Dutch webzine NIEUWE NOTEN just reviewed PIERRE GERARD’ PIECES OF APPARATUS. Read the lovely review here below. The album is still available from us directly or through our bandcamp site.

“De Belgische gitarist Pierre Gerard opereert in de luwte. Weliswaar heeft hij inmiddels een vrij uitgebreide discografie bij elkaar gesprokkeld, maar daar zitten veel uitgaves in eigen beheer bij en op kleine labels. Ik kwam hem twee jaar geleden op het spoor, toen verscheen bij Edition Wandelweiser ‘Soleil Clandestin’ dat hij maakte met Bruno Duplant. Onlangs verschenen er twee nieuwe albums vrijwel tegelijkertijd op mijn pad. Bij Dirk Serries’ A New Wave of Jazz verscheen ‘Pieces of Apparatus’ en bij Edition Wandelweiser zag ‘Imprévu Visible Inversé’ het licht. Een goede reden om weer eens aandacht te besteden aan deze veelzijdige musicus en zijn werk meer bekendheid te geven.

Ik noem Gerard nu wel gitarist maar eigenlijk is dat niet geheel terecht. Hij is veeleer een klankkunstenaar die daar soms een gitaar bij gebruikt, maar regelmatig ook andere instrumenten inzet. Het gaat met andere woorden veel meer om de klank en wat die teweeg brengt dan om het instrument.  In de vijf stukken waar ‘Pieces of Apparatus’ uit bestaat valt dan ook niets te ontdekken als het gaat om klassieke structuren. Er is geen harmonie, geen melodie, geen ritme, louter een constellatie aan losse aanslagen, omgeven door stiltes, of zoals Gerard zijn werkwijze zelf omschrijft op zijn website: “over time i could describe this research more intuitive than minimalist”. Ik zie het hem zo doen, licht voorovergebogen, zoekend naar de juiste klanken op zijn akoestische gitaar en voor Gerard zal er ongetwijfeld samenhang in zitten, maar ik kan het niet ontdekken. Een bijzonder abstracte klankwereld dus en het valt te prijzen dat Serries het aandurft om dit kunststuk op Cd uit te brengen. Het past prima bij de nieuw ingeslagen weg, maar een verkoopsucces zal dit niet worden. En toch valt hier voor de geoefende luisteraar die graag het experiment aangaat genoeg te genieten. Met louter een akoestische gitaar weet hij hier zeker te boeien. En net als bij abstracte poëzie, daar heeft zijn werk wel iets van weg, werkt ook Gerard met geïsoleerde klanken omgeven door stiltes, aan galm lijkt de man een hekel te hebben, nog voor hier sprake van kan zijn stopt hij de klank al af.” Nieuwe Noten – NL

On this Thursday this exciting new trio of RODRIGO AMADO (tenor sax), ANDREW LISLE (drums) and DIRK SERRIES (guitar) hit the Lowlands with four concerts before they are entering the SUNNY SIDE INC. studio to record an album. Unfortunately, the covid pandemic is swinging full force again and covers this anticipated tour in some darkness and unpleasantness. The concerts are still scheduled to happen but make sure to update yourself on the current situation (where covidsafe passes and tests are obligated), locally and nationally, and please stay at home when you’re sick. Thank you.

MUSIQUE MACHINE wrote a nice 3 out of 5 stars review on ALAN WILKINSON & DIRK SERRIES’ duo album, we released early this year. “the pair creating something that feels like a mix between sassy jazziness, jumping ‘n’ jarring funk”
The album is still available here and here.

From May this year, One In The Eye is a double CD/ digital download bringing together Alan Wilkinson and Dirk Serries for selection jagged, moody, to-playful improv. The set features one disc taking in eight tracks, and a second disc features two longer work-out.

