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If
Platform One
(Jazzprint, 2007) found Belgium's The Wrong Object on a
roll following
The Unbelievable Truth
(MoonJune, 2007), then Stories from the Shed
positions them as one of today's busiest groups. Three
records in one year is impressive enough, but Stories
is notable because, while the others were collaborations
with British jazzers Annie Whitehead (trombone), Harry
Beckett (trumpet/flugelhorn) and Elton Dean (saxophone),
Stories is TWO sans guests, proving that it can
stand just fine on its own.
First coming together as a Frank Zappa tribute band, TWO
has long since evolved beyond clever interpretation.
While many Zappa benchmarks can be found—guitarist
Michel Delville's reckless abandon, and sources ranging
from hardcore rock to jazz and contemporary classical
music—The Wrong Object has rapidly created its own
voice. Zappa still looms, but in intrepid spirit rather
than direct musical reference. Delville plays the
largest compositional role in this set of all-original
music, but equally strong contributions come from
saxophonist Fred Delplancq, trumpeter Jean-Paul
Estiévenart and bassist Damien Polard.
Unlike Platform and Unbelievable,
Stories is a studio recording—albeit one with no
overdubs and the same high energy level. The music
ranges from the assault of the jagged, riff-driven
Middle Eastern-tinged fanfare “Sonic Riot at the Holy
Palate” to the gradually unfolding “Malign Siesta,”
which begins gently, but shifts gears into an episodic
piece featuring all that's best about TWO in a scant
five minutes. Knotty themes, unrelenting grooves
(courtesy of Polard and drummer Laurent Delchambre)
despite often shifting meters, and concise solos manage
to say plenty in the short time they’re afforded,
especially Delville's high octane solo at the song's
end.
Delville may be the most prolific and idiosyncratic
composer of the group, but everyone has something to
offer. Delplancq's high-charged “15/05” revolves around
an 11/8 groove bolstered by Delville's harshly
overdriven guitar, but is largely a vehicle for extended
solos by the saxophonist and Estiévenart. Polard's
“Sheepwrecked” is equally based on a simple construct—an
ascending scale that gradually reveals itself amidst
electronic textures and Estiévenart's best solo of the
set. The trumpeter's “Saturn” is even more sketch-like,
with occasional moments of complete free play surrounded
by pulse-driven passages. Three brief and largely
pensive collective improvs are scattered throughout the
set, demonstrating a simpatico that can only come from
years spent playing together.
TWO reprises Delville's title track from The
Unbelievable Truth to close the disc. It's a
two-part, ten-minute trip through open-ended
spontaneity, quirky unison passages, aggressive fusion
powered by Polard's heavily effected bass and strong
solos by Estiévenart and Delplancq, before Delville
takes it out with an extended and unfettered solo that,
while speaking with its own screaming voice, would have
made Zappa proud.
The same can be said for all of Stories from the Shed.
There are few, if any, direct references to Zappa but,
in its avoidance of stylistic pigeonholing and sheer
irreverence, The Wrong Object has clearly grabbed the
torch and is moving it forward in its own, increasingly
unique way.—John Kelman,
All About Jazz
Belgian group The Wrong Object are adept at mixing
Canterbury styled prog rock with Zappa-esque jazz fusion
and Frippertronics to produce a beat that has elements
of the past and the future thundering through it.
Stories from the Shed cleverly fuses all of these
various musical elements together, expertly twisting
various world music styles into the mix to produce a
varied and unpredictable set of original material. The
opening “Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate” is a fine
example of this, a sub Arabesque whirl of horns,
percussion and electric strum, driven along at a pace
which is both hypnotic and hectic. The concluding
two-part adventure “The Unbelievable Truth” is where The
Wrong Object shine brightest, pulling out all the stops
with a perfectly-paced jazz rock symphony that sounds in
places like a Moroccan Soft Machine. —Edwin Pouncey,
Jazzwise
The title [The
Wrong Object Play Zappa and a few Tunes
of their Own] is no idle boast:
Michel Delville, leader and guitarist of
The Wrong Object from Liège, Belgium, is
writing tunes which emulate Zappa's taste
for succinct idiosyncrasy and melodic
lilt.... in a modern music scene that
regularly trundles out all the
paraphernalia of intelligence (laptops,
bald heads, performers' desk-tops like
mad electronic laboratories), this is the
real thing: an intelligent handling of
the Zappa/King Crimson legacy, a
tradition that questions the power of
rock with musical, rather than moral,
means. The clever title 'Cunnimingus'
indicates where this group is coming
from, as does Andrew Norris' surreal,
warped curses versus George W Bush on
'King Kong'".— Ben Watson, HIFINews (May
2004)
Le
jeune label newyorkais Moonjune Records soutient
le groupe belge THE WRONG OBJECT et propose à l’écoute
son dernier travail : STORIES FROM THE SHED. Encore une
perle à enfiler au collier des œuvres atypiques que ce
label ose épauler en prenant certainement plus de
risques que d’autres qui se contentent de commercialiser
des resucées de musiques mille fois entendues. Un peu
triste quand même de constater que des groupes européens
trouvent plus de soutien outre-Atlantique que chez nous.
Deviendrions-nous timides ? Depuis le printemps 2002 ces
musiciens réussissent à mener de front des
collaborations personnelles à divers projets musicaux et
leur goût commun pour une musique aux frontières du
rock, du jazz, du jazz/électro, du classique, du rock
progressif. Des noms prestigieux ont joué à leurs côtés.
Ed Mann (Zappa), Elton Dean (Soft Machine), Annie
Whitehead (Robert Wyatt) …
Ce qui les a réuni et cimente ce quintet c’est son amour
immodéré pour Frank Zappa au point de se transformer au
gré de leurs envies en cover band. Leurs concerts mêlent
reprises de ce musicien légendaire et compositions
personnelles ainsi que des improvisations. Constitué de
Michel Delville (guitares, synthés, chant), Damien
Polard (basse), Laurent Delchambre (batterie et
percussions), Fred Delplancq (sax ténor) et Jean-Paul
Estiévenart (trompette), j’ai été immédiatement appâtée
par les arrangements complexes et le duo synthés/guitare
aux sonorités inusitées.
Dès
le premier titre, « Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate » une
confusion avec Alamaailman Vasarat pourrait se créer.
Sax au timbres sombres et cajoleurs. Batterie présente
sans ostentation. Vigueur et hardiesse. Mélodie qui vous
colle aux oreilles par son dynamisme et sa présence.
Réminiscences orientales transposées sur un jeu de
« fanfare ». Le second titre, « 15/05 », commence par
des accords répétitifs aux claviers et une ligne de
basse sous-jacente qui tient le rythme. Puis le sax se
mettent de la partie et le développement devient plus
jazz. Travail en légères dissonances. Batterie fine. La
meilleure part est octroyée au sax. Ambiance cool,
légère. Les autres instruments apportent leurs
contributions par touches précises. Groove avec une
guitare utilisée au maximum de ses possibilités. « Sheepwrecked »
propose une approche plus jazz/électrique. Sons fuyants
et aériens. Trompette profonde, prenante, émouvante que
des passages plus pulsés mettent en exergue.
Construction du morceau simple avec peu d’éléments au
départ pour s’enrichir d’une multitude de sons
électroniques. Des improvisations parfaitement cadrées
et pour lesquelles l’osmose des instrumentistes est
totale. « Lifting Belly » sonne plus progressif.
L’orchestre se produit ensemble et non pas par passages
plus ou moins courts. Claviers, guitare, basse,
instruments à vent. Encore des sons étirés, planants,
mais retour d’une batterie solide et forte. Riffs plus
agressifs rehaussés par des arrangements complexes.
Notes qui sortent claires et pures. « Malign Siesta »
commence en douceur pour éclater dans des soli précis et
concis. Une nouvelle fois, l’émotion reste palpable
malgré des sonorités pas toujours faciles à
s’approprier. Grande maîtrise technique qui sert le côté
très personnel des compositions. Limite violent ce
morceau apporte une autre vision du groupe. Comme vous
pouvez le comprendre chaque titre mériterait que l’on
s’y arrête, un élément original pouvant toujours être
trouvé. C’est le cas de « Strangler Fig », qui débute
sur le thème de « Complainte du phoque en Alaska » de
Michel Rivard pour s’aventurer sur des rivages moins
calmes. Gros sons, limite barrés, bien intercalés avec
des respirations jazzy. Inhabituel, osé, humoristique,
unique. Et pour renforcer cette idée de disque rare, un
morceau final traité en deux parties : « The
Unbelievable Truth ». Passages bizarroïdes, agressifs en
flirtant avec la fusion. Trompette, basse, guitare ,
sax, tout à tour surprenants, déstabilisants,
aventureux, vivaces, virtuoses. Soli mémorables. Très
dans l’esprit de Zappa mais avec leur propre son. Si
vous aimez sortir de l’ordinaire sans être agressés,
faites l’acquisition de cet album. Dans son genre, un
des meilleurs de l’année. A suivre et à soutenir.
—Catherine Codridex,
Highlands Magazine : l’actualité du rock progressif
(Avril 2008)
The Wrong Object Stories from the Shed (Moonjune)- I don't know if you'd call this jazz, or prog with horns
or what. The songs are always in motion, the lines ever
intertwining and feel most invigorating. If this doesn't
move you, you must be dead. —Aiding
and Abetting
Fantastic outstanding cutting edge album. —Goran Satler,
KNTU Radio Dallas/Ft.WOrth, Texas, USA (on
Stories from the Shed)
Bop meets Mothers with some Zorn; mixed in. the Wrong
Object explore jazz in fits of twisted mashing and
soulful aching. "Lifting Belly" alone is worth the price
of admission to this soulful carnival, blending some
late 60's Floyd motifs and dirty fuzz bass into an
already hearty stew.
The Wrong Object actually formed from the remains of a
Zappa tribute band, and "Stories," their first studio
release, shows off both their own chops and the nuggets
they learned from the Grand Wazoo. Guitarist Michel
Delville is the engine driving this Belgian sestet. His
solos send "15/05" the mini-epic "The Unbelievable
Truth" close to the edge of chaos. Improv
meets tasty pysch-jazz grooves all over this set.
"Shipwrecked" and "Saturn" are driven by trumpeter
Jean-Paul Estievenart, who, with Damian Polard on bass,
provide a center in the arrangements for Deville to
explore with his solos.
The opening track on "Stories from the Shed" is called
"Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate," which is an apt
description for the music to follow. Each track is a
bracing mix of horns, prog jamming and sharp jazz riffs
that allow the band plenty of room to shine, but always
with a solid groove within which to return. —Music
Emissions
Stories From The Shed
di The
Wrong Object:
Dopo le collaborazioni con Elton
Dean, Harry Beckett, Annie Whitehead, Alex Maguire e
altri, ecco che questo giovane quintetto belga approda
dopo diversi live al primo album registrato in studio.
Qui il gruppo capitanato da Michel Delville (chitarra
elettrica e chitarra synth) fa tutto da solo e si
dimostra all’altezza del compito con una raccolta di 14
brani che mettono in luce la maturità di un combo che
senza rinnegare le matrici zappiane sa ormai mettersi in
gioco con maestria attingendo trasversalmente a diverse
scuole di pensiero quali il progressive, il folk
orientale e, ovviamente, il jazz, quello però di segno
inglese e più imparentato con l’idioma rock. Non è un
caso che ascoltando il cd vengano subito in mente certe
atmosfere sottolineate dall’elettronica che ritroviamo
ad esempio nell’ultimo lavoro dei Soft Machine Legacy:
Steam, uscito l’anno scorso sempre per la
Moonjune Records. Tutte le tracce meritano, in
particolare spiccano Theresa’s Dress, piccolo
capolavoro dalle reminescenze hopperiane di Delville, la
liberatoria Saturn, a firma di Jean-Paul
Estiévenart, il bravo trombettista del gruppo, e
Lifting Belly, altro tributo, neanche troppo
sommesso, alla macchina soffice. —Claudio
Bonomi,
Quaderni d’Altri Tempi
"Jazz fascists clear the room!" Wrong Object guitarist
Michel Delville would seem to announce with the first
burst of a metallic power chord at the outset of "Sonic
Riot at the Holy Palate," the leadoff track of the
Belgian quintet's Stories from the Shed. Purists
heading for the exits would miss a lot of great music
throughout this consistently inspired and often
unpredictable release, however, although perhaps they
would find the unpredictability off-putting. Their loss.
