Dwiki Dharmawan - So Far So Close

Dwiki Dharmawan is a name you’ll probably may or may not recognize. He is one of the most mind-blowing keyboardist from Indonesia that has come a long way since starting back in his career in music thirty-one years ago. He is a composer, arranger, peace activist, and not to mention an ambassador of his own country. Dwiki also performed with bands/artists from the MoonJune label including; Dewa Budjana, simakDialog, Tohpati, Tesla Manaf, and one of my favorites, I Know You Well Miss Clara.

He’s been doing music from day one and there is no stop sign for him. This year, this is his international debut on the MoonJune label entitled So Far So Close in which it is dedicated to his late mother, Yuniarti Sugatin Safiyudin. Alongside Dwiki, he brought along some help including Chad Wackerman (Frank Zappa, Steven Wilson) on Drums, Jimmy Haslip (Blackjack) on Bass, Dewa Budjana on Guitar, Tohpati on Guitar, I Nyoman Windha on Gamelan Jegog, Balinese Kendang, Suling (Bamboo Flute), and Vocals, and Mahavishnu Orchestra’s violinist Jerry Goodman on Violin.

The debut is a mixture of Jazz Rock, Symphonic Music, Prog, and Chamber Music flown into one. And the combinations blend in well with an interesting taste that my ears sprinkle with delight. Four centerpieces on here, shows how Dwiki and his friends bring the sparkling electrical voltage, brightened up with amazing results to have eyebrows lightening up at the right momentum.

The Dark of the Light is Symphonic Jazz Rock at its best. Epic time changes and sounds of both Rick Wakeman, Flavio Premoli (Premiata Forneria Marconi), and Keith Emerson, it sees Dwiki going into an orchestral rock sound as he improvises on his synths to ascend up into heavens. Tohpati helps him out with his guitar work out and the solos he brings, nails to a crunch. Jazz and Bluesy, it’s all there whilst he ascends to the heavens followed by Chad Wackerman’s laid-back tempo on the drums.

The ominous 9-minute Jembrana’s Fantasy sends chills down my spine. Dwiki goes into the deep darker cavernous places of the sounds of middle-eastern music, chamber music, avant-garde, and the RIO (Rock In Opposition) movement into the mix. I can hear the sounds of Univers Zero, Agitation Free’s Malesch-era, King Crimson, and Art Zoyd thrown into the blender of the interesting sounds of mind-boggling music.

The mourning upwards advantage composition of Bromo, it starts off with a hymn-Organ introduction, vocalizations followed by the melodic guitar intro by Dewa Budjana virtuosic power. It has a climbing sound that Dwiki does between the synth and organ as he up into the heavenly sky that sees him paying tribute to the late great of Pink Floyd’s Richard Wright.

Since I’ve mentioned Jerry Goodman from the Mahavishnu Orchestra, the opening track Arafura kicks the album off with a big bang. Jerry’s electric violin sends you into another infinite world with beauty and hypnotic melodic solos that he carries with a jaw-dropping moment. Alongside the band I’ve mentioned, I can hear some of the Hot Rats-era of Zappa thrown in there and the skills from Dwiki’s keyboards on the Fender Rhodes, shows he is pulling no punches.

This is my fourth time listening to Dwiki Dharmawan’s So Far So Close. And MoonJune Records have never disappointed me with their releases this year. Dwiki has really come a long way of his keyboard and piano playing. Dwiki is also a busy man working with the World Peace Trio featuring Saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and Guitarist Kamal Musallam which is a new project by Dwiki that launched back in October of this year.

But all in all, So Far So Close is a home run. So sit back in your chair, put it on your CD player with your headphones and close your eyes and listen to the sounds of Dwiki Dharmawan.

Gazpacho - Molok

Last year, during my final semester at Houston Community College for my associate’s degree in Jazz Studies, I was completely blown away by a band from Norway that launched nineteen years ago by childhood friends Jon-Arne Vilbo and Thomas Andersen and followed by Jan-Henrik Ohme and then teamed up with Lars Erik Asp, Kristian Torp, and Mikael Kromer. That band is Gazpacho.

