Astounding: Stammering syllabels uttered by an aluminum spoon orchestra with lingual titubation.
Jair-Röhm Parker Wells’ mighty “AMDG” was a collossal and colourful work, which seemed to tap the potential of its defining parameters to the full and nevertheless could still have gone on after the last note had died down. Now, in a sense, it has. The Wild-West pseudonym of „3banditos“ delicately covers up the name of Wells and two of his spiritual compatriots:,Tobias Schmitt and Tommi Bucalic, both hailing from Frankfurt, Germany. Their spontaneous trialogues on “sympathy for the donkey” not only rely on the same instrumentation as well as on improvisation as the main creative mode, but also result in quite astoundingly similar structures – a remarkable achievement considering the unique status “AMDG” has in my record collection.
The easiest explanation would naturally be to award Jair-Röhm the status of the pivotal force behind the new album. That, however, would be an overly simplifying conclusion, led by the wrong assumption that the end result of an artistic process must, of necessity, tell us something about its genesis – a train of thought championed even by experienced music journalist, which unfortunately does not make it any better. In fact, in this particular case, the jazzy bass lines and tender touches of fender rhodes keys played with mufflers come courtesy of Bucalic and it is therefore him, if anyone at all, who put his stamp on the record. It is the surprising and unexpected moments that a sustained seventh comes in or a soulfully streetwise lick runs through the brushwood of criss-crossing effects, spluttering and stammering syllabels uttered by an aluminum spoon orchestra with lingual titubation as well as fields of delay and supercollider breakdowns. Bukalic seems to bring order to the creative process, while his fellows take their electronic devices into a mode of permanent errors. Naturally, that, too, is a misconception.
The 3banditos were born on stage, as a live project which saw the physical/digital medium as a mere opportunity for communicating with those unable to attend a concert in person. Even though “sympathy for the donkey” was recorded in a studio, this must be attributed to the forces of chance rather than a cognitive plan or a subliminal message, and at its core lie no abstractions (as its sound material may suggest), but a continuing fascination for the possibilities of the jam: You can hear the fun that has gone into this record, the playful interaction between the actors and the way they wander through fields of incoherence in search for that one note which will suddenly bind everything together. On many occasions, they find it with astounding precision.
Much more than on “AMDG”, which came across more as a “fixed” opus, this album invites the listener to enjoy the process of converging and diverging, of feeling one’s way towards someone else, who in turn may be feeling his way towards something entirely different. Naturally, this may be confusing at times, especially since there are no liner notes to tell us about the individual motivations and possible agreements between the musicians at the outset. That, on the other hand, will only make you look deeper into the heart of “sympathy for the donkey”, tracing all of the intricate details which turn it into something entirely it’s own, instead of a mere copy.
INTRO MAGAZINE
Vielleicht sind die drei Banditos ein Gegenentwurf zu den drei Amigos Steve Martin, Chevy Chase und Martin Short, die in einem der schlechteren John-Landis-Filme durch Mexiko stolpern. Raum für solch haarsträubende Assoziationen lässt ihre Musik auf jeden Fall. Nur als eins vermag sie in all ihrer Offenheit dann doch nicht zu dienen: als Soundtrack zu einem Film, der – so schreibt es der abgedroschene Textbaustein vor – noch gedreht werden muss. Denn hier wird nicht einfach so in langsam aufeinanderfolgenden Moll-Harmonien geschwelgt, hier schichtet sich auch nichts zu pathetischen Krach-Kaskaden auf, wie es bei Instrumentalmusik so gern gemacht wird. 3Banditos gehen feiner zu Werke.
“Sympathy For The Donkey” ist eine Ambientplatte, ohne dass von vornherein festgelegt wäre, um welches Ambiente es sich handeln würde. Das liegt einerseits an den stilistisch weit auseinanderliegenden Stücken, andererseits daran, dass sich die Stücke als solche in steter Veränderung befinden. Es gibt kaum Wiederholungen, eine Stimmung fließt in die andere. Wo eben noch das Zirpen des Rechners eine abendliche Sommerwiese vor dem inneren Auge hat entstehen lassen, tanzen plötzlich Roboter in Formation bei der Eröffnung der Fußball-WM 2070. Die Musik hat den Raum für all das.
Die drei Musiker, Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, Tobias Schmitt und Tomislav Bucalic, sind sich eher zufällig über den Weg gelaufen und einfach mal miteinander ins Studio gegangen. Dabei haben sie dann alle Sounds eingespielt, die ihnen gerade eingefallen sind. Ob Bass, Schlagzeug, Rhodes oder Laptop – alles geht, sollte jedoch am liebsten nicht mehr erkennbar sein. Diese entspannte Arbeitsweise hat sicher geholfen, dem Album seine schöne, freie Form zu geben.
We started in 2006. Mostly our music is experimental in nature, which draws its influences from many genres. Sound art in
general. Rather, we set ourselves the goal of releasing interesting music. This can also strike across the board and not be so catchy. That is exactly what defines an acoustic art work. You should give it time to develop. Discover new things in sound. That's what we stand for....more
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