"Sonic Riot" features some tight and energetic unison
and harmony lines from tenor saxophonist Fred Delplancq
and trumpeter Jean-Paul Estiévenart in a fractured motif
with a Middle Eastern edge -- the tune soon stretches
into modal territory with a jazzy, alternately pointed
and lyrical Estiévenart solo over a solid pulse laid
down by bassist Damien Polard and drummer Laurent
Delchambre. And speaking of "fractured," through the
middle of the mix emerges what would seem to be the
unmistakable sounds of an In the Court of the Crimson
King-style Mellotron (apparently thanks to
Delville's guitar-synth, though). The next track,
"15/05," penned by Delplancq, gives the tenorist space
to display his own smooth yet robust tone and flow over
the changes -- the head and bridge pull from the hard
bop playbook but the rhythm section's attack on the
track's defining 6/8 vamp moves the track toward
jazz-rock (as do Delville's effects embellishments).
Polard's "Sheepwrecked" is a comparatively spacy
interlude, its looping intro of electronics and guitar
with Delchambre rolling and tumbling in the background
tipping a hat not only toward Soft Machine (after all,
this is the Moonjune label) but, as the track flows on
through a lovely melodic trumpet-and-tenor theme and the
electronics continue to burble and skitter beneath
Estiévenart's beautifully understated solo, also
bringing American trumpeter Cuong Vu's electric and
electrifying work with bassist Stomu Takeishi to mind.
The ears of old Canterbury fans might also perk up at
Polard's hijinks on "Lifting Belly," as the bassist
conjures up processed sounds not unlike that of Richard
Sinclair during "Chaos at the Greasy Spoon," an
interlude during one of the suite-like structures by
Hatfield and the North's The Rotters' Club.
Following a brief calm intro, "Malign Siesta" is almost
a summation of the album's more uptempo side in five or
so minutes, presenting a guessing game for the listener
as it tumbles through herky-jerky unison playing, tenor
and trumpet trading licks over a swinging break, a
lovely lyrical theme, a brief drum interlude, a fusoid
guitar solo, and more. The linked trio of "Theresa's
Dress," "Rippling Stones," and "Theresa's Dress
(Reprise)" is exploratory and highly improvisational,
demonstrating the bandmembers' ability to listen and
interact in the moment without necessarily blowing the
roof off the joint, while "Waves and Radiations"
features more spacy looping, this time with Polard's
Hugh Hopper-esque effects-laden bass etching its way
through the sonic landscape. "Saturn" continues a
spacious feel, its trumpet-led theme echoing Miles with
long lines stretching out dramatically over a 7/8 rhythm
-- the tune skirts free jazz but never strays too far
into chaos, the bandmembers finding their way back to
the theme for a satisfying wrap-up. The two-part
"Unbelievable Truth," concluding the disc, is a truly
warped hybrid, with more tinges of the Middle East, a
off-kilter nearly avant-prog bridge, and a lengthy
rollicking tenor showcase that permutes into a tight
Euro-jazz-rock vamp before dissipating into free
dialogues soon dominated by Delville's scorching lead
guitar. Delville burns it up in the spotlight as the
band coalesces around him with a spectacular ascending
ensemble arrangement leading directly into a slam-bang
unison thematic finish. Might even the purists have
enjoyed that one? Again, their loss...and more room at
the table for listeners with less restrictive tastes.
Recorded live in the studio by the core quintet and
consisting entirely of original compositions, Stories
from the Shed proves that the Wrong Object needn't
turn to Brit jazz guest stars (as appreciated as those
previous collaborations have been) or Zappa tunes to
come up with arguably their strongest outing yet. —Dave
Lynch,
All Music Guide
Fred
Delplancq, on le retrouve (avec Jean-Paul Estiévenart)
sur une petite bombe : "Stories From The Shed" de
The Wrong Object, le groupe jazz rock
progressif de Michel Delville, Damien Polard et Laurent
Delchambre. Souvenez-vous, j’en avais parlé lors du
dernier
festival Jazz à Liège.
L’album est sorti sur le label New-Yorkais
Moonjune Records (clin d’œil à un titre de
Soft Machine, ça veut tout dire!). Zappa,
l’école de Canterbury, Robert Fripp mais aussi John Zorn
ne sont jamais loin. Accrochez-vous, c’est fort et c’est
bon. Album décapant, riche et éblouissant de maturité et
d’énergie. —Jazzques
Stories From The Shed is de eerste studio album van de
Belgische The Wrong Object. De groep begon in 2002 met
het spelen van Zappa-covers. Zij hebben 2 live Cd’s
uitgebracht: één met Elton Dean (ex Soft Machine, alt
sax) en één met Annie Whitehead (ex Penguin Cafe
Orchestra, trombone). Nu kan men wel gissen wat voor
stijl wij hier hebben.
5 jaar na de oprichting vonden de heren dat de tijd rijp
is om hun eigen muziek te gaan spelen. Nou, het is zeker
niet te vroeg. Het geluid is rijk, de nummers zijn één
voor één sterk, soms zelfs met de nodige drama; de hele
plaat is consistent, goed gearrangeerd en heeft geen
zwakke momenten. Dit terwijl de plaat is in de studio
live, zonder overdubs opgenomen (!). Ten minste, dat
staat op het achterkan van het hoesje. Het moet echter
gezegd, er is hier niet veel Zappa overgebleven. Wat mij
betreft, gelukkig maar. De muziek is nog steeds wel
redelijk avant-gardistisch, maar het leunt meer naar de
Europese voorbeelden van Henry Cow en Soft Machine, soms
ook King Crimson uit de Red-periode. Dit is de stijl dat
door Chris Cutler van Henry Cow RIO genoemd werd. Rock
In Opposition. In dat soort rock zit veel experimentele
jazz en eigenlijk vrij weinig rock. Soms hoor je in hun
muziek ook de invloeden van Brand X en de latere Gong.
Misschien lijkt het het meest qua geluid op de latere
telg van de Gong-familie – Gongzilla.
Dit is de recept: neem Gongzilla, verminder de gitaar,
voeg sax en trompet toe, en je krijgt The Wrong Object.
Een alternatief: neem de latere Soft Machine, beperk de
improvisaties tot een verantwoord niveau en maak de
basgitaar iets meer prominent. Je hebt de picture
intussen hoop ik.
Er is hier dus veel saxofoon en trompet, leidend en
improviserend. De elektrische gitaar en elektronica zijn
meestal ondersteunend, zij scheppen de kaders, maar
overheersen niet.
Hoewel, aan het eind van de plaat, in The Unbelievable
Truth (geïnspireerd door de gelijknamige film van Hal
Hartley?) gaat de gitarist goed los, een fantastische
solo, misschien alleen net te lang.
Ik zou zeggen jongens, jullie zijn goed bezig. Heel erg
bedankt, ik heb hiervan genoten, en het smaakt naar
meer! —Misha,
Prog-Nose vzw
The Unbelievable
Truth is another showcase blending trad with fusion
with jazz moderne. The incomparable Elton Dean, now
unfortunately gone to gig in the Great Jam in the Skies,
is in top form during the entire live set (Paris 2005),
slipping in and out of melody and abstraction like a
veritable chameleon, backed by a young group that had
originally been rehearsing some of his and Zappa’s
compositions. They give the saxmaster full throttle
while rhythm sectioning in a fashion one would expect :
carefully bedding Dean’s lines in nuance and coloration,
stepping up to accompaniment and response while crafting
sidepools of their own. Each is a seasoned vet, well
integrated in his instrumentality, but special note must
be made of Laurent Delchambre’s drumwork, which is
fluent beyond any expectation—conversational,
punctuatorial, and complementary to a fault. With seven
songs in 70 minutes, one can well anticipate how much
elbow room is given to exploration and elasticity, but
there is a good deal more than even that. Naturally,
Soft Machine’s essence is never far from the surface,
but there exist multitudinous side strains : Keef
Hartley, Miles, Gil Evans, the old Liebman and Motian
ECM releases, Strata Institute, recent Bruford jazzworks,
etc. A delight from start to finish, The Unbelievable
Truth tributizes the esteemed artist fittingly. If
ya gotta go out—and we all hafta—then this is the way to
do it. —Mark S. Tucker,
Signal to Noise : The Journal
of Improvised & Experimental Music
When Frank Zappa died on 4 December
1993 a little bit of me died too. Never again would I
hear his music live again, right there, up on stage as I
did countless times in the past. Never again would I
hear his wonderful compositions brought to life by
musicians dedicated to the cause, musicians who
understood the statistical density of it all, as
Zappa used to say. Boy, was I wrong.
You see, the Wrong Object do just
that and a whole lot more. They don’t just resurrect
Zappa’s more challenging compositions; they have the
understanding and technical ability to take them into
exciting new directions in a way I’m certain Zappa would
have approved of. Check out the awesome sax on “Filthy
Habits” on this CD and tell me if I’m wrong!
But that’s only half the story as
Platform One demonstrates so wonderfully. The Wrong
Object do more than pay homage to Zappa. With a line-up
augmented by two of the band’s heroes, the incomparable
Brit trombonist Annie Whitehead and trumpet player
extraordinaire Harry Beckett, the band showcase their
own compositions to dazzling effect.
“The Honeypump Riff” sets
out the Belgian’s musical stall for all to hear with a
stunning contribution from Annie while there’s clearly a
little Belgian magic woven into Annie and Harry’s own
pieces: check out the solos on Whitehead’s “This Affects
That” and Beckett’s “Scarlet Mine”.
So how did this all come
to happen? Well, the miracle of the internet and MP3
files played a part. Just as with the band’s last album
recorded with the late, great Elton Dean, rehearsals
were out of the question. Time and place put paid to
that. Instead music files were sent through the ether,
ideas exchanged over the internet. Annie and Harry
worked on The Wrong Object’s pieces wherever they were,
the Wrong Object worked on theirs and then…it was show
time!
Recorded and mixed live
over two nights, this album tells the story as it was –
no overdubs! If you know The Wrong Object, you’d
expect faultless musicianship and rest assured you get
plenty of that. But what I find so astonishing as I
listen to this album for the umpteenth time (even as I
write these notes), is the musical empathy shared on
stage between musicians who had not only not played
together before but who had only met a few hours prior
to the first gig. It takes more than consummate ability
and a total understanding of your instrument to produce
music like this. It takes love. Stick it in the CD
player now and indulge yourself with something
wonderful.
—
Matthew
Wright, BBC Radio 2 (On
Platform One / Voiceprint Music 2007)
Improvisationen virtuos aufgebrochen und zu anarchischer
Tiefe und grandioser Dichte geführt wird. Diese
harmonische Freiheit ist schlicht perfekt!
Bisweilen rockt die Band erstaunlich hart, brettert
durch ihre Jazzgefilde und macht die Atmosphäre
stürmisch. Andere Songs versiegen fast in der ihnen
eigenen lyrischen Melancholie, die wie ein hauchzarter
Nebel über einer frühmorgendlichen Stimmung liegt. Schon
der Beginn der CD ist perfekt: nach dem freien, wilden
Intro spielen Wrong Object ein an Ska erinnerndes Motiv,
das sich immer mehr in die Richtung entwickelt, aus der
alle Songs der CD ihre Inspiration beziehen: dem
Frühsiebziger, herzhaft komplexen, dynamisch rockenden
Jazzrock mit Spezialorientierung auf die Briten Nucleus.
Nucleus stecken nicht nur in der steten Präsenz der
Trompete, ebenso haben die kraftvollen Arrangements das
besondere, ausgezeichnete Flair des Vorbildes.
The Wrong Object, Michel Delville (g, electr), Fred
Delplancq (ts), Jean-Paul Estievenart (tr), Damien
Polard (b, electr) und Laurent Delchambre (dr, perc,
electr) sind beileibe keine "alte" Band. Michel Delville
ist Baujahr 1969 und mit Abstand der Älteste, Jean-Paul
Estievenart ist, als Jüngster, 1985 geboren. Und dennoch,
seine Einflüsse sind Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Woody
Shaw - die heutige Zeit baut auf frühere; moderne
Einflüsse sind rar, weil diese wiederum auf Vorgänger
verweisen können, die zumeist vor über 35 Jahren (oder
davor) ihre beste Zeit hatten. Das Ensemble spielt
virtuos und technisch herausragend. Melodische und
abstrakte Passagen sind stets sehr lebhaft und intensiv,
die emotionalen Stimmungen tief ausgeschöpft und
beeindruckend. Gitarrist Delville, Saxophonist Delplancq
und Trompeter Estievenart solieren mit ihren
Melodieinstrumente zuvorderst, Bass und Schlagzeug
unterarbeiten diesen spannungsreichen Flächen einen
impulsiven, differenziert komplexen Rhythmus, der hier
und dort selbst solistischen Anspruch pflegt. Manchen
Songs sind elektronische Klänge unterlegt, wie ein Wink
aus der symphonischen Rockmusik.