One of the albums in which it was their eighth album, Demon on the Kscope label in which its home to Steven Wilson, Anathema, Ulver, Anekdoten, and Lunatic Soul to name a few just made my day during that I listened to it from beginning to end. It was almost as if it was taken me on a ride I will never, ever forget. I can hear the essences of Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Anathema, and Pink Floyd.

And when you put those four together in a blender, it works very well to create the emotional beauty and haunting sounds that Gazpacho put together. This year, they have a new album in which it is their ninth, is called, Molok. Let me just say that it’s their finest to day. Mind you, I’m new to the band’s music since last year. It’s also a concept album dealing with the issue on religious themes, new theories, and science ideas.

The story takes place in the year of 1920. The man decides anyone that worships a God, may be devoting to the stones up in Stonehenge, Grand Cathedral, or the Mecca, may find their followers transformed into stone and not being able to return. So what the man does, is to build a machine named “Molok” in which it’s named after the biblical demon who would jaw up the children’s sacrifices because that is what his machine does to crunch the numbers up.

And then, on solstice day, he turns the machine on as it gains very quickly to forms of intelligence as it goes through the history of time. Now the story is strange and may confuse listeners, but the music itself is a supreme outstanding piece of work that I’ve listened to. The five highlights on here, give it a real inside view on the storyline.

Algorithm in which it appears as an additional instrumental track on CD, brings the middle-eastern presence to a chilling vibration. There’s elements between Peter Gabriel’s third album, Goblin, and World Music thrown into as if they were doing the score for Scorsese’s controversial 1988 film, The Last Temptation of Christ. Bela Kiss brings the catchy waltz to unexpected results with an accordion and a violin that has the fast beat in the Hungarian musical traditions that will have the jaws drop at the right moment to dance in those unexpected fast time signatures that it would bring.

Choir of Ancestors almost made me teary-eyed. It’s got an amazing choir, an ascending rhythm, thumping percussions, and the essence of Kate Bush’s music in the background vocals along with Jan-Henrik Ohme’s vocals just hits the notes at the right momentum before Jon-Arne Vilbo’s guitar playing sends into a goose bump momentum in his solo. You can hear the essence of the Floyd’s work in there and Jon goes for the power in his instrument.

The Dystopian-Gothic composition of Alarm begins with a droning church organ and it sends shivers as Jan-Henrik’s vocals brings the idea of being alone and not one person to help save someone’s life in the nightmarish world that has gone into hell. It has an eerie atmosphere with Thomas Andersen’s keyboards setting the scenery of the post-apocalyptic world and Lars’ drumming has a calmer and moodier sound.

The closing 9-minute piece, Molok Rising is almost a cliffhanger on what is hoping to come next in the story. With dooming/stirring guitars by Jon-Arne, ambient and unexpected synths along with thumping percussions, each of the sounds give it a twisted tale of the demon itself taking the children’s surrender before the sounds of the bells, clocks ticking and screeching noises, create the tension before abruptly ending with a silent beep.

Gazpacho have scored another home run and a year after the release of Demon. It’s almost of what would they think of next in the brainstorming room. I hope they do a sequel to this to find out what happens next in the strange and surreal story of Molok. I’ve been a fan of the Kscope label. And Gazpacho are back in full swing for the adventures, experience, art, and magnum opus they have unleashed this year. 

Gentle Giant - Octopus

Porcupine Tree’s Steven Wilson shows no signs of stopping when it comes to both his solo career and his brilliant work on creating classic Prog gems in getting in the 5.1 mixing. And he has done it again this time this year of Gentle Giant’s 4^th studio album released in 1972, Octopus in the CD/Blu-Ray release. Originally released on Vertigo Records in the UK and on Columbia Records in the States, and released on the Alucard label, 43 years later, it is Gentle Giant’s finest masterpiece.

On the Blu-Ray release of the album, it includes the original 1972 mix in a flat transfer, the instrumental mix, and the 5.1 mix that Steven Wilson has done. Now the master reels for the remaining tracks including: The Advent of Panurge, The Boys in the Band, and Raconteur, Troubadour, were lost. Steven remastered the original mixes and upgraded them into a surround mixing in which it is by using the Penteo Software for 5.1 surround sound on the Blu-Ray.

