Black Forest Black Sea - Radiant Symmetry
(Last Visible Dog)
After a recent Black Forest/Black Sea set at the Montague Bookmill, I was speaking to Jeffrey Alexander about the band's recent four and a half month European tour. He said it was the kind of opportunity that only came up once in a great while and how both he and Miriam Goldberg were glad to be at a juncture in their lives where they were able to do it. Radiant Symmetry is the document of that tour and if it is any indicator, the tour was as rare a treat as the opportunity it represented.
The disc consists of improvisations recorded during the first few months of 2004 at various venues across Europe. Impeccably sequenced and mastered, it is sometimes nearly impossible to discern the transitions between tracks, never mind the months that can separate their recording. Lengthy passages run headlong into miniature sketches without one questioning the logic of this juxtaposition. The disc is best taken as a whole; an idealized, composite performance.
The other aspect that makes this release essential is the presence of guest musicians on nearly every track. These guests expand the sonic palette and continually astonish with their nuanced contributions. It is a testament to the elasticity of Black Forest/Black Sea's music that they can just as easily find sympathetic collaborators in Tampere, Finland as they can in Bologna, Italy. The whole package is completed by Alexander's sublime artwork that blurs the boundaries between flora and fauna through intricately constructed anatomies.
The foundation of the disc is Alexander's buzzing, moaning, and quivering guitar melding effortlessly into Goldberg's arcing and scraping cello lines. For all the simplicity of the instrumentation, there is nothing faintly austere about the music; on the contrary, it exudes a sensual joy. When heard in isolation, the pair intertwines so completely that melodies are passed between instruments like spectral dancers exchanging the lead in midair.
There are standout tracks of course. A couple of tracks feature the demented genius of Jan Anderzen (the "public face" of Kemialliset Ystavat) and cohorts. Together they churn out music box melodies stutteringly propelled by a child's fidgety hand. As fractured as these tracks might have been if taken in isolation, their brief appearance grounds the heavenly improvisations with an earthy grace. The final track is a sublime raga augmented by Goldberg's wistful vocalizations that brings the ideal evening to a gentle close. In fact, this last track would not be out of place on a Pelt record, and it leaves me wishing one of Black Forest/Black Sea's next projects was a US tour playing with "friends" in each city. Certainly there are plenty of candidates to join the party.
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