissimi di tastiere e il ruolo della viola venga
affidato alla chitarra.
Il disco s'immerge progressivamente in una liturgia di spiritualita` orientale.
Sulla melassa piu` lenta e organica di Sources In Cleveland fluttua
il timbro orrendamente deturpato di un clarinetto, riportando alla memoria
il free-jazz di Eric Dolphy e Albert Ayler.
In Hymenoptera In Amber Crybaby sembra farsi largo un duetto di melodie
mediterranea, la prima tintinnata da una chitarra e la seconda scorticata a mo'
di raga dall'altra chitarra.
Gravitational Lens Opera intona un
glissando siderale della chitarra accompagnato da percussioni metalliche e
da vapori elettronici, ormai in piena trance trascendente.
Atropine (diciassette minuti) ha il passo epico delle grandi imprese
psichedeliche.
In The Cells of Walken's Corti rende omaggio ai King Crimson
con un solenne e maestoso requiem "acido" che corona trionfalmente il disco.
(Nota: la copertina elenca sette brani, ma il CD ha soltanto sei tracce,
in quanto la quinta traccia contiene sia il quinto sia il sesto brano).
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Roy Montgomery, at the peak both of his inspiration and of his technical skills,
continues to put forth exceptional albums.
True (Kranky, 1999), music for the theatre composed and performed in
collaboration with Chris Heaphy, who had already contributed to
That That Is (Kranky, 1995), is a tonal kaleidoscope of arpeggios,
reverbs and free chords. The second part of
Virtually So, in a slow crescendo, builds castles and castles of
counterpoints and boleros, inspired by the most hypnotic minimalism,
overlapped to "galactic" drones and propelled by light melodic breezes.
The complexity and the elegance are Bach's.
Unfathomable is inspired by Ennio Morricone's atmospheres, with its
otherwordly twang and funereal tempos, even if the second version
(the ten minutes that close the album) is a merry-go-round of psychedelic
and cosmic sounds on a limping rhythm and a garage-surf organ.
Clouding Over instead focuses with dissonance, sampling and
rhythmic irregularities, albeit without sacrificing the narrative side.
Spurious crowns this person fusion of Durutti Column and Ry Cooder
with a romantic country-blues.
Montgomery's instrumental watercolors have the function of
adding a metaphysical and trascendental element to his intensely introspective
melodies.
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Roy Montgomery, al culmine tanto della sua ispirazione quanto della sua
sapienza tecnica, continua a sfornare opere d'eccezione.
True (Kranky, 1999), musica per il teatro composta ed eseguita in
collaborazione con Chris Heaphy, che gia` aveva contribuito a
That That Is (Kranky, 1995), e` un caleidoscopio tonale di arpeggi,
riverberi e accordi liberi.
La seconda parte di Virtually So, in lento crescendo, costruisce castelli
e castelli di contrappunti e boleri, ispirati al minimalismo piu` ipnotico ma
sovrapposti a droni "galattici" e sospinti da lievi brezze melodiche.
La complessita` e l'eleganza sono quelle di Bach.
Unfathomable si ispira alla atmosfere di Ennio Morricone, con quel twang
dell'aldila` e quei tempi funerei, anche se la seconda versione
(i dieci minutes alla fine del disco) e` una giostra di suoni psichedelici e
cosmici a ritmo zoppicante e con un organo da garage-surf degli anni '60.
Clouding Over si cimenta invece con le dissonanze, i campionamenti e
le fratture ritmiche, ma senza sacrificare l'aspetto narrativo.
Spurious corona questa personale fusione di Durutti Column e Ry Cooder
con un romantico country-blues.
Gli acquerelli strumentali di Montgomery hanno sempre avuto la funzione di
aggiungere un elemento metafisico e trascendente alle sue melodie intensamente
introspettive.
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324 E. 13th St #7 (Drunken Fish, 1999) collects 20 tracks that
originally appeared on hard to find singles or that never appeared at all.