Auf "Stories from the Shed" sind die Songs erheblich
viel kürzer als auf den Vorgängerwerken ausgefallen, was
nicht unbedingt auffällt. Die Themen scheinen ineinander
auf- und -überzugehen, der intensive instrumentale
Ausbau der Stücke führt solistisch aus dem einen in den
anderen Track, wo aus einem Nucleus-ähnlichen Part
plötzlich ein Zappa-inspiriertes Gitarrensolo wächst.
Die 14 Stücke sind ein organisches Gesamtkunstwerk, das
komplett seine größte Wirkung entfaltet. Die einzelnen
Tracks funktionieren ohne Frage auch für sich, in der
Menge ihresgleichen ist der hohe Energielevel aber
unschlagbar.
Wrong Object? Right Object!
—Ragazzi
Hablamos de una música fundamentalmente escrita, y que es el
resultado de un proceso de gestación riguroso y de
ensayos intensivos. La composición es, pues, un rasgo
excluyente y con frecuencia prevalece, en tanto modelo
creativo, sobre la improvisación. La experimentación
rítmica y tímbrica es otra característica que sobresale,
gracias a la destreza instrumental que por lo general
exhiben los músicos. Este aspecto no necesariamente
supone una formación de conservatorio esterilizante, ni
se traduce en un virtuosismo exacerbado; se trata de la
libertad de investigar y explotar las posibilidades de
los instrumentos -y demás fuentes y objetos sonoros-,
prueba de lo cual son, por otra parte, las habituales
formaciones instrumentales heterodoxas. —Siete
Octavos
Storia di un minuto : Per un volgare scherzo del destino
ho messo su i The Wrong Object subito dopo aver
ascoltato “Mingus Ah Um” mentre leggevo un libro
guardandone le figure. Sarebbe un pó come capitare per
caso ad una festa in casa di sconosciuti dopo i fuochi
d’artificio di fine anno. Eppure ascolto “Stories from
the Shed” per la quarta volta di seguito senza capire
perché non riesco a smettere.
Certo: esiste la possibilità che io non abbia niente di
meglio da fare o che mi sia addormentato sul Mac
sognando New Orleans sotto la neve e c’é persino
l’opzione che mi vede completamente soggiogato dalla
sensualità dei ritmi caldi e imperfetti della band
belga.
Il
dubbio resta e l’unica maniera di scioglierlo é capire
se quest’album é un mezzo capolavoro o meno.
La
verità, come sempre, sta nel mezzo dell’album e in
questo caso si chiama “Malign Siesta” ed é il
kindergarden dove i belgi giostrano sul filo di un ritmo
che puó sembrare sudamericano ai più stolti di noi ma
che invece richiama il jazz del Mingus di cui sopra e lo
fa appoggiandolo su di una struttura progressive
pericolosamente sbilanciata verso uno Zappa
metropolitano e loquace come non mai.
The Wrong Object é un intreccio di chitarre, sax,
trombe, flicorni, elettronica varia e percussioni
ragionate. Un paragone moderno puó forse essere fatto
coi Jaga Jazzist di “A Livingroom Hush” a cui vada
aggiunta della sperimentazione o uno schiamazzo notturno
ad opera di un Coltrane ubriaco a zonzo coi King
Crimson.
Per una volta pero proporrei di fregarcene di fare nomi
e dare fiato alle invttive simil-gitane di 'Sonic Riot
at the Holy Palate' o alle bordate rumoriste di 'Strangler
Fig' le quali sanno spiegarsi meglio di me che ancora
non capisco se mi sono perso sul serio e chiedo
informazioni ad una 'Rippling Stones' che di certo non
mi auita. Per i più noiosi di voi: i The Wrong Object
annoverano (a ragione) influenze come Béla Bartok, Soft
Machine, Aka Moon e dalla loro nascita nel 2002 hanno
sicuramente preferito l’attività live a quella in studio
facendo uscire 3 album che contano sulla collaborazione
di gente come il compianto Elton Dean (Soft Machine –
ancora loro !), la sregolata Annie Whitehead e il
leggendario Harry Beckett. Il resto é storia futura che
parte dal passato e arriva tra le mani del quintetto
belga che, bontà loro, ne fa quel che più gli aggrada e
nel percorso lascia cadere una gemma come l’album che
per la sesta volta é nel frattempo ripartito nel mio
lettore. —Alex Franquelli, kronic
The Wrong Object, Stories from the Shed. The
world of Jazz-Rock has had its ups and downs in the past
several decades. Once Disco-Funk invaded the world of
Fusion it seemed fashionable to turn away altogether.
From around the time of the millennium, however, serious
Jazz-Rock seemed to turn another page and the music
began coming back.
One of the bands who is in the new vanguard is “The
Wrong Object,” a horn and guitar oriented mid-size group
that hails from Belgium. They began by playing covers of
Frank Zappa’s music and broadened out with their own
originals. A recent collaboration with the late Elton
Dean, wind man for the Soft Machine and its modern-day
offshoots, brought them to my attention (See my review
in this past January’s Cadence Magazine).
Moonjune Records has followed up with the band in its
own full-flown glory, “Stories from the Shed.” Bass and
drums are in the tight yet busy and driving vein. Fred
Delplancq on tenor and Jean-Paul Estiévenart on trumpet
and flugelhorn, respectively, form a solid ensemble and
can solo with weight. Guitar and electronics man Michel
Delville plays an idiomatic axe that can groove as well
as wail and writes much of the band’s material. Like the
Later Soft Machine and Zappa, it is certainly the music
itself that sets them apart. There is much of musical
merit to digest on this disk and I recommend it highly.
Signing off again. —Gapplegate Music
The Wrong Object, Stories From the Shed. MoonJune
Records have done a great job over the years bringing
some excellent progressive jazz releases to our
attention, and they are at it again with the latest from
Belgium's The Wrong Object, titled Stories From the
Shed. This five piece ensemble has been rather busy
in recent memory, as they follow up 2007's The
Unbelievable Truth and Platform One (yes,
that's three releases now in less than a year!) with
this 'live in the studio' recording that features no
guest stars this time around, just the five members of
the band. From start to finish, it's impressive stuff,
daring jazz-fusion with plenty of rock edge, as this
former Frank Zappa tribute group show that they also
excel at writing their own compositions that are
memorable and instrumentally appealing. Listen to
bassist Damien Polard knocking out a blistering,
distorted solo on the otherwise soaring "Lifting Belly",
which in itself is a great vehicle for the sax & trumpet
melodies of Fred Deplancq & Jean-Paul Estiévenart.
There's also the complex & quirky jazz of "Malign
Siesta", with drummer Laurent Delchambre's manic stick
work keeping in perfect synch with the intricate horn
lines. You can hear the influence of Zappa, Robert Fripp,
and Terje Rypdal in the playing of guitarist Michel
Delville, his solos at the end of this piece literally
exploding through the mix with plenty of fire and
passion. More of his distorted rumblings can also be
heard on the energetic "15/05", a real jazz burner that
features plenty of tight playing from the whole group.
You might detect a slight hint of Waka Jawaka era
Zappa by way of Weather Report's Heavy Weather on
the intense "Strangler Fig", while the near 7-minute
"Saturn" is an exploratory journey into melodic
free-jazz (if that is possible!) with Delville doing his
most convincing Zappa guitar solo on the album, sounding
impossibly close to Frank's tone & phrasing on the
Joe's Garage album. Delplancq's squonking sax bursts
here also need to be mentioned, adding a manic fury to
this otherwise somber song. The CD ends with the
two-part, 10 minute epic "The Unbelievable Truth-Part 1
& II", which features plenty of blowing from the whole
band and the most proggy vibe on the whole album.
Dalville's wah-wah guitar solo on this one will send
chills up your spine!
Stories From the Shed
is one fascinating tale that needs to be taken out of
the confines of the 'shed' and told to the masses. The
Wrong Object have unveiled a real corker of a jazz album
here, fiery on all levels featuring chops galore, but
more importantly, tons of memorable melodies and
unbelievable arrangements. Jazz freaks and instrumental
prog lovers need to get their hands on this at all
costs!! —Pete Pardo,
Sea of Tranquility
Ich würde ja zu gern mal wissen, was an
manchen Ländern besonderes ist, so dass sich dort ganz
eigenwillige musikalische Kulturen entwickeln. Über
Skandinavien und das dortige melancholische Retro-Gen
wird ja öfters mal räsoniert, aber auch die RIO-Avantgarde-Kultur,
die sich gerade in einem doch eher kleinen Land wie
Belgien entsponnen hat, ist sicherlich eine Betrachtung
wert. Und da passt es doch gut, dass sich Jazzer,
Zappaisten, Avantgardisten und Rocker zu einer Formation
namens The Wrong Object zusammengeschlossen haben, um
ihren ganz eigenen musikalischen Cocktail unter die
Leute zu bringen.
Unter Führung des Gitarristen Michel
Delville legen The Wrong Object nun ihr erstes
offizielles, großes Studiowerk vor. Bereits im letzten
Jahr sind zwei formidable Livealben erschienen, auf
denen die Belgier aber im Prinzip als Backing-Band von
Canterbury- und Jazz-Größen fungierten und sich daher
den Ruhm mindestens teilen mussten. Nun aber gehört die
Spielwiese ganz ihnen und so gibt es hier auch nur
Kompositionen von Bandleader Delville, aber auch von
Sax-Spieler Delplancq, wie auch von Trompeter
Estievenart zu hören. Dabei kann man auch sehr schön die
Hintergründe der Musiker erkennen. Delville ist der
Rocker, der zappabeeinflusste Avantgardist, während die
beiden Bläser schon eher dem Jazz zuneigen.
The Wrong Object spielen auch im Studio
live, schon um den improvisatorischen Charakter, der bei
aller Komposition schon eine große Rolle spielt und für
entsprechende Frische sorgt, zu erhalten. So geht es
denn gleich mit einem wilden Klangkuddelmuddel los,
welches den Hörer gut auf das Folgende einstimmt. The
Wrong Object streifen durch schrägen JazzRock, rockigen
Canterbury, avantgardistische Klanggebilde und rockige
Gefilde. Hektisch trötendes Saxofon, wilde, ausladende
Trompetensoli und die scharfe, riffende Gitarre
beherrschen das Klangbild. In ruhigeren, fließenderen
Passagen überwiegt deutlich der jazzige Charakter der
Musik. Gerade in der Estievenart-Komposition „Saturn“
lehnt sich die Band hier weit über den imaginären Zaun.
Aber immer wieder sorgen wüste Eruptionen und
Klangexplosionen dafür, dass es hier nie wirklich ruhig
wird. Bassist Polard und vor allem Schlagzeuger
Delchambre legen ein groovendes, rockendes Fundament,
welches den Songs ordentlich Feuer einhaucht. Delville
und Delchambre sorgen mit dem Gitarren-Synth und
„Electronics“ sogar für einige krautig-elektronische
Klangwolken („Waves and Radiations“) beziehungsweise
Klangflächen im Hintergrund. Ein Sonderlob geht
sicherlich an den jungen Schlagzeuger Delchambre, der
sehr virtuos und kreativ sein Set bedient.
„Stories from the Shed“ ist ein tolles
Album. Der einzige Mecker ist... es geht noch besser.
Dazu gibt es dieser Tage bestimmt noch eine Rezension,
in der dies dargelegt wird. The Wrong Object holen noch
nicht alles aus sich heraus, bleiben manchmal ein
bisschen zu sehr „laid back“ und entspannt. Aber das ist
natürlich Beschwerde auf hohem Niveau, denn hier erlebt
man einen Trip von Canterbury zu Avantgarde und zurück
mit einem Schuss Zappa in knapp einer Stunde, was will
man mehr? —Thomas Kohlruβ,
Babyblaue Prog-reviews
Con i
Soft Machine,
discografico, puoi andare tranquillo, ma quando ti si
presenta una band belga dai
tratti bizzarri
(chitarre synth, tromba, flicorno, sax tenore, basso,
batteria e loop imbizzariti)? Che fare? E poi, con quel
nome:
The Wrong Object.
Quando si dice pigliare un granchio… il producer
Pavkovic se la gioca e la sua scommessa si chiama
Stories From The Shed
(Moonjune
– 2008).
Se il buon disco si sente (già) dalla prima traccia,
possiamo stare tranquilli. In fondo, questo
oggetto sbagliato
è un po’ un figlioccio di Hopper e compagni. Ma c’è
qualcosina di diverso. Di più
autonomo.
Provate ad immaginare Goran Bregovic che ingaggia nella
sua band il Fripp di
Lark’s Tongue In Aspic
con il sax di John Zorn, la tromba di Mark Isham, magari
rubando qualche loop dall’archivio dell’ultimo Wyatt. L’effetto
dell’opener Sonic
Riot At The Holy Palate è impressionante, ma
non aspettatevi che i nostri si seggano dando (solo)
sfoggio di bravura tecnica. Nella loro calcolata
rappresentazione di accostamenti
errati
sviluppano codici da generi. E
riducono ogni genere in un codice cifrato entro cui
inserire un’imprevedibile chiave d’interpretazione.
