Trapist
Ballroom
Thrill Jockey
141
I suppose there are two ways you can come at this recording. Way #1 is considering it afresh, as though one has never heard of Trapist (or percussionist Martin Brandlmayr, guitarist Martin Siewert or bassist Joe Williamson and their prior work), which is doubtless how it will be for those newly exposed by the greater distribution afforded the band by Thrill Jockey. Way #2, unfortunately for many of us, is hearing “Ballroom” after having thoroughly enjoyed their hatology release, “Highway, My Friend”, not to mention related projects like “Too Beautiful To Burn”.
Certainly the first approach offers its share of rewards. The basic combination of Siewert’s serene and clear strummings and Brandlmayr’s extraordinarily precise and imaginative drum and brushwork creates a unique and seductive sound field. Working within an almost ambient space filled with soft, tingling drones, Siewert plucks out folk-tinged figures that unfurl languidly, often evaporating into a haze of electronics, reemerging later on, like a hiker’s lonesome figure crossing a series of hills. Williamson is entirely unobtrusive. Only when you listen for his slow, cavernous notes do you recognize how much he’s contributing, how he’s holding things together. Brandlmayr, on the other hand, is impossible to ignore and all but impossible not to be awed by. His sound is utterly distinctive, either on his toms-heavy drum set peeling off incredibly clean, always lightly struck rhythms or on his brushes in which area he’s developing entirely new and beautiful attacks. The pieces tend to float outward, expanding like a released gas, contracting into momentarily tight balls. Infectious beats erupt from a cloud and just when you think they’ve overstayed their welcome, evanesce back into smoke. The soundscape is lush and verdant, sometimes to the point of being overly cloying but they seem cognizant of the danger and will wisely retreat into rough abstraction when needed (only to subsequently blossom out into a different catchy area). It’s not difficult at all to imagine a set of innocent ears being opened up to a whole new corner of the musical spectrum and, should those ears pursue further investigations, a valuable service will have been performed.
On the other side, though. Well, as attractive as it is, “Ballroom” ultimately comes across as somewhat shallow. With “Highway, My Friend”, Trapist successfully skated the thin line between adventurousness and accessibility, proposing a fascinating new pathway. This disc is something of a retrenchment, reining in the risk-taking and elaborating (well) on aspects of the music that they might be able to do while sleepwalking. Structurally, it’s a bit soft, almost like long jams that migrate rather haphazardly from one section to the next, sacrificing tension for languor. As alluded to above, some of the sounds, particularly those generated from computers, can get a little bit too sickly sweet, sometimes Siewert’s guitar takes on an uncomfortably Frissellian character. One is tempted to ascribe all this to indie label pressure, to the desire to craft a recording that will be somewhat more amenable to the tastes of youngsters looking beyond Radiohead. All well and good, I suppose, and one obviously wishes musicians as talented as these three much luck, but….
We old avant diehard farts who wanted to hear them pushing forward, taking no prisoners will have to either be satisfied with their various side projects or simply take “Ballroom” at face value: a reasonably enjoyable, pleasant enough experience.
Posted by on February 16, 2004 6:56 AMI much prefer Brandlmayr's duo with Nicholas Bussmann in Kapital Band, but this one isn't shabby. And Brian, please stop describing yourself as old fart before you really turn into one. Any one of you cats heard the new Efzeg album yet? Cracker.
Posted by: dan at February 20, 2004 12:06 PMSorry. Old fartitude's been on the brain, so to speak.
Details on the new Efzeg please.
Posted by: Brian at February 20, 2004 12:58 PMJust checked their site. "Wuerm" on Charizma--haven't seen it yet. Jon?
Interesting that they have something scheduled for release on hatology this fall.
Posted by: Brian at February 20, 2004 1:01 PMyeah, it's a good one. I've asked Mr. Kurzmann twice to send us copies, no sign as of yet...
Posted by: Jon Abbey at February 20, 2004 1:21 PMmy friend christian weber (ex efzeg) just played these two to me tonight. i'm a big fan of siewert, really - hmm... but after listening to these: don't you think the viennese crew is moving too much towards an ambient "easy" (not "easy listening" but "easy to listen to") kind of thing? well produced, for sure, but a bit too dense for me, way too much kitch. not as "edgy" as i'd like it to be, sorry. (or as brian would say: not enough sand & grit...)
Posted by: tomas at February 21, 2004 1:08 PMtomas, maybe "too much" for your tastes, and I'd agree also at times, but I also think it's an interesting area to explore that sometimes produces very successful results (the polwechsel/fennesz record for one). people have noted elsewhere that the postproduction on the new trapist almost seems designed for college radio play, and if that's the case, more power to them, especially if the (hopefully) increased sales facilitate their lower selling, more experimental work.
Posted by: Jon Abbey at February 21, 2004 6:31 PMInteresting comment "easy."
I had a friend visiting me for a few weeks and he said that about the eai music - the "do" and "tears," what have you. Perhaps it's just a function of how much I've heard, but I find this music pretty "easy" to listen to. Dog-whistle sinewaves aside, I'm surprised at all the talk of this stuff being "difficult" or "challenging." EAI is the new ambient?