Included are the two sides of the Shallows' 1985 single,
Suzanne Said and Trial By Separation, virtually impossible
to find, plus the six tracks of Long Night (Siltbreeze, 1996), plus
the singles Something Else Again/ Adrift (Roof Bolt, 1996),
Just Melancholy/ Used To (Ajax, 1996),
Strange Attractor/ On The Road (RoofBolt, 1996), and
Elegy for Nick Drake/ Intertidal (Drunken Fish, 1998).
In between the older tracks and the newer tracks, Montgomery launched his
major career of noise-maker with Dadamah, Dissolve, Hash Jar Tempo and his
two solo instrumental masterpieces Scenes From The South Island and
Temple IV. We think of Montgomery as a major composer who writes
ambitious side-long suites of abstract psychedelic music.
This anthology instead presents the "minor" Montgomery:
a humble singer songwriters who wails his angst and strums his guitar.
The music is as stark and austere as acoustic music can be. Not truly bleak,
but certainly not happy either. When transferred to the shorter medium of the
single or EP, the surreal textures of Montgomery's albums tend to dissolve
(no pun intended) in down-to-earth meditations.
There is no hint of Dissolve and Hash Jar Tempo.
This is a man alone in a room, singing
to himself, to a very deep part of himself, the way that
Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake used to do.
It is a welcome addition to the canon. Montgomery's soul opens up in a
way that would be impossible in his psychedelic tour de forces.
Stand outs like the hypnotic mantra of Just Melancholy and the
The tuneful country ballads Suzanne Said and
Trial By Separation may, at this point in time, matter only as
archeology, but the other 18 tracks offer a composite and disquieting
portrait of the artist as a young man.
Hard to resist the fascination of these songs:
the hypnotic mantra of Just Melancholy,
the simple requiem of Elegy for Nick Drake
in the form of subdued raga and serene "om",
the litany of Intertidal adrift in hallucinatory guitar effects,
the frenzied jingle-jangle of Something Else Again,
which sounds like a ragtime band on speed,
the majestic, transfixed prayer of German Sister, which employs
mournful keyboards a` la Nico, ...
The added bonus of the anthology are the four
previously unreleased tracks. Montgomery toys with the
zen stasis of Times Three (populated by ghostly background noises)
and his guitar jingle-jangles the refrain of Some Other Time like the
Byrds did in Feel A Whole Lot Better.
Fine Fine Fine offers more Indian-style chanting and chiming coupled
with Velvet Underground noise, and
In Your Wake indulges in frantic and intense interweaving of metallic
guitar tones.
By all means, an essential anthology.
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324 E. 13th St #7 (Drunken Fish, 1999) e` un'antologia che raccoglie
20 tracce apparse originariamente su singoli introvabili o mai apparse.
Sono incluse le due facciate del singolo degli Shallows, il secondo gruppo
di Montgomery, anno 1985
(Suzanne Said e Trial By Separation), di cui pochi avevano
mai ascoltato una nota. Ci sono le sei tracce dell'EP
Long Night (Siltbreeze, 1996), piu` i singoli
Something Else Again/ Adrift (Roof Bolt, 1996),
Just Melancholy/ Used To (Ajax, 1996),
Strange Attractor/ On The Road (RoofBolt, 1996), e
Elegy for Nick Drake/ Intertidal (Drunken Fish, 1998).
Fra le canzoni degli Shallows e le tracce registrate nel 1994/95,
Montgomery lancio` la sua carriera maggiore con
Dadamah, Dissolve, Hash Jar Tempo e i suoi due capolavori strumentali
(Scenes From The South Island e Temple IV).
Siamo abituati a considerare Montgomery un compositore "maggiore" che scrive
suite ambiziose di musica psichedelica astratta. Questa antologia presenta
invece il Montgomery "minore": un umile folksinger che lamenta la sua angoscia
e strimpella la sua chitarra. La musica e` austera e sincera come la musica
acustica puo` essere. Nel formato breve del singolo e dell'EP, le complesse
partiture cosmiche di Montgomery si dissolvono in meditazioni molto terrestri.