Una tromba davisiana per capire il drumming alla
Copeland, per esempio (15/05).
Giochi di specchi, falsi piani e accenti spostati da
fare perdere la tramontana (Sheepwrecked) oppure
masse sonore dissonanti al limite del
fastidio (Acquiring
The Taste, nulla a che spartire con i Gentle
Giant) o dai contorni space (Waves
And Radiations). Le
compulsioni nevrotiche di un basso
distorto ci conducono nell’inferno sonoro di
Lifting Belly,
mitigato dall’apporto soft dei fiati. Qualche effetto
zappiano alla
Blessed Relief presto sabotato dai
distorsori (Malign
Siesta), quindi le citate consonanze con i
Soft Legacy tra
sperimentalismo e jazz (Theresa’s
Dress con reprise e
Rippling Stones),
esplosioni rumoristiche ammazzafusion
alla Naked City (Strangler
Fig) e poi, verso gli ultimi suoni, classe (Saturn)
e commistioni sempre più azzardate ma con vero e
autentico mestiere (The
Unbelievable Truth… con un divino solo del
chitarrista Michel Delville tra Frank Zappa e Mike
Stern). Per niente facili, questi CD sempre meno
allineati…
Alla fine dei giochi, tra le righe (delle track)
si percepisce l’aria di un concept ermetico e surreale,
dai contorni inquietanti tra pecore
naufragate e pance rimesse a nuovo, sino all’incredibile
verità.
Il resto – che arriva appena monta la voglia di
riascoltare daccapo le
Stories -
è tutto da scoprire, anzi, da carpire. Non
necessariamente da capire…
Ah, dimenticavo: scommessa vinta.—Riccardo Storti,
Mentelocale : Magazine di cultura e tempo libero a
Genova e in Liguria
Hailing
out of Belgium, The Wrong Object have released their
latest studio effort entitled “Stories From The Shed”
on MoonJune Records. Fans of Jazz-Rock-Fusion are gonna
wanna track this puppy down. It hits all the right
notes, and lots of them. Building on a foundation of
Jazz-Fusion this quintet inject a ton of Avant-rock into
the music to craft a busy sonic pallet that will satisfy
the most ardent Soft Machine or even Frank Zappa music
fan. The rhythm section is left to craft the foundation
while searing guitar and various electronic sounds
meander throughout the proceedings allowing for sax,
trumpet and flugelhorn to take the lead in most of the
compositions. The Wrong Object create music that has
without question an uncompromising Jazz feel, there’s no
doubt about it. But it’s the other stuff that pops up
that will be of interest to those who listen to music
outside of the Jazz genre. My gut tells me; if you like
Soft Machine or any of the solo work of that band’s
members “Stories From The Shed” will find a real
happy spot on your CD tray. —Jerry Lucky,
Progressive Rock World
Eine Begegnung mit Michel Delville ist eine Kette von
Bingo!s, schließlich ist der belgische Gitarrist (zusammen
mit Andrew Norris) Autor von Frank Zappa, Captain
Beefheart and the Secret History of Maximalism (2005),
Mitspieler in Markus Staussens Trank Zappa Grappa in
Varese?, mit Guy Segers einer von The Moving Tones und
neben Pierre Vervloesem Belgiens anderer Anwärter für
die Guitar-Hall-of-Fame. Stories from the Shed
(MJR018) zeigt ihn jedoch mit seiner ersten Adresse THE
WRONG OBJECT, zusammen mit Fred Delplancq am Tenorsax,
Jean-Paul Estievenart an der Trompete, Damien Polard an
Bass & Electronics sowie Laurent Delchambre an Drums &
Electronics. Delville ist Jahrgang 1969 und der Geist
von Bitches Brew, Hot Rats, Emergency
und In The Court Of The Crimson King inspiriert,
neben Klassikern der ’anderen‘ Fraktion wie Strawinski
und Bartok, tatsächlich und explizit (im Interview mit
www.powermetal.de), die belgische Formation, die sich
zudem auch schon mit Elton Dean, Harry Beckett und Annie
Whitehead zusammenschloss. Dass ihre Musik, die sich mit
Haut und Haaren dem Versuch verschrieben hat, Avantness
als populäre Kunst schmackhaft zu machen, auf Leonardo
Pavkovics Soft-Machineophilem Label erscheint,
unterstreicht die Canterbury-Affinität. Gitarren und
Bläser verschwören sich, um ein Dancing in your head
anzuheizen, gleichzeitig bestechend melodiös und an
allen Ecken und Enden hitzig und widerborstig, etwa wenn
’Waves And Radiations‘ einen mit Kirchengeorgel und
Elektronik rückwärts überfällt und dann nahtlos in
’Saturn‘ hinein driftet mit seiner ständig vollkommen
unterwühlten Bläserpoesie. Wer nach Sound in der
verlängerten Perspektive von Waka/Jawaka, Soft Machine
oder Nucleus und ein Wechselspiel von Jams - drei Stücke
sind Bandimprovisationen -, Soloeskapaden und immer
wieder puzzlig arrangierter Dynamik lechzt, gebändigt
auf längstens 5:41 oder 6:50, für den ist The Wrong
Object ganz das Richtige. [ba 59 rbd] —Bad
Alchemy
(July 2008)
The Wrong Object's, Stories From The Shed. A very
unique group consisting of guitar, bass, drums, trumpet
and saxophone. It's right there on the line where I'm
not sure if I should call it fusion or jazz-influenced
progressive rock. Either way, this is some really tasty
stuff that you're sure to hear on an upcoming episode of
The Fusion Reactor pretty soon! —Moses, Music Director,
ProgPositivity Radio
Si tratta di una presa live assieme ai giovani belgi The
Wrong Object con brani originali del gruppo e qualche
brano ripescato da “Ninesense” o “Boundaries” spesso
riproposti da Dean dal vivo, come “Seven for Lee” o “The
Basho variations”. Accanto a un quintetto che non ha
nulla da invidiare in elasticità e morbidezza ai Nucleus
di Ian Carr, quello che ci offre Dean è uno degli ultimi
meravigliosi respiri nei suoi saxello e alto.—Michele
Coralli,
Blow Up (November 2007)
The Wrong Object is een Belgisch quintet, opgericht in
2002 door Michel Delville (gitaar, electronics).
Momenteel bestaat de groep uit Fred Delplancq (tenorsax),
Jean-Paul Estiévenart (trompet, flugelhorn), Damien
Polard (bas, electronics) en Laurent Delchambre (drums,
percussie). Vooral Delplancq en Estiévenart zijn
ondertussen wel gekende namen in de Belgische jazzscène.
Met Stories From The Shed schotelen ze ons een
stevige cocktail van jazz, rock en klezmer voor,
doorspekt met de nodige humor en gekte in de geest van
Frank Zappa. Dit laatste is niet zo verwonderlijk want
ze begonnen indertijd met eigenzinnige covers te spelen
van de meneer die ooit de vraag stelde ‘Does humour
belong into music?’ en daar zelf het enige mogelijke
antwoord op gaf. Niet toevallig koos Ed Mann,
percussionist van Zappa, indertijd de Belgische groep om
met hem op het podium te staan tijdens het grote
internationale tributefestival Zappanale. Dit jaar
werden ze trouwens opnieuw uitgenodigd om er op te
treden samen met Stanley Jason Zappa. The Wrong Object
treedt Zappa’s visie bij met titels als Sonic Riot At
The Holy Palate (niet toevallig zijn Michel en Fred
culinaire liefhebbers), Strangler Fig en
Lifting Belly. Muzikaal laveert alles tussen eerder
rustige soundscapes, contemplatieve straight jazz en
pure fusion met flitsende solo’s. Er staan enkel eigen
nummers op het programma, gecomponeerd door Delville of
de verschillende groepsleden.
Zeker voor wie ook platen van Aka Moon, King Crimson en
Univers Zero in zijn collectie zitten heeft of wie ook
maar de minste interesse vertoont voor wat er zich
afspeelt tussen de Canterbury scene en nu-jazz. Onlangs
konden we in de Jazzstation (Sint-Joost-ten-Noode)
vaststellen dat de heren live nog veel meer te bieden
hebben. Hopelijk luisteren concertorganisators eens met
een onbevooroordeeld oor naar deze cd en krijgt de groep
een kans om op grotere schaal op te treden hier te lande.
Het verhaal achter The Unbelievable Truth is
eerder triestig. Het was één van de laatste optredens
van Elton Dean, de legendarische saxofonist die ooit het
mooie weer uitmaakte bij Soft Machine. Kort na deze
opname overleed hij. Vandaar ook de cd-titel. Het gaat
om een concertopname van 18 oktober 2005 in Parijs. Het
was Elton Dean zelf die er kort voor zijn overlijden op
aandrong dat dit zou uitgebracht worden. Gelukkig hebben
ze bij MoonJune zijn wens vervuld want dit is een sterk
staaltje van fusionjazz. Uitgesponnen nummers met ruimte
voor elke muzikant maar tevens een stevig groepsgeluid.
De setlist bevatte die avond drie nummers van Dean (Seven
For Lee, Baker’s Treat, The Basho
Variations) en vier van Delville/The Wrong Object.
In totaal goed voor 68 minuten intens luisterplezier.
Twee verrassende cd’s die niet meteen tot het hipste
genre van vandaag behoren maar wel het product zijn van
muzikanten met een eigen visie en zin voor uitdagingen.
Meer info over deze groep via www.wrongobject.com.
Binnenkort een uitgebreid interview met Michel Delville
in MassMuzikaS. — Georges Tonla Briquet, MassMuzikaS
The
Wrong Object est d’abord connu pour ses reprises de
Frank Zappa (Prog-résiste 38), mais ce groupe vaut bien
plus que cela et il nous le démontre magistralement sur
cet album live enregistré sans overdub aucun, lors de
deux concerts à Liège et Malines. Créé en 2002, The
Wrong Object a toujours évolué aux confins du rock, du
Canterbury, du jazz, du funk et du classique (Bartok),
avec une teinte humoristique ou ironique et une facilité
d’improvisation qui permet à ces musiciens d’exception
de mélanger allègrement les styles et les influences.
Mais ce qui fait la richesse du Wrong Object, c’est
aussi son ouverture à d’autres musiciens tels que Ed
Mann, le légendaire percussionniste de Zappa, ou
récemment avec Elton Dean, le saxophoniste du Soft
Machine de la grande époque, avec qui ils ont enregistré
un très bel album live à Paris (2007). Cette fois The
Wrong Object a invité la tromboniste britannique Annie
Whitehead et le trompettiste Harry Beckett. Annie
Whitehead a été membre du Chris MacGregor’s Brotherhood
of Breath, du Carla Bley Very Big Band et du Penguin
Cafe Orchestra. Elle a travaillé avec de nombreuses
personnalités, comme Robert Wyatt mais on a pu la
retrouver dans des registres très différents avec entre
autres Elvis Costello, Blum, Joe Jackson et Chris Rea.
Harry Beckett est une pointure dans le milieu du jazz
anglais, free et avant-gardiste. Il a travaillé avec
Charlie Mingus, Graham Collier, Nucleus, The Brotherhood
of Breath, Jack Bruce, John Surman, Alexis Korner et une
bonne part des musiciens de l’Ecole de Canterbury. The
Wrong Object démontre ici ses capacités à intégrer non
seulement ses invités, mais également leurs compositions
dans son jeu (3 pour Whitehead, 2 pour Beckett, 1
commune, 2 hommages à Zappa et 3 du WO). Il va sans dire
que les trombones, saxes et trompettes nous emmènent sur
la planète jazz. La guitare de Michel Delville, leader
du WO n’est pas en reste, loin de là, elle tire la
couverture vers le rock, n’oubliant jamais les clins
d’œil à Zappa et est en cela épaulée par une rythmique
bien carrée sur laquelle notre brochette de virtuoses
peut se lâcher. Alors, amateurs de Canterbury lâchez vos
deniers, vous ne le regretterez pas. — Dominique Genin,
Prog-résiste (Octobre 2007)
Platform One
del gruppo belga Wrong Object con gli inglesi Annie
Whitehead e Harry Beckett solisti ospiti (pubblicato da
Jazzprint) non rientra apparentemente nell’ambito della
musica orchestrale.
La considerazione è solo legata al numero dei componenti del gruppo
(con la Whitehead e Beckett siamo comunque a otto
elementi, senza contare l’ospite Frank van der Kooij che
aggiunge il suo sax baritono alla conclusiva “Hello
Max”) ma se si ascolta la musica e si tiene conto degli
impliciti riferimenti, si può tranquillamente lasciare
da parte la matematica per accogliere questa proposta a
braccia aperte.
