Gareth Davis & Machinefabriek
1. Self Same
2. Klangs That You Are
3. Funny V
4. Action Take
5. Grounded
cd/dl/stream on Sublime Retreat, May 2022
Order here
Standards (of Sorts) takes the most simple idea of the Jazz Standard, of improvising on a given theme, and puts this in a new perspective.
Using both 'standards' and how we can 'misremember' as starting concepts, rather than dive into the Great American Songbook, Gareth Davis and Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek) chose to use pieces of contemporary classical music as the material for their point of departure.
Tiny fragments of a few notes, sometimes misremembered, from various works, became the starting sounds to create something new. Five new pieces that explore not the idea of taking a theme and making a variation but rather remembering an idea and creating something out of that memory.
Reviews
Foxy Digitalis
Rutger Zuydervelt’s Machinefabriek continues to evolve and expand into new, compelling spaces, and the ongoing collaboration with clarinetist Gareth Davis is one of my favorite avenues of his work. Davis is incredible, and his ability to fuse inquisitive technique and emotive timbres pairs fantastically with Zuydervelt’s expansive electronics. From quiet introspection and specious minimalism to full-on drone skree, Standards breaks down our ideas of what we think we know and constructs new, improvised flares. Textural passages hint at hidden details below the surface where sonic liminality glimmers in full bloom. Standards is tremendous.
Vital Weekly
Rutger Zuydervelt, aka Machinefabriek (electronics) and Gareth Davis (clarinet, bass clarinet), had a long time ago a concise record in which they played two jazz standards, 'My Funny Valentine' and 'Oh Doctor Jesus' (see Vital Weekly 789). These were not easily recognized. For their latest work, they didn't choose standards from the world of jazz but contemporary classical music. The five pieces, Self Same', 'Klangs That You Are', 'Funny V', 'Action Take' and 'Grounded', did not indicate which pieces we are talking about here; but, hey, I am no expert. I reviewed various works from them as a duo, and it seems to me that Davis's improviser is contagious for Machinefabriek. We don't hear him often in a more improvised mood than here. There is quite a bit of electronics at work here, I believe, from both players, and with Machinefabriek doing the majority. I don't know if that is the case, but I can imagine that he also does some real-time processing of Davis' clarinet playing. I couldn't recognize any familiarity with modern classical music. Still, the cover says 'everything is remembered badly', so the players here do not exactly remember how a particular piece should be played. I quite enjoyed the music here. There is a sort of electro-acoustic vibe within the music, of acoustic sounds, loops of saxophone playing, and obscured electronics. Only occasionally, it leans a bit too much towards the world of improvisation, and it seems to be less for me, but within the context that this music is made, I can understand their choices. The strangest piece is 'Action Take', which uses a simple, yet effective rhythm loop to accompany the music. Slow but steady, it ticks away time, and while odd, it is certainly not out of place. It surely makes up for a nicely varied disc of music.