Questo e` un uomo solo in una stanza, che canta a se stesso, a una parte
molto profonda di se stesso, nel mondo in cui fecero
Leonard Cohen e Nick Drake.
Il suo animo si apre in una maniera che sarebbe impossibile durante i suoi
tour de force psichedelici.
Difficile resistere al fascino del mantra ipnotico di
Just Melancholy, al requiem in forma di raga e "om" di
Elegy for Nick Drake, alla litania alla deriva in effetti allucinati
di chitarra di Intertidal, al frenetico
jingle-jangle di Something Else Again,
alla maestosa preghiera di German Sister, un incrocio di Popol Vuh e Nico...
I quattro inediti non sono meno avvincenti.
Montgomery si trastulla con la stasi zen di
Times Three (popolata di rumori spettrali di sottofondo) e la
sua chitarra tintinna il ritornello di Some Other Time come i
Byrds in Feel A Whole Lot Better.
Fine Fine Fine indulge in cantilene e scampanellii indianeggianti
accoppiati a rumore Velvet Underground, e
In Your Wake indulge in un frenetico e intenso pigolio
di toni metallici della chitarra.
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Roy Montgomery's ambient psychedelia has bloomed over the course of several
Dissolve, Hash Jar Tempo and solo albums to achieve an almost transcendental quality.
The Allegory of Hearing (Drunken Fish, 2000) represents the culmination
of the program begun with Scenes From The South Island.
(Note: the track listings on the CD is wrong, as it omits one track).
Montgomery's unique style crafts mesmerizing textures that, while providing
a hypnotic base, never sink in drowsy drones and always maintain a rhythmic
element.
Also important is the contrast with the background, that provides the trance
factor to the harmony.
This method smells of Indian raga, even if the results may sound quite
different.
The melodic theme of Ex Cathedra is fractured into syncopated guitar
staccatos and the background in this case are the reverbs of the guitar tones.
The tinkling lines of As the Dali Lama Was Remarking I Believe imitate
the choking tones of eastern ballets, but their broken, disconnected nature
makes them the musical equivalent of Seurat's pointillism
(and the background is a spatial guitar tone that sounds like an entire
string section).
Rock Sea Muse Seek is an even more radical example of this
cubist technique because of a harshly percussive drive, while the background
is an overdubbed languid wail of guitar (like the beginning of Donovan's
Hurdy Gurdy).
An acid Farfisa flickers behind the insistent, pulsing pattern of
I Hear You Mocking (fifth track, not listed on the CD), that recalls
a spiraling sufi dance,
while Where the Belltower Once Stood is a playful execise in
counterpoint.
Each vignette gives Montgomery's raga a different spin.
Within each song, one can perceive both a static and a cinematic component,
both a floating and percussive manner.
They coexist and resonate. They are two different perspectives of the same
event, internal and external.
The album's tour de force is
the 17-minute, 7-movement suite Resolution Island Suite, that
initially recapitulates Montgomery's theory of transcendental musical harmony,
but then recasts that pounding/soaring dichotomy into a whirling minimilistic
pattern (reminiscent of Terry Riley's Rainbow In Curved Air), until
the repetition of tones exhausts the vibrant energy of the first strokes.
With little more than a home tape recorder and a guitar, Montgomery can
leave the world (and rest of rock music, in particular) way behind, and
journey towards new lands, that are both inside and outside, with a sound
that is trance and nostalgy, diary and adventure, hymn and game, haze and
mirage.
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La psichedelia ambientale di Roy Montgomery e` maturata
nel corso di album sia a suo nome sia a nome dei Dissolve
sia a nome degli Hash Jar Tempo in un'arte quasi trascendentale.
The Allegory of Hearing (Drunken Fish, 2000), in particolare,
rappresenta il culmine di un programma iniziato con la sua raccolta
impressionistica Scenes From The South Island.