Infatti questo album è un dichiarato omaggio a Frank Zappa
e alla sua scrittura per un largo ensemble all’epoca di
Waka Javaka e di Grand Wazoo. Anzi per
essere ancora più precisi si potrebbe dire che il grande
compositore e chitarrista americano ha sempre scritto
per un largo ensemble, anche se poi spesso venne
costretto ad adattare le sue intuizioni e la sua verve
creativa in formati compatibili con gruppi meno ampi.
Anche qui l’abbondante esposizione delle parti riservate
ai fiati lascia intendere come l’orizzonte sia quello
della big band. E l’eccellenza degli interpreti consente
di moltiplicare le suggestioni e di ricavare
un’illusione sonora che nulla ha da invidiare ad altri
contesti più ‘ricchi’ di voci.
La scrittura di Michel Delville, vero leader del gruppo, è
assolutamente in grado di fornire elementi di contiguità
molto evidenti con quella di Zappa e quindi il progetto
assume una unitarietà molto evidente, ben messa in luce
dalla coesione che il palco sa fornire. L’album è stato
infatti registrato dal vivo e il concerto è davvero
godibile e riuscito, con ampio spazio riservato ai
solisti, ma senza mai abbandonare il compito
auto-assegnato di costruire un coerente tessuto dalle
trame zappiane che non si vergogna di abbracciare anche
influssi provenienti dal rock progressivo inglese e dal
jazz-rock meticcio che ha preso piede a partire da
Canterbury, da Robert Wyatt e Ian Carr e da altri
spiriti liberi europei. —Maurizio Comandini,
All About Jazz Italy
Anfang 2008 wird ein neues Album der belgischen
Avantgarde-Prog-JazzRocker The Wrong Object erscheinen.
Es ist meines Wissens nach das erste “reine” Studioalbum
nach einer Reihe von fulminanten Livealben. Gitarrist
und Bandleader Michel Delville, der in der Tradition von
Fripp, Rypdal und Holdsworth steht, garantiert für
virtuose Gitarrenarbeit, aber auch der Rest der Band
besteht aus überzeugenden Musikerns, inklusive einer
stark besetzen Bläsersektion. Das lässt auf ein
hervorragendes Album im Bereich zwischen JazzRock,
progressivem Rock, Avant-Garde und Zappaeskem hoffen. —PanProgTikum
Een Belgische groeibriljant ...
zo durf ik
The Wrong Object
zonder omhaal te noemen. De band die werd opgespoord
door het uitstekende label
Moonjune.
The Wrong Object maakt progressieve jazz-rock, verwerkt
hedendaagse ritmes en technie- ken maar vergeet
tegelijkertijd de akkoordenschema's en typische struc-
turen uit de traditionele jazz niet. En zet dit alles
neer met een 'power' en een 'drive' die aanstekelijk is
en bewondering oproept.
Kenmerkend
voor de band zijn de sterke composities, het experiment
en het, ondanks de invloeden van Soft Machine en Zappa,
eigen geluid. Bovendien valt de uitzonderlijke kwaliteit
van de 'woodwinds' op. Want in veel tracks zijn het de
tenorsax van Delplanq en de trompet en flugelhorn van
Estiévenart die het geluid en de sfeer bepalen.
Daarnaast speelt Michel Delville een glansrol op gitaar
en gitaar-synth en is hij verantwoor- delijk voor veel
composities. En de ritmesectie van bassist Polard en
drummer Delchambre houdt de boel vakkundig bij elkaar.
Minder dan
'erg goed' wordt het nooit, meestal is het briljant
hetgeen vooral te horen is in het prachtige 'Sheepwrecked',
in '15/05' en in 'The Unbelievable Truth Part I & Part
II'. 'Stories from the Shed': een release waar ik
vrolijk van word en mij wederom doet realiseren hoe mooi
en belangrijk muziek kan zijn.—Harry
'JoJo' de Vries, Wat een week (October 2008)
From Liège, Belgium, comes The Wrong Object, exponents
of progressive jazz/rock in the style of the Canterbury
scene but updated for the 21st century. Little surprise
then that this album is released on Moonjune Records, a
label taking its title from Robert Wyatt’s Soft Machine
classic. Indeed, previous Wrong Object collaborators
have included former Softs saxophonist, the late Elton
Dean on one of his final projects.
Some of this psychedelic jazz is pretty wild,
particularly the opening track “Sonic Riot At The Holy
Palate” (nice title), which features furious playing
from guitarist Michel Deville. Most tracks are written
by Delville, who also plays guitar-synth and
electronics, although all band members have opportunity
to contribute to the writing at some point on the album.
For example, the tricky time signatures on “15/05” are
the work of tenor sax player Fred Delplancq, and
“Rippling Stones” is a group composition. Musically,
horns dominate on most of the tracks in a manner
reminiscent of mid-era Soft Machine or Bill Bruford’s
Earthworks project.
The oxymoronic “Malign Siesta” features multiple tempo
changes that keep you guessing throughout, before
breaking into a Zappa-esque percussion solo, followed by
a fiery rock guitar break. Although this album features
all original compositions, the band have recorded Zappa
covers in the past, and Delville, a professor of English
Literature, has authored a book entitled “Frank Zappa,
Captain Beefheart and the Secret History of Maximalism”.
At different times cruisey jazz, psychedelic rock (as on
the fuzzed-out break in “Strangler Fig“), and pure
experimentalism (“Waves And Radiations“), The Wrong
Object’s music is difficult to categorize. Styles can
change several times within the course of each track.
“Stories From The Shed” was recorded live in the studio
with no overdubs, and features new material as well as
tracks from previous albums, including some currently
out of print. This makes it a fine introduction to this
band of eclectic progressive musicians. —Pat Albertson,
Aural Innovations (May 2008)
ELTON
DEAN & THE WRONG OBJECT - The Unbelievable Truth: Live
In Paris October 2005 (Moonjune 009; USA) Featuring
Elton Dean on saxello & alto sax, Fred Delplancq on
tenor sax, Jean-Paul Estievenart on trumpet, Michel
Delville on guitar, Damien Polard on bass and Laurent
Delchambre on drums. This is perhaps the last live
offering featuring the beloved Canterbury sax-god, Elton
Dean, before his untimely passing in February 2006. It was recorded live in Paris in October of
2005 and it features a fine Belgian prog/jazz/rock band
called The Wrong Object. Although it is difficult to
tell from listening to this gem, Elton played with this
band for the first and last time. The band did rehearse
without Elton and learned to play three of his songs and
Elton had been sent charts by the band before the gig to
learn. The results are truly inspired, the writing and
playing exemplary throughout.
Elton's sly gem, "Seven for Lee", is a perfect opener,
with some Elton's wonderful saxello taking one of those
great distinctive, snake-charming solos that we love so
dearly. One of the great things about this disc is that
it is warm sounding and inventive at the same time,
without being too "far out". J.P. Estievenart's trumpet
solo is slow, yet majestic in tone, as is Mr. Delplanq's
restrained, yet Trane-like tenor solo. "Millennium
Jumble" begins with a fine Hugh Hopper-like fuzz-bass
solo, sublime freer drums and subtle wah-wah guitar
spice. Elton's poignant piece "Baker's Treat," shows a
more eloquent side to Elton's playing and writing,
something we didn't get to hear from him very often.
Damien's powerful fuzz-bass is at the center of "The
Unbelievable Truth", with both the tenor sax and guitar
swirling cerebrally around one another in a mesmerizing
fashion. Another unexpected surprise is guitarist
Michel Delville's rather Robert Wyatt-like voice at the
beginning of "A Cannery Catastrophe", absolutely
charming. This entire disc is engaging, spirited and
most inventive through its nearly 80 minutes duration. This is a
most fitting way to recall the late, great Elton Dean,
as both he and the rest of the band bring their own
special magic to the proceedings. Bravo, old friend!
—
Bruce Lee Garranter,
Downtown
Music Gallery Newsletter
Paris
is the city that foaming-at-the-mouth neocons love to
hate (even though many of them have never even been
there), but for jazz enthusiasts, it is the culturally
rich, historically important city that attracted
everyone from
Django Reinhardt to
Barney Wilen to American expatriates such as
Bud Powell and
Steve Lacy. And it's a place that, in the
21st century, continues to attract many jazz-minded
visitors from other parts of Europe. On October 18,
2005, England's Elton Dean and Belgium's
the Wrong Object got together in Paris for
the live appearance at Glaz'Art that is heard on The
Unbelievable Truth. Sadly, Dean did not have long to
live when this 68-minute CD was recorded; he died at the
age of 60 only four months later in February 2006. And
if Unbelievable Truth is any indication, Paris'
association with
the Wrong Object had major possibilities.
Although Dean and the Belgian unit had never played
together before the Glaz'Art gig, they had discussed the
songs that would be performed, and Dean (who is heard on
saxello and alto sax) enjoys a strong rapport with
Wrong Object members
Jean-Paul Estiévenart (trumpet),
Fred Delplancq (tenor sax),
Michel Delville (guitar),
Damien Polard (bass) and
Laurent Delchambre (drums). Most of the
material that is performed was written by either
Delville or Dean, whose playing gives no
indication of his failing health; the British improviser
plays with much conviction on the
John Coltrane-ish "Seven for Lee" (his best
known song) and the reflective "Baker's Treat" (another
Dean piece) as well as
Delville's compositions. Dean's encounter
with
the Wrong Object is best described as mildly
avant-garde instead of radically avant-garde; an inside/outside
approach prevails, but The Unbelievable Truth is
still fairly melody-minded and is relatively accessible
by avant-garde standards. Although it is regrettable
that Dean and
the Wrong Object never had a chance to
reunite, The Unbelievable Truth serves as a
rewarding document of their only concert together. –
Alex Henderson,
All Music Guide
The Wrong Object, Stories from the Shed. En el
Jazz casi todo esta dicho y hecho, por eso a veces debes
plantearte cosas como me gusta o divierte algo y no
adentrarte en más disquisiciones.
The Wrong Object es uno de esos casos, lo que hacen sé
hacia hace años, pero ellos lo hacen bien y a mí me
divierten y gustan. Lo que practican es una sabia mezcla
de Free y Jazz Rock setentero y ahi esta toda la gracia
del “invento”. The Wrong Object es un grupo belga
formado por Michel Deville a la guitarra y a los mandos,
al que acompañan Fred Delplancq al saxo, Jean Paul
Estievenart a la trompeta, Damien Polard toca el bajo y
Laurent Delchambre se encarga de la batería.
Una guitarra desbocada sobre unos vientos a lo “Steve
Coleman” te recibe en “Sonic Riot at The Holy Palate” y
desde este tema hasta el ultimo un tobogán con momentos
fuertes y alguno mas calmado te llevan al final del
disco con “The Unbelievable Truth” parte dos. La mayoría
de temas llevan la firma de Michel Deville aunque no
faltan las aportaciones de los demás miembros del grupo.
Una propuesta fresca y sin prejuicios de Moonjune por el
jazz europeo que espero dé buenos resultados.
Elton Dean and The Wrong Object, The Unbelievable
Truth.
Mi grupo favorito de la escudería Moonjune en directo y
con un viejo soplador como Elton Dean miembro de los
primeros Soft Machine y que siempre se ha movido por el
Free como pez en el agua. Una especie de homenaje a
Elton Dean puede considerarse este CD que consiste en la
grabación de un directo que tuvo lugar en París en
octubre del 2005, justo cuatro meses antes de la muerte
del Saxofonista.
Dean explayándose a gusto sobre las bases que Delville
con sus guitarras y los demás miembros de The Wrong
Object recrean, temas de larga duración en los que no
faltan momentos para el lucimiento.
Temas del propio Dean como “Seven For Lee”, "Baker’s
Treat” o “The Basho Variations” se mezclan con las
elucubraciones de Delville ,”Millenium Jumble” o “The
Unbelievable Truth” pueden servir de ejemplo, para
darnos una lección de “Free Jazz Rock” en directo de
bonitas dimensiones.
Fiesta a lo grande en la sala Glaz’Art y gran pena de
que no se repitiese esta jugada más veces. —I. Ortega,
Distrito Jazz
The Unbelievable Truth :
Per chiudere in tristezza (soltanto perché si parla di
un lavoro uscito postumo) finiamo con una delle ultime
registrazioni di Elton Dean che risalgono all’ottobre
2005, pochi mesi prima della sua scomparsa. Si tratta di
una presa live assieme ai giovani belgi Wrong Object cn
brani originali del gruppo e qualche brano ripescato da
Ninesense o Boundaries spesso riproposti da Dean
dal vivo, come Seven for Lee o The Basho
Variations. Accanto a un quintetto che non ha nulla
da invidiare in elasticità e morbidezza ai Nucleus di
Ian Carr, quello che ci offre Dean è uno degli ultmi
meravigliosi respire nei suoi saxello e alto. —Michele
Coralli, BlowUp (November 2008)
Der jüngste Streich der
belgischen Jazzrocker The Wrong Object steht unter dem
Untertitel "featuring Annie Whitehead and Harry
Beckett". Annie Whitehead spielte mit unzähligen
Musikern, ihre Posaune hat sie bereits für Robert Wyatt,
Penguin Café Orchestra, Working Week, Jah Wobble, Carla
Bley und viele mehr ausgepackt. Harry Beckett ist aus
der britischen Jazzszene nicht wegzudenken, der
Trompeter hat Jazz, Freejazz und Jazzrock in unzähligen
Engagements und Bands gespielt, so mit Graham Collier,
Charlie Mingus, Mike Westbrook, Ian Carr und John Surman.