That said, I don't think it necessarily impacts the "quality" of the music. In fact, I don't even believe in that, so there.
Joe
ps: whoever was talking about Damo Suzuki - heard him play here and he was pretty cool. Nice as hell, too. Still sporting that relief-pitcher handlebar mustache. Kawabata Makoto also sounded like a champ.
Posted by: Judd Foster at February 21, 2004 8:15 PMjon -
yes, it's about taste, i suppose. and don't get me wrong: i don't mean to say "commercially oriented" = bad. the new trapist sure has its qualities. it's just that, compared for example to "radian" which probably sells good too, it doens't seem very consequent in a way.
joe -
i just said "easy" - i didn't compare it to any sinewavemusic or anything (though i can't really believe that anyone could find "do" easier to listen to than "ballroom".)
"That said, I don't think it necessarily impacts the "quality" of the music."
i agree. that's not my point, as i said above. i'm a fan of "the sea & cake" and that's definetely some of the sweetest popmusic. however, a record like ballroom seems a bit undefined to me, as if they didn't exactly know what they wanted. one of the things i liked about the old trapist is that it still was a bit crude, despite all the easiness and good production. that's all gone on "ballroom", the music sounds quite glossy on this one. though i only listened to it once, so it's admittedly a bit premature to say such things...
and, of course: it's always about taste! some people might exactly like the glossiness about it. it's just my personal opinion that i think this approach *might* lead into a dead end.
Posted by: tomas at February 22, 2004 6:08 AMp.s.
"but I also think it's an interesting area to explore that sometimes produces very successful results (the polwechsel/fennesz record for one)."
jon - personally i wouldn't compare wrapped islands to these newer outings, though i couldn't tell exactly why. maybe because ballroom moves into a more composed direction (the did A LOT of sequencing & post prod).
my presonal favorite out of the recent records from that corner is the green charizma (...meet drumm, dieb13, erikm etc.), by the way. did you like that one, jon?
Posted by: tomas at February 22, 2004 6:23 AMThe A word (ambient) has drifted into my mind on listening to several recent outings.. the Suchy / Ehlers / Hautzinger thing, for example. Shame the word has taken on such a negative connotation (I blame Namlook and Laswell :).
But, yes, I find a lot of this music very easy to listen to - NOT the same as "EZ Listening" (though I wouldn't include "Tears" in that bag!). "Easy to listen to" most definitely doesn't mean it lacks depth either.
Scuse me for answering in Jon's place (I s'pose Tom you could always send Jon a personal mail if you want his opinion & noone else's, haha), but I loved the green Charhizma, yes. Except for the silly ghost track.
Posted by: dan at February 22, 2004 6:48 AM- i will ignore your last post, dan, since i'm exclusively interested in jon's opinion ;)
- yeah, i didn't like the ghost track either, but it *had* to be 60:00, so...
- you're right about the a-word.
Posted by: tomas at February 22, 2004 6:56 AMnot too crazy about the green charhizma, I thought it started off well, and quickly lost me after a track or so.
but that's not really a recent production, it was released recently, but the recordings are from 2000 and 2001.
Posted by: Jon Abbey at February 22, 2004 8:30 AMI agree that "Ballroom" feels pretty smooth. "Too Beautiful to Burn" grabbed me alot more of first listens, but for reference I think of "Plus 47..." (as well as the Il Libro Mio 3-inch) as Fennesz's masterpiece even though most young people that come into the record store where I work would say "Endless Summer". But it's a pleasant record, and there aren't many good records that are easily available to most stores in the U.S. right now...I'm listening to it again and the oceanic stuff on track two is sounding good. I'm going to check out the Kapital Band at work tomorrow.
Posted by: john f at March 3, 2004 8:54 AMThanks for review on Trapist- Ballroom
i was looking for clues .... just heard that today
( i live in Vienna though )
I guess i share most of your comments - felt like okay # 1 release goes HAT HUT and euroimprov then # 2 what ? post rock a la Chicago because Thrill Jockey ? then if # 3 and another label another direction ?
I have to say to me this music is very cold, theroretical and pretty unsexy But i try to keep up listening as well and recent chats with David Sylvian made me felt i should try again
If you have any clues to people really into that and why ... that ll be quite intreresting
best regards
Noel
PS : did you hear the new reissue of 1970 s MINBUL Terje Rypdal trio ?
amazing to think these recordings where barely unknown BECAUSE in some same ways ( just 35 years earlier ) as Trapist that
really RISKS things
Welcome to the Pleasure Dome Noel (nice to read the word "sexy" on Bagatellen)..
What label is the Rypdal reissue on? I've always been a fan of his earlier stuff.
Hey Dan
nice to discover the website too
MIN BUL is released on UNIVERSAL MUSIC NORWAY .....
it really sounds like the missing link between AMM, SME and more known FREE JAZZ stuff
never expected that though the late 60´s Garbarek and Rypdal bands were sort of turning around .... exept this MIN BUL is
also rock somehow ....
More soon
n
Hey DAN
do i finally risk a FATWA here for using the word SEXY even in a negated form ?
God bless us and Allah too
cheers
n
Is really Min Bul CD worth seeking ?
is it a GREAT record or just a good one ?
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