(Nota: la lista dei brani riportata sul CD e` sbagliata
perche` omette un brano).
Lo stile di Montgomery cesella texture magiche, che creano una
base ipnotica ma senza mai sprofondare in droni soporiferi e senza mai
perdere l'elemento ritmico. Uno dei pilastri della sua armonia e` il
contrasto con il sottofondo, che e` responsabile del fattore di trance.
Il metodo assomiglia palesemente ai raga Indiani, ma i risultati sono
in realta` significativamente diversi.
Il tema melodico di Ex Cathedra viene fratturato in staccato di
chitarra sincopati e lo sfondo in questo caso e dati dai riverberi dei
toni di chitarra.
Le frasi tintinnati di
As the Dali Lama Was Remarking I Believe imitatano i toni strozzati
dei balletti orientali, ma la loro natura discreta, sconnessa, ne fa
l'equivalente musicale del puntillismo di Seurat (e il sottofondo questa
volta e` una chitarra spaziale che sembra un'intera sezione d'archi).
Rock Sea Muse Seek e` un esempio ancor piu` radicale di questa
tecnica cubista, per via di un'incalzante percussivita`, mentre lo sfondo
e` un vagito languido di chitarra (ispirato all'inizio di
Hurdy Gurdy di Donovan).
Un Farfisa acido brilla dietro il pattern pulsante, insistente, di
I Hear You Mocking (quinta traccia, non elencata sul CD), che sembra
una danza sufi a spirale, mentre
Where the Belltower Once Stood e` un gioco spigliato di contrappunto.
Ogni vignetta conferisce al raga di Montgomery una prospettiva diversa.
All'interno di ogni canzone, uno puo` percepire tanto una componente statica
quanto una componente dinamica, tanto una maniera fluttuante quanto una
maniera percussiva. Coesistono e risuonano.
Il tour de force dell'album e` una suite di
17 minuti in 7 movimenti, Resolution Island Suite, che al principio
ricapitola la teoria dell'armonia trascendentale di Montgomery, ma poi
trasforma la dicotomia ritmo/drone in un vortice minimalista
alla Rainbow In Curved Air di Terry Riley.
Armato di poco piu` che un registratore casalingo e una chitarra, Montgomery
si e` lasciato il resto della musica rock alle spalle e veleggia verso
nuovi territori con un sound che e` trance e nostalgia, diario e avventura,
inno e gioco, nebbia e miraggio.
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Roy Montgomery's mission in trance continues with
Silver Wheel Of Prayer (VHF, 2001).
Each of the seven titles is associated with a geometric pattern, each pattern
projecting out from a center towards a circumference.
It is not surprising, therefore, that For The Imperiled
resembles the sonic equivalent of a stately mandala.
Its iterative melody transitions to For The Disoriented, where a
liturgic organ envelops it in shooting stars, and then to
For The Mortified, where it is bombarded by clusters of dark electronic
drones a` la Gordon Mumma.
Minimalistic repetition is used to maximum effects.
For The Dispossessed unleashes a distorted guitar riff that exudes anger,
and merely repeats slight variations of it.
A Suicide psycho-beat propels the frightening
charge of For The Intense. The intricate pattern of this piece recalls
Terry Riley's Persian Surgery Dervishes on heroin.
The 16-minute For A Small Blue Orb belongs to Montgomery's most classical
style (and ranks with his best).
The piece relies on the trancey combination of guitar strumming and
keyboard drones. For about six minutes the pattern is fairly stable, but then
the structure begins to dilate, elements flow in and out. The sound gets
harder, louder, faster.
This is as close as Montgomery ever got to composing a symphony of
Beethoven-ian proportions.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Walter Romano)
La missione di Roy Montgomery continua con Silver Wheel Of Prayer (2001). Ognuno dei sette pezzi è associato a un modello geometrico, ogni modello si proietta dal centro alla circonferenza. Non è una sorpresa, dunque, che For The Imperiled sia come l’equivalente sonico di un maestoso mandala. La sua melodia itinerante ci porta poi a For The Disoriented, in cui un organo liturgico la circonda di stelle cadenti, e poi a For The Mortified, dove è come bombardata da monotonie elettroniche alla Gordon Mumma.