The visual in which it’s done by filmmaker Yael Shulman, it’s a film of an Octopus. Yes, it’s a real Octopus floating in an aquarium with text commentary by the band members about the making of the album. The 16-page booklet features liner notes done by Innerviews’ Anil Prasad which includes interviews with the band, lyrics, and it shows the band at their peak and having drummer John Weathers (Eyes of Blue, Man) joining the group after Malcolm Mortimore was involved in a Motorcycle Accident.

And pictures of the group and the late engineer Martin Rushent who did the laugh and dropping the coin as it rattles. There’s also the issue on the artwork design which features Roger Dean’s design of the album in the U.K. and the Octopus in a jar which was the American release. Both of those covers are okay, but I digress, let’s get to the music.

The other five tracks that Wilson remixed, sees the Wizard of 5.1’s taking his magical wand and bringing it up a notch. A Cry for Everyone still sounds heavy and upgraded from Steven. I love the interaction between the Kerry Minnear’s Organ and Gary Green’s guitar as do a repeated melody with each other. Not to mention a reminiscent of the Scorpions sound of Rudolf Schenker’s rhythm guitar riffs that Green does.

Phil Shulman, who would later leave the group to be with his family, shines on Dog’s Life. The Medieval-Classical-Folk-Zappa bluesy twist gives it a beautiful tribute to their roadies with a sense of humor and then moving into the bass, synths, and echo-layered vocals, shows how much the band were having a great time doing this piece. The hands-down killer of Knots, the homage to R.D. Laing’s self-titled book, a cappella vocals in a different independent line with difficult time signatures featuring a powerful rock arrangement.

Gentle Giant also show their softer side as Kerry Minnear comes in with his vocals to an emotional beauty with Think of Me with Kindness. The piano beauty and having the bass in front makes your heart touched with his voice that just sends a thought of hope, bringing the memories of sorrow and knowing there is no tomorrow. It's a goodbye song. Dealing with the hopes of remembering them with warmth and humanity.

And with xylophones into the mix and throwing in the piano on the midsection, the ingredients are mixed together in a dramatic and driven beat that still makes it powerful, unexpected, and mind-blowing at the same time that the original six-piece did as a team. Gary Green himself brings into the Blues Rock voyages into a full speed ahead. On River, he brings a lot of energy in his Guitar as he rises up and up into the heavens as the band increases the rhythm before heading into a spacey adventure followed by the wah-wah melodic intro riff between him and Ray Shulman’s violin.

There’s also a bonus track in which it is clear and sounds amazing of the live performance at the Calderone Theater on July 3, 1976 for the Bicentennial celebration of it’s 200^th birthday of the Declaration of Independence in a dazzling performance of Excerpts from Octopus.

Here, Steven upgraded to a better sound quality and it’s astoundingly breathtaking. The band was now a five-piece, and hearing this new mix of the live recording is much clearer from the previous bootleg and the original release last year. The sounds, the power, and the glory of Octopus have shown Giant’s sound at their best and understanding how they were ahead of their time and transcending the music through creative ideas and undertaking tasks in difficult time signatures.

Steven Wilson has done it again. I hope he continues to do more of Gentle Giant’s catalog in the next years to come. So delve over into the Charaton Bridge by meeting the Raconteur Troubadour’s and meet the boys in the band for the sounds of a classic that will be played for time and time again.

The Dreaming Tree - Silverfade

The Dreaming Tree are an Alternative/Progressive Rock group from the UK that launched back in the early 2000’s. They have released so far three albums and an EP. This year, they have released their fourth album entitled, Silverfade which was released on May the 4^th. The band considers Chris Buckler on Lead Vocals, Dan Jones on Guitar and Backing Vocals, Neil Simpson on Bass, Stephen Barratt on Keyboards, and Neil Ablard on Drums.