In der Vergangenheit hatten The Wrong Object bereits mit
Ed Mann (während und nach ihrem Auftritt auf der
Zappanale) und Elton Dean (R.I.P.) gespielt, und ihren
weiten musikalischen Kosmos, der von hartem progressivem
Rock bis zu avantgardistischem Jazz reicht und stets
eine Spur des instrumentalen Zappa in sich birgt,
vielfältig ausgelebt. Die Band selbst, Michel Delville
(g, electr), Fred Delplancq (ts), Jean-Paul Estiévenart
(tr), Damien Polard (b, electr), Laurent Delchambre (dr,
perc) und Yves Dellicour (ss, bc) samt Gast Frank van
der Kooij (bs) haben "Platform One" zu einem illustren
Streich werden lassen.
Das geht gleich im ersten Track los, dem "Intruth", wo
Delvilles harter Gitarrenanschlag und die Saxophone um
die Wette brüllen, dass die Wände dröhnen!
Überhaupt haben die Bläser und Delvilles Gitarre die
Oberhand, teilen sich Soli und Improvisationen, nur
wenig Spielraum haben Bass, Electronics und Schlagzeug,
sich solistisch auszutoben. Whitehead und Beckett sind
grandiose Improvisatoren, ihr Spiel ist leicht, komplex,
intuitiv, virtuos und von vitaler Spiellust
gekennzeichnet. Alle waren ganz bei der Sache und haben
einen feinen, mitreißenden und belebten Sound geschaffen,
der auf eine vorzügliche Rhythmusbasis bauen kann, die
immer wieder in melodischem Spiel aufgeht und den
erheblich komplexen Rhythmus wie federleicht, als könne
es nicht anders sein, dampfen lässt.
"Platform One" bietet zwei Zappa-Covers, "Big Swifty"
und "Filthy Habits", die im Jazzkleid ganz neue Töne
ausspucken. Neben der hauptsächlichen Jazzbetonung geht
in der bläserunterstützten Instrumentalebene auch
vitaler Hardrock ab, Michel Delville nimmt sich nicht
zurück und spielt, mal im Zappa-Geist, mal in eigener
Intention, exklusive Soli. Dann wird das Arrangement,
scheinbar wie nebenbei, rockbetonter, Bläser und
Rhythmusfraktion bauen einen fetten Groove auf, was vor
allem mit Brass-Frasierungen exzellente, im Bauch
vibrierende, voluminöse Tieftöne erzeugt.
Wer The Wrong Object kennt und den kraftvollen,
virtuosen Sound mag, kommt auch an "Platform One" nicht
vorbei. Neugierigen sei die Band unbedingt empfohlen,
auf der Webseite der Band kann man sich mehrere MP3s und
Videos runterladen.
Unbedingte Empfehlung!—
Ragazzi: Website für erregende
Musik
THE WRONG OBJECT - Stories from the Shed (MoonJune 018;
USA) This is the second splendid disc that this Belgium
band has done for the MoonJune label. The first was a
most successful collaboration with the late Elton Dean,
one of last year's most overlooked gems. The personnel
features Michel Delville on guitar, electronics & most
compositions, Fred Delplancq on tenor sax, Jean-Paul
Estievenart on trumpet & flugel, Damien Polard on bass
guitar and Laurent Delchambre on drums & percussion. The
music is a slamming type of tight jazz/rock fusion with
some klez-like melodies at the center. The quintet was
recorded live in the studio with no overdubs, yet they
remain tight and spirited throughout. Each member of the
quintet contributes a song or two and each piece
provides a different for this spirited ensemble. "Sheepwrecked"
features a rather hypnotic repeating riff with some
stunning, laid-back harmonies for both horns and
atmospheric guitar. Many of these pieces feature the
electric guitar and electric bass playing layers of
floating, mesmerizing sounds as the intro and
conclusion. Their fine bassist, Damien Polard, gets some
chances to stretch out on fuzz-bass and does a great job
at this. Mr. Deville, who wrote many of these pieces,
does a marvelous job of composing challenging pieces
that truly keep the quintet on their toes as they work
their way through his ever-changing obstacle course of
difficult situations. What I also dig about this disc is
that there are some shorter moody pieces amongst the
more intense and challenging ones. This CD is yet
another fine example of MoonJune's seemingly endless
treasure chest of jewels. – Bruce Lee Gallanter,
Downtown Music Galleray Newsletter
Le composizioni originali
sono di gran lunga più interessanti
delle cover zappiane e per questo motivo
l'augurio più sincero è che questo
percorso di avvicinamento ad un proprio
linguaggio musicale sia il più breve
possibile, dal momento che le buone idee
contenute in questo disco ci sono eccome!
In particolare l'apparente sommessa
"How It Is" che si rivela molto
acida e corrosiva nella sua parte
conclusiva, o la rigorosa e tematica
"Cunnimingus". Michel Delville
è decisamente molto interessante invece
con il suo stile chitarristico, a metà
strada tra lo Zappa più astratto e
l'apparente geniale contorta
inconcludenza di un Phil Miller
prima-maniera.
— Alessandro Pizzin, Debra
Kadabra (No 27, April 2004)
Se c'è un ingrediente
necessario per fare un grande lavoro
questo e' una buona dose di pazzia. Ed il
quintetto belga in questione dimostra di
averne a sufficienza, passando dal
free-jazz piu' impetuoso al jazz-rock di
stampo puramente zappiano, non a caso le
tre cover del compianto Frank, ovvero
"Five- Five-Five", "King
Kong" e "We Are Not
Alone", sono eseguite con
grandissima maestria. I gorgheggi vocali
di Andrew Norris ricordano non poco lo
stile dei Screaming Headless Torsos, cosi
come straordinario il lavoro della
sezione ritmica, composta da Alain Deval
alla batteria e Damien Polard al basso.
In definiva un prodotto che va' di gran
lunga oltre i soliti cd di fusion, adatto
per chi vuole compiere dei passi in
avanti nello studio delle composizioni.
— Roberto Guarnieri,
Hot
Lick Reviews
In 2005 wisselden Elton Dean en het Belgische
improvisierende jazzrockgezelschap The Wrong Object
enkele composities can elkaar uit, met als doel deze ten
behoeve van een gezamenlijk concert los van elkaar te
repeteren. De vuurdoop vond plaats in oktober 2005 op
een Parijs podium en hoewel men nooit samen gespeeld
had, ontstond een intense synergie. Het ook door
Softworks (één van Dean’s vorige projecten) gespeelde
“Seven For Lee” (een modern soort “Take Five”) en de
ballade “Baker’s Treat” kregen door de grote bezetting
en jammende instelling een behoorlijk afwijkende
vertolking. Belangrijk hierbij is her onorthodoxe
gitaarspel van leider Michel Delville, dat het midden
houdt tussen ritmisch begeleiden en solistische,
enigzins nerveus getokkelde partijen, en het met Dean’s
oude collega Hugh Hopper vergelijkbare, zwaar fuzzy
baswerk van Damien Polard, dat vaak Moogbas-achtige
effecten veroorzaakt. De inbreng van blazers heeft
echter de overhand, nu de saxello en alt van Dean
gezelschap hebben gekregen van tenorsax en trompet, maar
ondanks veel solo’s en duellen krijgt het nooit een
bigbandsound. Eerder duikt de Zappa-achtergrond van de
Belgen op, zoals in het deels vocale “A Cannery
Catastrophe”, dat ook Canterbury-liefhebbers zal
aanspreeken. In het titelnummer wordt nog even stevig
doch experimenteel gerockt, met name tijdens de enige
echt knallende gitaarsolo die naar een spannende climax
leidt. Helaas werd de teokomst van deze combinatie
abrupt afgebroken door Dean’s plotselinge overlijden
vier maanden later. Deze registratie werd daarmee zowel
een uniek document als een eerbetoon.
—iO pages
Che
la scena jazzistica britannica degli anni ’70, con le
sue ramificazioni jazz rock e le sue commistioni con
aree contigue del cosidetto progressive, abbia gettato
semi fecondi nell’humus della musica improvvisata, lo
dimonstra ampiamente la recente produzione di deu
etichette americane come MoonJune e Cuneiform, entrambe
ben lungi da rievocazioni di maniera.
Il quintetto belga The Wrong Object si era già segnalato
per una pregevole incisione, The Unbelievable Truth
(MoonJune MJR009), effettuata dal vivo nel 2005 col
compianto ed indimenticato sassofonista Elton Dean.
Il
disco traeva il totiolo dall’omonima composizione, qui
riproposta in due parti, del chitarrista Michel Delville
(autore prolifico: suoi sono ben otto brani). Già queste
due tracce conclusive possono essere assunte ad esempio
dell’originalità e dell’efficacia con cui il quintetto
ha saputo rielaborare influenze e stimoli. Da quella
felice stagione del jazz inglese Delville e soci hanno
tratto la predilezione per temi ben congegnati, esposti
all’unisono o in forma contrappuntistica da tenore e
tromba (o flicorno) ; il gusto per forme ritmiche
diversificate, con frequente ricorso a tempi dispari ;
l’impiego di timbriche eterodosse nel caso della
chitarra e del basso elettrico. Prendendo le mosse da
sonorità rock, Delville arriva anche a produrre un
approcio corrosivo, sulle coordinate di un Marc Ducret.
É il caso di Malign Siesta, brano originato da un
riff che ricorda i Nucleus, ma confluisce in un contesto
metrico variegato, con tanto di apertura swingante.
Tale procedimento è riscontrabile anche all’ascolto di
15/05, tema geometricamente articolato. Per parte
sua, Polard utilizza l’effetto fuzz in modo misurato e
creativo, sulla scorta dell’insegnamento di Hugh Hopper,
sia nei brani conclusivi che in Lifting Belly. Da
Hopper ha ereditato nel breve episodio sperimentale di
Acquiring the Taste, nonchè la propensione per
costruzioni ipnotiche. La sua Sheepwrecked,
infatti, si basa su un 7/4 iterativo ed arcano disegnato
dal basso, dando luogo ad una figura melodica scarna
nella sua bellezza, anche qui enunciate da flicorno e
tenore.
Da
segnalare, infine, l’uso discreto dell’elettronica, che
qua e là aggiunge colori colori complementari
all’incisione. —Enzo Boddi, JazzColo(u)rs (September
2008)
Depuis leur création, les Midis du Jazz alternent
joyeusement les styles. A l’exception du concert de
Sinequa, le jazz-rock et ses diverses déclinaisons y ont
cependant été assez peu représentés jusqu’ici.
L’étiquette convient d’ailleurs assez mal au concept
musical que propose Wrong Object. Créé en 2002, le
groupe mêle certes les influences jazz et rock, mais
loin, très loin, d’un certain jazz-rock démonstratif et
aseptisé. La référence majeure est dans ce cas à Zappa,
au progressive rock anglais et à l’école de Canterbury
(Soft Machine etc). Au fil de leur parcours, les cinq de
Wrong Object ont d’ailleurs eu l’occasion de collaborer
avec des monstres sacrés de cette mouvance : Elton Dean,
Harry Beckett, Annie Whitehead, Ed Mann etc. En piste,
autour des deux fêlés de Canterbury, le guitariste
Michel Delville et le bassiste Damien Pollard, un des
saxophonistes de pointe de la scène belge actuelle (Fred
Delplancq) et le jeune trompettiste le plus en vue de
cette même scène (Jean-Paul Estiévenart). Et, portant le
groove rythmique de Wrong Object à bout de baguettes,
le bouillant Laurent Delchambre. Aventure garantie.—La
Maison du Jazz
Nach ihrem
Konzertalbum
mit der inzwischen leider verstorbenen Canterbury-Legende
Elton Dean legten die belgischen Avant-Prog-Jazz-Rocker
The Wrong Object 2007 ein weiteres Livealbum vor.
Diesmal gibt es Material von zwei Konzerten, die im
Oktober 2006 in Belgien stattfanden. Unterstützt werden
The Wrong Object von Annie Whitehead, einer britischen
Jazz-Legende an der Posaune (!), und der Canterbury- und
Jazz-Legende Harry Beckett an Trompete und Flügelhorn.