La ripetitività minimalista è dilatata ai massimi termini. For The Dispossessed scatena un riff dui chitarra distorta che trasuda rabbia, e si limita a variare sul tema. Un psycho-beat alla Suicide sospinge la carica spaventosa di For The Intense. L’intricata trama di questo pezzo richiama Persian Surgery Dervishes di Terry Riley sull’eroina.
I 16 minuti di For A Small Blue Orb appartengono allo stile più classico di Montgomery (e il pezzo è uno dei suoi migliori). E’ una combinazione di strimpelli chitarristici e toni monotoni di tastiera. Per circa sei minuti è stabile, poi la struttura inizia a dilatarsi, gli elementi fluiscono dentro e fuori. Il suono si fa più duro, più forte, più veloce.
Montgomery non è mai stato così vicino a comporre una sinfonia di proporzioni Beethoveniane.
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The double-CD Inroads (Rebis, 2007) collects old and new Montgomery guitar compositions.
Torlesse Super Group (Rebis, 2011),
recorded between 2004 and 2007,
was a collaboration with Nick Guy that toyed with
trip-hop and glitch music, highlighted by the
rhythmic and guitar-less 16-minute Erewhon Sentinel.
The split LP Russell/Montgomery (Grapefruit, 2012) delivered Montgomery's Tarkovsky Tone Poem (1994) and Bruce Russell' Mistah Chilton He Dead (1999).
The split LP Montgomery/ Grouper (Grouper Records, 2010) with Liz Harris of Grouper contains Montgomery's
Fantasia On A Theme By Sandy Bull (Slight Return), a revision of the
piece contained in Harmony of The Spheres.
Roy Montgomery's first solo album in a decade, Music From The Film Hey Badfinger (Yellow Electric, 2012), contains 23 brief guitar solos inspired by Badfinger.
It does not even remotely match the intensity and the poetry of his best work.
For unknown reasons Montgomery decided to limit each piece to a few seconds,
not enough to develop a concept, and to play the guitar in a quivering petulant
tone. The guitar is mostly used as a melodic instrument, with little of the
rhythmic and polyphonic subtleties of the past.
If he had played them slower and in a more archaic register, many of these
vignettes would be at least haunting and romantic; but the very concept of
a collection of unfinished catchy "songs" is hard to swallow to start with.
To be played at half speed.
Montgormery then released a four-disc set, known as RMHQ (Grapefruit, 2016).
His singing can be heard only in the eight songs of R: Tropic Of Anodyne (for a total of 43 minutes).
The gently lulling Tropic Of Anodyne has the quality of a fairy tale.
The brooding Dear Future Loser sits halfway between
Leonard Cohen's gothic and
Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven.
The slow, stoned I Was A Distant Star sounds like
Syd Barrett in a trance.
The agonizing
As The Sun Sets sounds like a sleepy Roger Waters.
The guitar accompaniment to these songs is quite trivial for someone with his
accomplishments.
The instrumental
M: Darkmotif Dancehal (for a total of 44 minutes)
is a much more interesting beast, starting with
the raging flames of the brief overture, Rough Take-Off,
Hypnotic repetitive pattern glide over sinister drones
in 10538 Overdrive.
Dazed Pig Dreamhome Slide begins like a slow zombie march over a reverbed beat but then the guitar intones a rousing melody against a backdrop of ghostly howling.
The pounding Six Guitar Salute To Peter Gutteridge sounds like an instrumental cover of a Velvet Underground song done by Neu (or vicevera).
The limitation of these pieces is, of course, each simply repeats a pattern
over and over, with minimal variations. There is no sense of narrative.