The music on here, I have to admit, I’m not really crazy about it, but the quintet really have a lot of energy and power in their sound. They really got something in their sound to carry both the essence of Alternative and Progressive Rock with a huge energetic force. At times, it’s both hard, aggressive, and melodic on Silverfade. And they switch it back and forth on the fourteen tracks that is on here.

And the five highlights on here, shows they have some potential. And mind you, again, I’m new into the Dreaming Tree’s music and I love the name of the band’s name. It’s very catchy and spiritual that fits the atmosphere of the group’s sound. I love the energetic sounds and synth sounds that Barratt does on his keyboards to create a driving rhythm beat with a thumping beat through the roads on Forever Not Ever.

But then, he brings a Hancock-like jazzier symphonic sound that reminisce of Ray Manzarek’s organ sounds through the wonders of time with an upbeat groove on Cherry Winters as Dan Jones lays onto the leading solos on his guitar that have a Floydian twist to it to see the trees blossom into the Fall weather that makes it a cooling beat. The two opening tracks (Yesterday’s Flowers, Heart Shaped Bodies) bring a combination of both the Progressive and Hard Rock sound with a driven, melodic, thumping attitude thanks to the adventurous beats of Dan Jones’ guitar.

The second track, brings the powers of Rush’s Moving Pictures-era as Dan carries the torch of Alex Lifeson’s virtuosic playing to bring a flaming torch and making sure that it doesn’t burn it out and he hits the notes perfectly. Autumn Haze for me, is a bluesy hard-rock in your face composition. It shows The Dreaming Tree go into a powerful force between Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here-era and UFO’s No Heavy Petting-era as if David Gilmour and Michael Schenker did a collaboration together and those two combinations work very well that make it sound like it was 1977 all over again.

This is my third time listening to Silverfade. And I’ll admit there are few hits and a few misses for me, but this is an okay album they have released this year. And even though it needs a little bit of growth and some work, they have done well so far for me. It needs some electrical juice and a bit of power in their music. 

Marbin - Aggressive Hippies

If there was someone to describe to me about Marbin’s music. It would be this: Mind-boggling, driven, powerful, and in your face Jazz Rock at their finest. I’ve been a champion of Marbin’s music since 2013 and they have never done me wrong with their music that the label MoonJune Records have unleashed. They have released this year, their fifth album entitled, Aggressive Hippies. Let me just say, they scored another touchdown in their history as if the hot chili ice cream flavors, just got even more spicier with a dosage of jalapeno’s.

The quartet brings the action to a standstill and since the recording was done in four days this year in April at the Stone Soup Studio, you could imagine yourself being at the sessions and being completely jaw-dropped the moment they start playing. Just Music is where it kicks off. Here, Dani himself goes into a style in the midsection on his guitar making it sound like a VOX organ in the styles of the late, great Graham Bond and the sound of Pink Floyd’s Biding my Time with a late ‘60s attitude by using a delay effect with the reverb sounds with a bluesy groove.

Dani and Danny bring the guitar and sax funk with a prestissimo groove and smooth sound between the two of them on Y’all are Good. Danny shines majestically through his sax in the styles of Dexter Gordon and John Coltrane as one as Greg’s drums and John’s bass help them out through their rhythmic solos to get into an incredible improvisation.

Intro delves into the structures of the Gilmour-sque and Steve Howe structured beauty with an atmospheric ocean soaring through the waves while African Shabtay gets into a roller-coaster adventure of your lifetime. Unexpected time signatures, intense beat and fast tempos, this is where Marbin are having a blast as the melodies really go up into a maximum level and Danny is shining brightly.

Then it is time to hit the dance floor as you can imagine yourself in the streets of Paris and feeling the vibrations and the sounds at the Juke Joint and O’l Neckin’. Both of these tracks are in the essence of the ‘70s Zappa-sque styles of the Over-nite Sensation sound. And dare I say Mastodon thrown in? It is almost as if they went back in time at the roaring ‘20s and ‘30s with Swinging Jazz-Hard Rock at their best and imaging Cab Calloway being in awe of them.

John W. Lauler comes into the front on his Bass as he lays down some mellowing bass grooves for a smooth and relaxing ballad and Dani helps him out of a swirling adventure for the dawn to happen for a Morning Star. It’s such a beautiful track that it gives Marbin a chance to relax from their intense compositions and waiting for the sun to rise at the exact moment.