Annie Whitehead hat in ihrer Karriere neben zahlreichen
Soloalben schon querbeet von Jazz bis Pop an diversen
Produktionen mitgewirkt. Harry Beckett ist ein Urgestein
der britischen Jazzszene und hat schon in unzähligen
Canterbury-Acts seine Visitenkarte hinterlassen.
Da The Wrong Object zu diesen Konzerten
schon mit drei Bläsern angetreten sind und mit Whitehead
und Beckett nochmal zwei dazukommen, kann man sich
vorstellen, was diese Aufnahmen dominiert. Fetzige
mehrstimmige Bläsersätze, scharfe, pointierte Saxofon-
und Trompetensoli sowie gelegentlich völlig
freiformatiges Gedudel und wildes
Durcheinandergekreische in Avant-Jazz-Manier blasen dem
Hörer die Gehörgänge frei. Die fünf Bläser geben alles
und blasen die vollen über 70 Albumminuten ohne Pause
mit Vollgas durch. Dadurch wirkt dieses Album noch weit
jazziger, als „The Unbelievable Truth“. Jazz ist ja
nicht unbedingt mein Ding, aber wenn Musik in dieser
Brillanz und vor allem mit diesem Drive dargeboten wird,
da kann man sich nur schwer entziehen.
Anders als auf „The Unbelievable Truth“
hält Michel Delville diesmal aber ordentlich dagegen und
lässt seine Gitarre kreischen, röhren und wild solieren.
Gerade das Zappa-Cover „Filthy Habits“ wird so zu einem
Höhepunkt des Albums. Und außerdem gibt es so einen
ordentlichen rockigen Ausgleich zu all der Jazz-Seligkeit.
Auch gleich im zweiten Stück - „Honeypump Riff“ - nach
dem kurzen Opener, zeigt Delville den Bläsern wo der
Hammer hängt. Daneben sorgt Delville, zusammen mit
Basser Polard, noch für seltsame, spacige elektronische
Klänge, die gelegentlich im Hintergrund der Stücke
herumschwirren. Augenzwinkerndes ist auch geboten, wenn
Delville unvermittelt in "Wet Weather Wet" das Peter
Gunn-Thema einflechtet.
Geheimer Star des Albums ist allerdings
mal wieder – und hier gibt es noch eine Parallele zum
Elton Dean-Konzert – Schlagzeuger Delchambre. Sein
kreativer Stil mit unzähligen Breaks und Fills,
passgenau an den richtigen Stelle, sorgt für regen
Betrieb im Untergrund. Mit seinem schon unverschämten
Groove treibt Delchambre die Stücke voran und gibt ihnen
eine ordentliche Power-Infusion.
Da man sich vorab nicht treffen konnte,
hat man per Internet mp3s der zu spielenden Songs
ausgetauscht und jeweils zu Hause etwas geübt. Dann noch
vor den Konzerten kurze Rehearsals und los gings. Davon
hört man aber den Aufnahmen nichts an, eher wirken ein
paar improvisierte Passagen besonders lebendig.
Insgesamt ein weiteres mitreißendes Konzertalbum der
Belgier mit herausragenden Instrumentalleistungen.
Sicherlich eher für die Jazz-Begeisterten unter uns,
aber – siehe Rezensent – das Album kann auch
darüberhinaus begeistern. Und der Appetit auf das für
Anfang 2008 angekündigte Studioalbum
wächst...—Babyblaue
Prog-Reviews (on Platform One, Jazzprint/Voiceprint
2007)
This
wasn’t supposed to be a one-off ; neither was it meant
to be just another unrehearsed blowing session for the
veteran British saxophone legend – that it turned out to
be both was accidental and unfortunate. Actually, « unrehearsed »
isn’t quite the word – Elton had been sent scores of
Michel’s compositions and practiced them beforehand, and
The Wrong Object had independently rehearsed some of
Elton’s compositions ; but they’d never actually played
together before this concert. The reason being that the
band’s van broke down on the way from Belgium, and by
the time they arrived at the venue there was only time
for a very basic soundcheck. Maybe this is why something
special and unique happened that night. The band had « warmed
up » with an opening set of their original repertoire
interspersed with their usual helping of Frank Zappa
covers, and as soon as he joined them on stage Elton was
his usual incandescent self. Little did anyone know this
would turn out to be one of his very last gigs. Of
course, more was going to be heard from this combination,
but fate decided otherwise – Elton’s already shaky
health took a fatal turn for the worse and he passed
away in February 2006. Thankfully we now have a souvenir
of that one gig – with fine playing by all and versions
of some of Elton’s best-loved tunes, from his old
signature piece « Seven for Lee » to « Basho », from
what many consider as his finest album, 1980’s
Boundaries, to the more recent « Baker’s Treat », a
gorgeous ballad and a staple of the recent Soft Machine
« reunions ». There is no doubt in my mind that,
although their musical paths only crossed briefly,
Elton’s spirit will continue to feed the Wrong Object’s
inspiration for many years to come. Trust someone who
was there that night.
—
Aymeric Leroy, Paris, September 2006 (On
The Unbelievable Truth
/ Moonjune Records 2007)
Saxophonist Elton Dean had less than four months left to
live when he guested at the October 2005 Paris concert
that’s now released as The Unbelievable Truth …
Dean grabs most of the soloing space with tenorman Fred
Deplancq and trumpeter Jean-Paul Estiévenart largely
confining themselves to thematic blowing. Guitarist
Michel Delville is the main sparring partner, infusing
his licks with a scaly roughness, seething with a
compulsive ugliness. Dean solos for long stretches and
with serpentine invention, the entire combo really
hitting their stride by the title track, about halfway
through the disc. Here, they marry jazz, funk and rock
on equal terms, before moving into “A Cannery
Catastrophe”, a Zappa-esque contortion, followed by
“Cunnimingus Redux”, the most “conventionally” jazzy
piece, even though it’s still punctuated by some
foul-smelling guitar-work. —Martin Longley, All About
Jazz New York (US printed edition; February 2008)
Door het plotselinge overlijden van
blazer Elton Dean is de samewerking tussen deze veteraan
en de jonge Belgische groep The Wrong Object (met o.a.
Fred Delplancq en Jean-Paul Estiévenart) eenmalig
gebleven. De registratie van het unieke concert dat deze
gelegenheidsformatie in 2005 in Parijs gaf, laat horen
dat Dean en het kwintet dat eerder vooral furore maakte
met haar Zappa-interpretaties, zeer goed raad wisten met
elkaar. The Wrong Object noemt haar muziek zelf
psychedelische jazz. Een benaming die de sferische
muzikale benadering vand de groep adequaat onder woorden
brengt. Het Belgische vijftal heeft namelijk als
opvallende kwaliteit een stevig stuwende groove neer te
zetten die alle ruimte open laat voor de solisten. Dean
maakt daar niet alleen vakkunding, maar zeer
gepassioneerd en optimaal gebruik van. Het
hypnotisierende openingsnummer, “Seven for Lee” is
daarvan het overtuigendste voorbeld, maar het niveau
blijft heel de cd hoog. Gelukking heeft het vooral op
fusion georiënteerde Amerikaanse Moonjune label kans
gezien deze bijzondere opnamen uit to brengen.—Mischa
Andriessen,
Jazzmozaïek (December 2007)
Eat that Question
van Frank Zappa door The Wrong Object, een groep uit het
Luikse rond de gitarist Michel Delville. Voor alle
duidelijkheid: het is géén Zappa-covergroep, al zijn de
heren wel duidelijk door hem beïnvloed en spelen ze
graag zijn nummers. Maar Michel Delville schrijft zelf
ook knappe muziek, zoals eens te meer blijkt uit Live
2005, een cd die het wachten op de nieuwe
studioplaat moet verzachten. En hij heeft samen met de
Brit Andrew Norris ook een boek geschreven: Frank
Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and the Secret History of
Maximalism. Onze huis-Zappaloog Zjakki Willems noemt
het "een studie van het culturele framework waarbinnen
het werk van Zappa en Beefheart past". En die invloeden
variëren van Michelangelo tot William Burroughs. Maar
het boek gaat evengoet over de honden en de erotiek in
hun werk. Het is dus zeker niet de zoveelste
Zappa-biografie, verre van!
— Cucamonga,
VRT Radio 1 (16 January 2006)
Nessuno poteva conoscere,
nel momento in cui i musicisti di questo disco live sono
saliti sul palco, la “verità incredibile” che il futuro
nascondeva: registrato nell’ottobre 2005, questo sarebbe
stato uno degli ultimi concerti dal vivo del grande
Elton Dean, sassofonista dei Soft Machine, tristemente
scomparso nel febbraio del 2006.
Doveva essere solo l’inizio
di una collaborazione con The Wrong Object, che
conservano il ricordo di Dean come una delle loro più
grandi fonti di ispirazione, ma il destino purtroppo ha
fatto sì che l’avventura terminasse con questo album.
Per fortuna resta la testimonianza, la registrazione di
un concerto che a causa di inconvenienti tecnici non è
stato mai provato da Dean e dal gruppo insieme, ma che
forse proprio per questo sprigiona tutta la sua
genuinità e spontaneità. Carico di emotività, forse
complice il pensiero del significato di questa
registrazione, l’album include composizioni di Michel
Delville di The Wrong Object ma anche di Elton Dean,
come le belle Seven For Lee e The Basho Variations e la
più recente The Baker’s treat.
Ottime
anche le capacità esecutive e l’interplay di The Wrong
Object. Il
testamento live del grande Dean. —Giulia
Nuti,
Il
Popolo del Blues (Agosto 2007)
Bij het uit de verpakking halen van ‘Stories from the
Shed’ van de Belgische band The Wrong Object kreeg ik
het idee dat ik met een ander soort muziek te maken had
dan uiteindelijk het geval is. Laten we het zo zeggen:
het lezen van de omschrijving 'Blending Psychedelic Jazz
with Modern Rock Sensibilities' deed me deze cd
automatisch plaatsen bij de improvisatiebands die we al
eerder bij OJE Music bespraken. Voor een deel klopt dit
ook wel. De Belgen maken instrumentale muziek zoals dit
soort groepen dat doen, maar toch word ik op dit album
naar meer richtingen meegenomen dan ik had verwacht.
We hebben te maken met een relatief jonge band - de
geboortejaren zitten tussen 1969 en 1985 - die toch al
aardig wat ervaring heeft. Sinds de oprichting in 2002
is de groep met meer dan honderd concerten al behoorlijk
actief geweest. En ook vaak met niet de minste gasten.
'The Unbelievable Truth' uit 2007, is hier het bewijs
van. Een album opgenomen onder de vleugels van Elton
Dean, die met al zijn ervaring blijkbaar zeer onder de
indruk was van de band. Ook waren er optredens met Annie
Whitehead, bekend van de samenwerking met Robert Wyatt,
Alex Maguire die in de kring rond Hatfield and the North
zat en Ed Mann. Met de laatste speelden ze op het Frank
Zappa Tribute Festival 'Zappanale' en dat is voor mij de
oorzaak van het vernieuwende in hun muziek. De Belgen
gaven zelf al aan zeer onder de indruk te zijn van de
Amerikaanse grootmeester.
Blijkbaar is er ook goed geluisterd naar vooral de
periode van 'The Grand Wazoo' en Zappa’s laatste tournee,
want de muziek op ‘Stories from the Shed’ lijkt er een
voortzetting van. Alles is zeer sfeervol gedaan en er
zijn composities te horen die qua spel en techniek niet
uit de toon zouden vallen op een album als 'Make a Jazz
Noise Here' van diezelfde Zappa. The Wrong Object kan
eveneens uitstekend de power van rock toevoegen aan
jazz. Daarbij hoor ik ook dingen die refereren aan Soft
Machine, Nucleus, John Coltrane en King Crimson en het
deed me zelfs nog een paar keer aan Miles Davis begin
jaren zeventig denken.
