Gabriel Paiuk/Jason Kahn - Breathings

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This piano/computer duet will immediately evoke at least intimations of last year’s Tilbury/Schmickler disc, “Variety”, although the musical personalities of the current pair differ enough to make such comparisons beside the point. Paiuk’s piano is far more astringent than Tilbury’s for one thing, whether he’s worrying the strings inside the box or remains at the keyboard. He’s far less likely to meditate in a single, lush area. Kahn, too, is more an overtly equal partner here, engaging his companion in a direct though often subtle manner rather than delicately tinting the surroundings. His contributions are generally quiet enough to be read as background but I think that would be a mistake; it’s far more rewarding to listen to them as equals. That said, the structure in “Variety” was more radical; “Breathings” is much more a “traditional” improvised duo.

There are nine pieces spread over 40 minutes. The opening track does, admittedly, cast a glance or two Tilbury’s way, with soft chords threaded between shimmering sine-like tones. The second “breathing”, however, finds Paiuk amongst the strings, carefully but vigorously exciting them with Kahn providing suitably dark throbs from beneath. I found the tracks where Paiuk, at the keyboard, adopted a more atonal approach to be somewhat less successful though I had no such issue when matters got quite abstract inside the piano, as on the fourth track, an excellent post-AMM, bleak-space expansion. In fact, whereas the specifics of the Tilbury/Schmickler session don’t, in my opinion, apply, there’s more than a tinge of a Prevost-less AMM date (not “Doris”, necessarily, but not all that dissimilar). The final two pieces work especially well, the first mysterious and haunting collection of plucked strings, rattles and static while the last track presents a luscious contrasting of single, sharply hit, high piano notes and, among other things, a wonderful, sizzling electronic pitch that could easily hold attention its own. “Breathings” insinuates itself gradually on the listener, filling in several gaps on each re-listen. An effective, solid effort.

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