TIP OF THE TONGUE 07 MARCH 2010
Part Wild Horses Mane On Both Sides
All Cows Are Sacred
House Of Alchemy No Cat
Art Edition CD-R
OUT OF STOCK!
The duo of Pascal Nichols and Kelly Jones continue their world-beating run of flawlessly executed free jazz ritual with this beautiful set, released in a hand-numbered edition of 123 copies with full-colour artwork fixed to a thick block of wood and with a cloth pouch for the disc. All Cows Are Sacred features two tracks that showcase some of the duo’s heaviest playing. The first track has a particularly aggressive feel, with feedback tones, smears of breath and harsh cymbal sonorities turning the air to slashing steel ribbons and building towards the kind of epiphanies of klang more associated with Chie Mukai’s solo work or a heavy metal Sean Meehan. The contrast between the players on the first track is particularly electric, with Nichols playing it caveman, just thugging out on the drums, while Jones floats zoned devotional motifs from east to west with heart-fluttering delicacy. Nichols makes great use of the throat microphone, sounding like Hassan-i Sabbah himself, and the second track opens up with the sound of the duo teleporting into a nebulous zone of slow motion breath, unravelling melodies into ancient devotional atmospheres. Can’t think of a comparable run of releases that has been so uniformly flattening and this is another major instalment. Bear in mind that postage will be a little more on this one than a single CD due to weight. Highly recommended.