The extroverted Slow Heroes is the only one that seems to "sing" a melody and build up some momentum.
H: Bender is the cinematic disc (for a total of 43 minutes).
The solemn twanging tones of Ten Beers With Five Bears At Two Guns, Arizona evoke Ennio Morricone's western-movie soundtracks, while And Later We Looked Up At The Stars has a similar feeling but attacked by a relentless cosmic buzz.
Pipeline would fit a psychedelic thriller, and
Another David Lynch Thanks No Ice is a majestic transcendental "om"
while Chasing Monica Vitti emanates funereal angst
This disc ends with the lively, pounding
Cocktails With Can, that sounds like a tribute to
Neu, not Can.
Each piece is constructed via the unwinding of pulsing patterns that then
go on to repeat themselves with minimal variations.
The fourth disc, Q: Transient Global Amnesia
contains the most daring experiments.
The driving, eleven-minute Riding sounds like a folk dance of the
steppes (possibly the four disc's standout composition).
The brief Unshore achieves the highest concentration of gothic suspense.
The 20-minute Weathering Mortality stages a crescendo of hysteria with
Emma Johnston's voice buried in the background.
Unfortunately, this longer piece displays, more than the shorter ones,
the limitations of repetition and limited development.
Montgomery partnered with seven different female vocalists for the six songs of
Suffuse (Grapefruit, 2018):
Haley Fohr (Circuit des Yeux) unleashes her operatic howl over a loud dense soundscape of strumming in Apparition;
Jessica Larrabee (She Keeps Bees) whispers detached and aloof
in the psychedelic space of Rain Bird;
Katie von Schleicher (Wilder Maker) slowly unwinds her yarn
amid the reverbed tones and echoes of Outsider Love Ballad No 1;
possibly the standout;
the Purple Pilgrims (sisters Clementine and Valentine Nixon)
erect a solemn prayer in the wavering wavering tinkling of Mirage;
Julianna Barwick releases her feathery wordless
chant in the dreamy pastoral soundscape of Sigma Octantis;
and Liz Harris (Grouper)
decorates with her cosmic lament the pulsing vision of Landfall.
Not a bad album, but clearly it lacks a cohesive center.
It is debatable whether vocals add to or detract from Montgomery's music.
Refuse (2018) contains seven leftovers from the Suffuse sessions.
The single Day Of The Lords (2018) is a cover of the Joy Division song.
Roy Montgomery played all the instruments on After Nietzsche (Aguirre, 2019), accompanied by vocalist Emma Johnston (who sang in the Celtic-rock band Rock Salt & Nails).
The most regular song, Fall Rise, sounds like an outtake from a
Kate Bush album.
Johnston does a lot better with the ethereal seven-minute elegy Realm Of The Senses (to which Montgomery adds only a repeating staccato and a background drone).
The ten-minute After Nietzsche begins with majestic overlapping drones to which the singer responds with wordless operatic laments, while the drones slowly assume the quality of a male choir
She sings a real song in
the 21-minute And Fuck This Eternal Recurrence, Nietzsche over
cyclical rhythmic pattern, her voice split in two gentle parallel currents.
Ten minutes into the song, as the rhythm acquires a cosmic quality, Montgomery
takes over the singing and his sinister tone pushes the song into tribal
horror territory. The song then continues wordless as an endless gothic dance.
The single Last Year's Man / After Vermeer (2019) is a cover of the Leonard Cohen song back with a collaboration with violinist Jessica Moss.
In 2021 he released four albums:
Island Of Lost Souls (Grapefruit, 2021), that contains
the 22-minute The Electric Children Of Hildegard Von Bingen,
That Best Forgotten Work (2021), presumably a collection of leftovers
and rarities,
Rhymes of Chance (2021), which collects instrumentals, songs performed by him and songs performed by Emma Johnston,
and Audiotherapy (2022), a collection of leftovers and rarities,
ranging from the spoken-word piece Occlusione to the instrumental
Audiomemory.
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