The title track is a driving composition with the bluesy twist following inside the engines to build the muscles up for a ride into the countryside. Dani is doing his Stevie Ray Vaughan touches on the soul-like sounds on the guitar to bring almost a Texas Blues Rock sound that gives it a big crunching punch. The closer, Jambo, is where Marbin release their glory of glories.

Dani knows his chops very well into his guitar into the blues with Fripp, Zappa, and Gilmour into a giant blender and it’s a perfect smoothie to go with this! He is just nailing it down to close it off with a big bang. And the band themselves are having a blast and almost as if he is a conductor and letting them know when the 12-bar structure will reach an end.

MoonJune Records for me, have never disappointed me. And Marbin’s Aggressive Hippies is the album worth having a nice Jalapeno Burger to go with this for a spicy adventure into unbelievable results! I’m very pleased of what I’ve listened to from start to finish. And Marbin have continued to sprinkle fairy dust over my headphones to see what adventures they will go into next for the years and years to come.

Nadavati - Le Vent De L'esprit Souffle Ou il Veut

Their only debut album, Le Vent De L’esprit Souffle Ou il Veut, released in 1978, proves to be a hidden treasure and an unsung gem that in which I consider for me, “The lost album of Sierra Madre.” That of course is a band from France named Nadavati. It was the brain child of composer Jacques Liot that wrote the music back in the mid ‘70s and it was originally written for a musical background to a play in which it was a spiritual journey with an element of eastern mysticism. Unfortunately, it never happened.

Reissued by Soleil Mutant, it’s hard to understand why this band never got any recognition. The lack of sponsors in the music industry can be a huge crushing blow as if someone slap them away and didn’t want any of the group as the music was changing into the Punk and Disco explosion as the Prog genre was under attack as being considered by the so-called rock critics, “Hippie” and “Dinosaur” music.

But this here, as I’ve mentioned earlier, is a treasure that is unsung and hopefully going to get the recognition it deserves. The music itself resembles the essence of Weather Report, Herbie Hancock, and Return to Forever. What Nadavati have unleashed, they could have gotten The Mahavishnu Orchestra a big run for their money if they had kept going.

L’Espirt Souffle Ou il Veut begins with a Jazz-Funk rock rhythm thanks to the blaring horn section of Richard Raux (Tenor Sax), Jean-Francois Canape (Trumpet), and Joseph Traindl (Trombone). The music ascends with a sun-rising adventure before in the midsection between Jacques guitar playing with a chugging groove and Alain’s bass improvisations resembles Jaco Pastorius while Mico Hissim’s keyboards go into a Canterbury vibe.

La Valse Du Fou is a late ‘70s Zappa’s Joe’s Garage-era with a Brazilian vibe to it as drummer Didier Hauck creates the groove for a dancing vibe as Raux’s sax followed by the insane synths and piano wonders from Mico’s playing as Jacques really delves deep into the Zappa momentum. But Liot and Lecointe do a duel between guitars and bass.

On Wu-Nien, the driven tempos are almost as if you are going in a car that the speed is at 150 miles per hour. Both of the players create some improvisations with amazing results. But it’s not just Liot and Lecointe, it’s also Nissim and Hauck bringing incredible ideas as each of them do a dosage of Hatfield and the North into the mix. Then the band bring the relaxation to give them a chance to take a break and head into a relaxing take as if they were doing a Fusion take of Miles Davis Kind of Blue on Retour.

There are two closing tracks that clock in at both 10-minutes. There is Ananda. I really love this track not just because it’s an homage to Herbie Hancock’s Chameleon, but this is where the band really get down into the funky groove and lay it down as Alain does his Jaco, Jannick Top, and Bootsy Collins lines on his Bass as if they let him come in front to bring a lot of ideas and brainstorm through his instrument.

Le Pays De La Lumiere Doree sees Nadavati going into the Zeuhl adventures in the styles of both King Crimson, Zappa, and Magma. The scatting vocalizations done by Lionel Ledissez and Joel Delamour, really gets you into the patterns. As the sax, bass, keyboards, and drums followed by the guitar help out the vocalized harmonic melodies and it ascends in the midsection to reach to the top of the mountain.