The first disc opens with the nearing six minutes of “Upshot”- here we find Serries jagging ‘n’ jerking strums weaved with Wilkinson energetic and at points quite seared sax work- this works as a nicely urgent and shifting opener for the release, throwing you straight into the releases bounding improv heart. By “Hobson’s Choice” we find three and a half minutes of slowly hissing and fluting horn work and slicing ‘n’ sliding neck work- it starts out quite moody and up close, before nicely shifting into darting manic-ness with the pair wonderful bouncing off each other. 
By track number eight we have the nearing nine minutes of “Hand Over Fist” it opens with a blend of expressive and playful horn playing, which is undercut by Serries jerking, picking, and manically sturming guitar work. As we get deeper into the track Wilkinson playing gets more rapid, sheared, and noisy- though he often nods back to the tracks more playful, almost smoky beginnings. With the disc been topped off with the just shy of nine-minute “Pull The Other One”- which’s blends bassy droning, pained to manic vocalising- with spaced ‘n’ darting strums, and warbling to darkly sensual horn work- making for a surprising, and disarming end to the first disc

Moving over to the second disc- and first, we have “HYG 1”, which comes in at the nineteen and a half minute mark. It opens with a blend of playful piping horn work, which is joined by slapping, darting, and scurrying guitar tones.  As we move along we come to blends of scrapping to rapidly fiddling neck action and wayward honks, the occasional manic vocalizing moment, and more chattering-to-baying horn work that’s undercutter by jumping ‘n’ jarring guitar tones.  Finally, we have “HYG2”- this runs at a slightly shorter around the thirteen-minute mark. It opens with a selection of warbling ‘n’ baying horn tones, which have subtle addition of mid-to-high pitch string drags. As it moves on the balance between guitar and horn even out, with the pair creating something that feels like a mix between sassy jazziness, jumping ‘n’ jarring funk, with a slight jagged blues undercurrent- with more manic vocal ticks and darts coming into play later in the track’s runtime

One In The Eye is a most eventful, at points unpredictable trip into the improv form. If you see the New Wave of Jazz tag, you know you’re always going to get rewarding and daring work, and this double-disc release is most certainly both of those…here’s hoping there is a new batch of releases from the label soon!

Next week this new trio of RODRIGO AMADO (sax), ANDREW LISLE (drums) and DIRK SERRIES (guitar) will hit the road for 4 consecutive concerts in The Netherlands and Belgium, ending in a studio session at our beloved SUNNY SIDE INC. Studio in Anderlecht (Belgium). Links to each venue here below.

18/11/21 – De Ruimte (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
19/11/21 – De Singer (Rijkevorsel, Belgium)
20/11/21 – Jazzblazzt (Neeritter, The Netherlands)
21/11/21 – Het Bruggenhuis (Geraardsbergen, Belgium)

Squidco’s The Squid’s Ear review section just published this fine review of ARVIND GANGA & RICCARDO MAROGNA’s BALLADS FROM THE WRECKED SHIP. Read it here. The album is still available from our store or through our bandcamp.

“A captivating collection of duo improvisations for electric guitar and objects, reeds and electronics. As with much great free music, it’s often hard to tell exactly what’s going on here, as these gentlemen are adept at creating their own little sonic world. There is much adherence to drones, which stand like detailed walls with occasional framing showing through.

The opener, “Oed’ und leer das Meer”, begins with small quick scrabbling before slipping into a chordal drone, out of which grow short melodic lines. Another drone then manifests out of this and grows slowly more insistent until it starts to fracture, leaving a hollow sheen. More electronics are in evidence during “Chozodia”, with its stop and start, loud/soft modus. Tickletickle BAM. “The Limp Leaves Waited For Rain…” sounds for all the world like a warped jazz record with near-inaudible cracklings underneath, before morphing into a low drone with changing overtones. For brief moments a tonal center is suggested, pretty chords passing like mile-markers with the whole enterprise gathering momentum until it aches. “Phantoon” has gorgeous tumbling bristles with rushing air and slight metallic overburden, hissing static and oh-so-slight flinty string ringing. Repeated banging intrudes with much pithy comment from outside.

Though these pieces do occasionally remind me of other improv records I’ve known and loved, I can’t think of anything I can readily compare them to as a whole. A quote in the liner notes here alludes to how lazily the term “abstract” is lobbed at art or music, when in fact this work is nothing of the sort. This music is the result of very concrete practices, brought lovingly into focus.”