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Trois Expatriates - Conspiracy Weary

SKU NXU 2011
Warren Dale is a keyboardist and woodwind man who has been a member of both French TV and Trap. His work with those ensembles will give you an idea of some of what this album with his new band is about, as this is a solid avant-progressive styled instrumental release with some similarities to French TV, but with much more emphasis on reeds and keyboards. As he says below, "the music on their release 'Conspiracy Weary' shares many of the same elements as their best work with French TV and Trap but in a more condensed/compressed form." Solid from beginning to end and solidly recommended!

"Reunited ten years after the French TV 7 CD and tour, Chris Vincent (drums, percussion), Chris Smith (guitars, violin, viola, bass, mandolin, other strings), and Warren Dale (keys, accordion, tuned percussion, saxes, clarinets, various winds) have formed a new trio 'Trois Expatriates'. The music on their release 'Conspiracy Weary' shares many of the same elements as their best work with French TV and Trap but in a more condensed/compressed form. The 17 tracks average only 3 minutes in length yet each still abound with twists, shifts and structural complexity. While the music is difficult to categorize, what the band excels in is the integration and careful blending of divergent musical gestures (from dense counterpoint to delicate acoustic to brash 'rock') all juxtaposed within each track. These include nods to not only Progrock artists (Zappa, Gentle Giant, National Health, Anthony Phillips, King Crimson, Happy the Man, Samlas Mammas Manna, Ensemble Nimbus,...) but also winks at other artists from Harry Partch to Funkadelic – imagine Bob Marley's band playing in 7/4, or Bela Bartok composing for a troupe of gypsies. All this is done utilizing a large collection of electric, acoustic and unconventional instruments providing a plethora of colorful timbres, and splashes of processed sounds. All this said, there still manages to be a thread of integrity in the structure of this music - guided by the drive to disguise repetition using thematic and rhythmic manipulation, harmonic modulation, and metric variety - that fans of more challenging avant-rock music will appreciate."



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  • LabelNXU
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