But then Mico goes into his Thelonious Monk and Art Tatum touches on the piano before his concerto helps out to give the band more free rein as the last three minutes fade off into the sunset. The bonus track in which they performed at the Stade des Bruyeres in southwestern suburbs of Paris at Catenay-Malabry entitled, Moksa. It is a rare live performance and it is a very good recording to show the band at their best to wow an audience with a powering sound of funk-jazz!

This comes with a booklet about the history of the band done by Canterbury expert Aymeric Leroy in which it’s a 10-page booklet featuring the liner notes in both French and in English. Nadavati were ahead of the ball game and despite the band’s break-up to do various projects, I wish they could have moved on and I always imagine them performing with Miles Davis.

But this here, is a real treat for Jazz-Fusion and Zeuhl fans to delve into. So open up a bottle of Champagne with some Ice, and enjoy the music and wonders of Nadavati.

Bent Knee - Shiny Eyed Babies

A couple of weeks ago I tuned into Prog Rock Deep Cuts with Ian Beabout, and discovered one of the most mind-blowing, intense up-and-coming bands that knocked me out of my seat. That band is Boston’s own Bent Knee. They have been around since forming in 2009 as they were students at the Berklee College of Music. 

And they are a six piece that considers; Courtney Swain on Vocals and Keyboards, Ben Levin on Guitar and Vocals, Jessica Klon on Bass and Vocals, Chris Baum on Violin and Vocals, Gavin Wallace-Ainsworth on Drums, and Vince Welch on Synths/Sound Designs. It is a mixture of Baroque, Avant-Pop, Chamber-Art Rock, and Post-Rock rolled into one. And they know the score very, very well. It’s almost as if giving the top 40 radio stations and Ryan Seacrest the big gigantic middle finger and showing how real music is done. 

Their second album Shiny Eyed Babies which was released last year, will have you terrified, jaw-dropped, and blown away from the moment you put the CD on from start to finish. It begins with a lullaby of the title track that has a Randy Newman-sque with a New Orleans vibe on the piano before it segues into the darkness with Way Too Long. 

This is where Courtney comes in with a powder keg ready to explode as if the mental patients are ready to take over the asylum. The blaring guitars and thumping drums done by Ben and Gavin creates the tension as if the pin is dropped. Courtney’s voice resembles the essence of Tori Amos, Grace Slick, Peter Hammill and Dagmar Krause (Art Bears/Slapp Happy/Henry Cow) as if she is portraying the mental patient as if she is revealing her dark secrets to the listener on the corruptive world that we are living in. 

And she can howl brilliantly well! The chaotic rhythm hits like an eruptive explosion as the double-voices come at you to give shivers down the spine. In God We Trust sees Bent Knee going into a vibration in the essence of The Arcade Fire’s Funeral-era before the finale heads into a tunnel driven rhythm while the dramatic boom of Battle Creek delves into the gothic orchestral beauty of a dystopian society that was once beautiful turned into a post-apocalyptic nightmare and the ominous touches, fits the atmosphere. 

Then the band give a relaxation for 2 minutes. With Untitled, they give Courtney shining through on her vocals on the Piano. It has a touch between Roxy Music’s Chance Meeting meets Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera but its Skin that goes into the style of MoeTar’s music with an attitude. There is the catchy rhythm between Gavin and Jessica Klon doing a jazzier groove and then heading into the Alternative Rocking-out adventure.

The last 2-minutes are like an eerie nightmare with a score-like Lynch before ending almost in the styles of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. It is a disturbing yet beautiful way to end the track out into a motivative finale. This is my third time listening to Bent Knee’s second album.

And for me, let me just say this is the album that is a challenging, powerful, and mind-blowing albums that just leaves me excited and wanting to hear more of their music. The experience on here is jaw-dropping. I hope they will do more in the years to come and since this is crowning achievement, just be prepare to embark on a journey, that will you take to a universe you haven’t seen before.