K-Space is a unique trio, an experience truly one-of-a-kind. {$Tim Hodgkinson} (alto sax, clarinet, lap steel guitar, electronics) has been one of the pillars of avant-garde England since his membership in the seminal group {$Henry Cow}. {$Ken Hyder} (drums, vocals) has worked in many areas of ethnic music. Both have studied the shamanic music of Siberia, but the heart and soul of {$K-Space} is singer {$Gendos Chamzyryn}, a shaman himself and one fantastic throat singer. Not another attempt at world fusion, {^Bear Bones} presents experimental music stemming from a genuine Siberian background. We are taken elsewhere, in a world where rock rhythms equal shamanic trance, where the need to break free of established musical forms is as urgent and essential as everywhere else. Chamzyryn�s wails, drones, incantations and dances (the bells around his ankles transmit the impulse of his movements) find their place between the rock drumming and the free-form improvising. Here and there a song structure arises, in {&�With the Help of the Usual Instruments�} for instance. {$K-Space} pushes the boundaries of free improvisation as much as {$Konk Pack}, Hodgkinson�s other active trio at the time, but it does it quite differently, emphasizing a ritualistic relation to sound-making. No matter how used you are to Hodgkinson�s playing or to folk music from Tuva, nothing can prepare you for the intensity and otherworldliness of this album. Highly recommended, especially to those interested in the ritualistic side of the music of {$Jackie-O Motherfucker}, {$No-Neck Blues Band}, or {$Acid Mothers Temple}. Fran�ois Couture All Music Guide.
 

Jazz Views

Month Reviewed: 012 - February 2003
Artist: K-Space
Title: Bear Bones
Label: SLAM CD 247

Gendos Chazyryn (v, perc, amplified doshpulur, p); Tim Hodgkinson (lap steel g; cl, electronics, as); Ken Hyder (d, v, amplified ektara, sampling, electronics)
Recorded 1996-2001

Where to start? An album featuring, and I�m quoting now, �two cutting-edge British musicians and a Siberian shaman� who is a �master of the Kaargiraa throat-singing style�. Well let�s just say it is not for the faint hearted! However followers of European and British improvised music will find this a rewarding and challenging listen.

Hodgkinson and Hyder have collaborated on recordings and performances for more than twenty years, and both are well versed in music from other countries and cultures from their wide ranging travels, playing with traditional Japanese musicians and Tibetan monks, and this in itself will give a fair indication of what to expect.

Much of the music relies heavily for its development on subtle and slowly changing rhythmic patterns that seem to evolve organically from the ensemble. We introduced to Chamzyyn�s throat singing right from the start with the opening �Them Were Shocked Stall� and once the ear has had chance to adjust to the unusual sounds produced the music start to fall into focus, as does the aptly titled �With The Help Of The Usual Instruments� which has a more overtly stated rhythmic framework.

Drawing on influences form Siberia and ethnic musics from throughout the world, along with the more familiar jazz-related sounds and techniques, listen out for Hodgkinson�s playing on clarinet and alto, this is a fascinating glimpse into the music of other countries and cultures (as on �With Mother Dancing�). As a listener I found myself drawn more and more into the sound world created by these three remarkable musicians, but as a reviewer I have struggled to find the words to accurately convey the feelings that the music has brought forth. Perhaps this is a good thing, a powerful reminder that music is a universal language, that says much ore than can be conveyed by mere words on a page.

Reviewed by Nick Lea