Top 100 Rhythms Part 2
Inspired by the article The Top 50 Rhythms Of All Time that appeared in the April 1992 issue of The Wire, this series of 50 further mini-essays has been commissioned specially by The Wire on the occasion of the ICA's Rhythm Section event (3-7 November 2010).
K-Space
"Nine-Eyed Horse-Alcohol"
from Bear Bones (Slam) 2002
When Ken Hyder first heard shamanic music, it reminded him of the way Sunny
Murray, who has Native American blood, speeds up and slows down in his
playing, which is Against.. The... Rules. His subsequent research into Siberian
and Tibetan music and his work with saxophonist Tim Hodgkinson and singer
Gendos Chamzyryn in K-Space has largely been concerned with ways of
playing in which there is no count-in but each player chooses his metre, the
way a shaman chooses his own algysh. It returned Hyder to the kind of
vernacular (or spiritual) music of the Scottish Highlands where a folk singer
would vary his metre verse to verse and the members of a congregation, with or
without precentor, would each sing according to an inner and personal rhythm
and might dwell on a word or phrase without concern for a collective metre.
This opens up vast and still troubling possibilities for jazz performance which
Hyder has been exploring with K-Space, arguably the most radical and
‘eclectic' improvising group of the last decade. Simultaneous time(s), no time.
Brian Morton
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 {$Gendos Chamzyryn}, a shaman himself and one fantastic throat singer. Not another attempt at world fusion, {^Bear Bones} presents experimental music stemming from a genuine Siberian background. We are taken elsewhere, in a world where rock rhythms equal shamanic trance, where the need to break free of established musical forms is as urgent and essential as everywhere else. Chamzyryn¹s wails, drones, incantations and dances (the bells around his ankles transmit the impulse of his movements) find their place between the rock drumming and the free-form improvising. Here and there a song structure arises, in {&³With the Help of the Usual Instruments²} for instance. {$K-Space} pushes the boundaries of free improvisation as much as {$Konk Pack}, Hodgkinson¹s other active trio at the time, but it does it quite differently, emphasizing a ritualistic relation to sound-making. No matter how used you are to Hodgkinson¹s playing or to folk music from Tuva, nothing can prepare you for the intensity and otherworldliness of this album. Highly recommended, especially to those interested in the ritualistic side of the music of {$Jackie-O Motherfucker}, {$No-Neck Blues Band}, or {$Acid Mothers Temple}. François 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
Vittorio Lo Conte
I tre musicisti di K-Space sono un siberiano e due inglesi, i quali si incontrano ogni tanto per motivi non solo musicali, ma anche di studio e di ricerca della cultura dei popoli che vivono nell`estremo nord della Russia. La loro musica, che sfugge alle solite categorie, ha le radici in quello che ognuno dei tre porta come patrimonio "genetico", il rock e il jazz per Tim Hodgkinson e Ken Hyder, il canto del popolo dei Tuva per Gendos Chamzyryn. Il risultato è una mistura affascinante di elementi occidentali e orientali, suoni, come il canto sciamanico di Chamzyryn e la chitarra elettrica o il sax alto dei suoi amici inglesi, che improvvisamente si trovano insieme senza che l`ascoltatore avverti alcuna frattura all`interno di quanto viene proposto. Così facendo i tre elaborano un tipo di musica "crossover" che salta davvero gli stili e annulla le frontiere fra di esse, una sorta di world music, definiamola così, comunque abbastanza difficile da digerire per chi è abituato ai soliti minestroni edulcorati offerti sotto questa 'etichetta' negli ultimi anni. K-Space non rinuncia a situazioni di tipo più free, in cui il canto di Chamzyryn sembra fatto apposta per fare da sottofondo ad un sassofono che urla, mettendole insieme ad altre in cui gli strumenti elettrici portano la musica verso situazioni di tipo più "psichedelico". L´uso degli strumenti etnici si rivela molto efficace; i suoni inconsueti contribuiscono al fascino di questa musica come nel caso del klarnet, una sorta di clarinetto metallico usato nella musica turca il cui tono è più stridulo rispetto al clarinetto di ebano usato nella musica occidentale, usato da Tim Hodgkinson in "Nine-Eyed Horse-Alcohol". Chamzyryn, oltre a cantare, si esibisce al doshpulur amplificato, un banjo siberiano, mentre Ken Hyder usa l`ektara, anche questa amplificata, uno strumento ad una corda sola che proviene dalla lontana India. World music, sciamanismo, campi magnetici. Valutazione: * * * ½