By Fotis Nikolakopoulos
A whole bunch of great releases came out from the vaults of Confront this
year (have you checked the Derek Bailey/Simon H.Fell vinyl by the way?) but
this one stands out a bit more and goes straight on my best of list for
2024.
Kyle Motl is a double bassist that I really enjoy listening to. The
dynamics of his playing are always grasping my attention. He is always
energetic but low key at the same time. He rarely follows the path of just
being the rhythm section in a jazz or non-jazz attempt, but he, also, does
not like to be a “soloist”. I’m not very familiar with percussionist Nathan
Hubbard, but after Obsidian, I must pay closer attention to what he is doing.
The double bass-drums collaboration can be, by the very nature of the
instruments, a solid heavy affair. It must be extremely demanding to present
such a flexible and liquid version of the traditional jazz rhythm section.
On all four tracks of Obsidian, clocking just under forty minutes, both
players present a different, alternative could be, version of the drum and
bass duo. Their interplay is very kinetic, full of energy. They fill the
room, the audio space, with ideas that tend to use minimal sounds for their
instruments. What I mean with minimal is that they don’t stick with one
idea and go on with it, but their fresh approach jumps right away to
another one. Both instruments collide and develop a shared language that,
at some points, make the sounds they produce inseparable.
Obsidian is joyful, balanced (and that needs hard work) improvisational
music that needs to be heard and stays on my list of the best releases for
2024. The minimal approach, typical for the label, of the CD’s artwork is an
extra delight for my taste.
Listen here:
@koultouranafigo