Na een paar weken ben ik tot de conclusie gekomen dat
het album dik vier OJE's verdient. Heel misschien mist
de groep nog een eigen gezicht, maar gezien het feit dat
dit pas hun eerste officiële album is, is dat
waarschijnlijk logisch. Kortom, ‘Stories from the Shed’
is een ijzersterke cd en met dit alles biedt het veel
perspectief voor de toekomst! —OJEMusic
I wanted to hear The Wrong
Object featuring Ed Mann. I guess I
thought Ed would do a Napi or a Mike and
just make a few guest appearances with
some of these bands. But, no, he was a
permanent fixture throughout both this
and the earlier Frogg Café sets. Now
I’d also heard a CD by the Wrong
Object (they’re close to securing a
record deal so, fingers crossed, we all
will soon) and liked what I’d heard:
nice stylish tunes of their own together
with overhauled readings of his
master’s works. Guitarist Michel
Delville told me “Performing at
Zappanale was a great opportunity for us
to try a few new tunes and arrangements -
including our pseudo-klezmer version of
‘Eat that Question’ - on a big
audience." They also played
‘Filthy Habits’,
‘Chunga’s Revenge’
(featuring great sax and marimba soli), a
jazzy, elongated ‘Outside Now’,
‘The Closer You Are’ (according
to my notes, though this seems an odd
choice now) and ‘King Kong’. As
well as their own Beatles quoting
‘Wet Weather Wet’ and
‘Malign Siesta’. Again, tight
but loose at times. "I am reading
music on stage, not the best way to
deliver the ultra performance, and my
first such situation in 26 years. But it
basically worked and I appreciate that
these guys were OK with that - focusing
more on the fun factor than the accuracy
factor." said Ed. . . . Now my ears
tell me that Ed Mann & Friends was
actually the highlight of Zappanale #15,
but they could hear more than he and the
guys from the Wrong Object backing him. I
think it was appropriate for the Grand
Mothers to take top billing from Ed,
who’s first and foremost a musician,
not a jukebox/entertainer. His ambient
set started with loads of gongs and sound
problems, before segueing into the entire
‘Yellow Snow’ suite, with Ed
banging out the vocal lines. ‘Inca
Roads’ followed ‘Black Page,
followed ‘Yellow
Snow’…hang on, I’m going
backwards here. Lots of cool, calm and
collected tunes - including Mingus’s
tribute to The Loneliest Monk, and Dizzy
Gillespie’s ‘A Night In
Tunisia’ - came floating down and
whisked us gently away, with Ed
generously letting the musicians (who
included Frank Goos) take plenty of
solos. Until ‘Tryin’ To Grow A
Chin’ brought us back down to earth
with a thud and a happy grin. Ed’s
Cajon (a Cuban rhythm box) introduced a
rousing ‘Dinah Moe Humm’, which
also saw the Grannies’ tub-thumper
Christopher Garcia sitting in. And before
we knew it, it started to rain. Ed and
the Wrong Object said they really
couldn’t hear what each other were
doing up onstage, but the band had more
than one day’s rehearsal with Ed
and, out front, they sounded great. Ed
commented that his set "was an
experiment - my desire is to push the
bounds of the traditional Zappa
arrangements instead of reiterating them
verbatim, but do so in a way that
maintains integrity. And so this requires
knowing the Zappa material intimately,
and also the ability to use that same
material as essential components for
improvisation. Anyway, it was an
interesting first experiment, it worked
well enough to tell me that this idea is
worth pursuing (and to remind me that
extensive sound checking is even more
important with this approach), and I look
forward to the next opportunity.
— Andrew Greenaway's
Zappanale
Report
The Wrong Object is a
Belgian jazz / rock quintet. (from Liège
- Brussels). The band has been together
since 2002 and recently released its
second album, "Malign Siesta".
The band's repertoire consists mainly of
original compositions, but they do play a
set of Zappa compositions as well. For
our enjoyment, they included a couple of
these on "Malign Siesta". The
album presents a nice balance of jazz
compositions (by Delville) and Zappa
pieces. I know that those of you who
heard 'Five-five-five' on the Belgian
cucamonga radio show a little while ago
don't need to be convinced. This is an
excellent album, and not just because it
has a nine-minute version of "King
Kong - the George W. Bush version".
"Malign Siesta" is an excellent
album that shows the talent of The Wrong
Object, in their own compositions as well
as their rendition of Frank Zappa
material. Released as a promotional disc,
"Play Zappa And A Few Pieces Of
Their Own" has the same material as
"Malign Siesta", but with a
couple of extra tracks. These extras are
'Chunga's Revenge', Apostrophe' and
'Outside Now', all Zappa pieces, hence
the title of this disc. The Wrong Object
shows that they know their Zappa.
— Peter van Laarhoven,
United
Mutations: The big nOte files
Saxophonist Elton Dean passed away in 2006, leaving a
legacy that stretched from his work in the early
jazz/rock version of Soft Machine to his long
involvement in the British Free Jazz scene. This put him
shoulder to shoulder with those few who were able to
bridge the worlds of rock and serious improvisation,
sharing that stage with the likes of Lol Coxhill, Carla
Bley or Steve Beresford. In fact Dean started with his
foot in the jazz world, but will probably be best known
for those few Soft Machine records that he participated
in; he continued to collaborate with former Softees
throughout his career, including work with Soft Heap,
Hugh Hopper and Soft Machine Legacy. An excellent player
and composer, he also worked with the London Jazz
Orchestra, Roswell Rudd, and Keith Tippett. This Elton
Dean & The Wrong Object album showcases both Dean and
Wrong Object's guitarist Michel Delville's compositions.
"The Wrong Object" is a Zappa reference, and they're
known for, though hardly limited to, their
interpretations of Zappa's works. Here Elton Dean plays
alongside Fred Delplancq on sax in a live recording at
Glaz'art in Paris. It was his first time playing with
the group, and due to a series of technical problems,
the band was unable to rehearse before the show. You'd
never know it based on the performances. The music is
remarkably melodic and technical without bogging down in
either; there's a bright and fluid quality that's never
glib, but refreshingly detailed and complex without
sounding like either. Sadly Dean passed away four months
later, and plans for continued recording with Wrong
Object were cut short there. Thankfully this album
exists to document their potential, making it my pick of
the latest Moonjune releases. -
The Squid’s Ear
Ce n'est un secret pour
personne : la Belgique regorge de groupes
expérimentaux des plus talentueux.
Dernière sensation en date, The Wrong
Object se définit comme une entité
perdue aux confins du jazz, du rock et
des musiques improvisées. Fusion
pourrait être leur leitmotiv,
collaboration, leur maître mot.
Aujourd'hui, The Wrong Object s'attaque
au légendaire guitariste rock Frank
Zappa pour un spectacle des plus
innovants et des plus intéressants. Un
projet dont la crédibilité fut, il y a
peu, légitimée par Ed Mann,
percussionniste attitré de Zappa de
nombreuses années durant. On dit de
leurs concerts qu'ils sont énergiques,
inventifs et que leurs reprises sont
exécutées avec une virtuosité et une
maturité étonnante. On dit aussi que
certaines de leurs compositions sonnent
même comme du « Frank Zappa pur jus ».
On dit enfin que l'improvisation est
toujours de la partie pour ces musiciens
libres que rien ne semble troubler.
— Luxweb Culture
Belgian quintet whose music crosses –
very
clearly - Zappa, Univers Zero and a number of jazz-rock
influences, fusing them in a highly pleasurable
concoction… these guys can definitely play, able as they
are of extricating themselves from the most complex
entanglements of odd-metered rhythms, intertwined riffs,
slanted counterpoints (the dialogues between saxophonist
Fred Delplancq and trumpeter Jean-Paul Estiévenart are
particularly stimulating) and, in general, a punkish
vibe which does no damage. Guitarist Michel Delville
alternates furious overdrive and semi-sparkling clean
tones, underlining with beautiful chords the calmer
circumstances; the rhythm section, consisting of bassist
Damien Polard and drummer Laurent Delchambre, is
creatively solid yet not mechanically strict,
guaranteeing flexibility and steady pulse throughout.
Great CD, reminiscent of the best progressive from the
70s with a contemporary edge that comes extremely
welcome. Instead of paying attention to people who
pretend to be at the forefront of novelty but can’t
touch an instrument, it is much better giving room to
entities such as The Wrong Object, who fearlessly try
and maintain certain kind of musical values still
palatable even after a (presumed) expiration date.
Modern-day retro, anyone?-
Temporary Fault (October 2009)
A kickin' cross between X-Legged Sally, Earthworks,
Either-Orchestra, and an unholy plate of admixed fusion
groups, all with a knowing nod to Miles, The Wrong
Object is a European ensemble of five jazzrockers
wringing more from the 70s fusion explosion in one CD
than most obtain in an entire catalogue. Horns dominate
(sax, trumpet), but the sound is nonetheless very
atmospheric, Michel Delville's quitar chordings and
triggered synth injecting swaths of color and mood
around all the more frantic central elements. Perhaps
the most daunting factoid here is that the entire CD was
taken live in two studios with absolutely no overdubs, a
cybernetic affair that almost gainsays itself in terms
of extreme fidelities to ideas and subtleties flying all
over the place. The cohesion and interplay are cosmic
for their imagery and precision, though the materials
are more terrene, albeit of the wild and free outdoors
or the mysterious play of metrohives with their
incessant explosions of energies and migrations. Strong
shades of ECM and John Clark creep in during cuts like
Sheepwrecked, Jean-Paul Estievenart's
flugelhorn tolling out its beautiful dolorousness
athwart Rypdalian ornaments and zephyrs.
The Wrong Object is the right CD, and these
Stories are not to be shed, as the
ensemble's carrying on an endangered tradition of
cerebrality and farflung innovation woefully absent in
our post-Bush/McCain idiocratic culture. Okay, so the
Euroids have to once again show us, but that's fine.
They're paying us back for a certain Mr. In A Silent
Agarthic Way Davis, and we sure as hell can use the
memory bath. Toss in a little Zappa (Malign
Siesta, etc.), and we're indemnified.
Therefore, put on your Gil Evans Gone Insane tinfoil
hat, watch for the Rigelians and their mothership, pour
a glass of Fin De Siecle Psychedeliwine, and settle back
into
Stories from the Shed…'cause,
brother, you need it.
Trust me. -
Mark S. Tucker, FAME (November 2009)
ELTON DEAN & THE WRONG OBJECT – The Unbelievable Truth
Recorded live in Paris in 2005, this 68 minute CD has to
be one of the finest fusion albums I've heard in the
last few years. It's got everything – bite, melody,
muscle, flow, invention, passion, purpose, searing heat
and warm heart, and as a shining example of what makes
real jazz-rock sound so palatable, it's at the top of
its tree. The main quintet of electric guitar, electric
bass and drums plus trumpet and sax, are supplemented by
the saxello and alto sax of ex-Soft Machine legend Elton
Dean, and where you might think such a meeting of minds
would result in something noisy, experimental, free-form
and quirky, you couldn't be more wrong. While the rhythm
section proves to be thoroughly dependable and
undemanding, leading as much as underpinning the lead
instruments, the rest of them manage to have their say,
individually and collectively, across the tracks with no
particular intention other than simply for the band to
play as a tightly knit unit and at the same time feature
some of the most riveting soloing you'll find on a
fusion feats such as this. Above all, the emphasis is on
melody and structure, and not a track goes by where
you're not drawn into its world of firmly emotive
playing. All the musicians breathe life into their
instruments and you really feel what they're playing as
much as they did when they played it. With tracks
largely ranging between 8 and 12 minutes, it's a
glorious slice of jazz-rock heaven and you simply can't
fail with this one.- Andy Garibaldi, Dead Earnest
(September 2009)
Stories from the Shed: The joy about this, for a
jazz-rock band featuring guitar, guitar-synth, tenor
sax, trumpet, flugelhorn, bass guitar, electronics,
drums, assorted percussion and samples, is just how
straight they keep it. With 14 tracks between 2 and 7
minutes in length, you might have expected something
very experimental and quirky, but instead there's
melody, muscle, flow and more ideas in a minute than
many fusion bands manage in an album. The guitar and
electronics are there more for depth, spacey effects and
texture than anything, while it's the brass that
dominates, albeit with mostly a melodic feel. On a few
occasions, you feel as though it's losing its way a bit,
but thankfully that's few and far between as, overall,
this is a tightly knit band capable of providing an
idea-filled sea of fusion that's easy to enjoy and at
the same time, crisp, crunchy and filled with enthusiasm
and passion.- Andy Garibaldi, Dead Earnest
(September 2009)
A very wise man once said, “Jazz isn’t dead, it just
smells funny.” And in the world of Frank Zappa, that
makes perfect scents. His brand of avant-garde jazz, or
experimental jazz, or fusion, or Nu Jazz (with or
without an umlaut, depending on how much of a
pretentious ass you really want to be, and there are
times when I swear jazz critics have umlauts for eyes)
was the turd on the manicured timelawn of musical
history. Some people avoided it, some showed it to their
friends with a salacious sense of discovery, others
simply poked it with a stick and kept moving. The Wrong
Object went one step further, taking it as their object
of musical inspiration. That inspiration is nowhere more
evident than on “Strangler Fig,” in which the bulging
Belgian quintet burgles the original turd to a capital
T. The strange interludes of “Theresa’s Dress” and
“Rippling Stones” also return the smell of burnt weeny
to the air. The Wrong Object’s opus moderandi is to pay
homage to Zappa and Soft Machine and add their own two
cents on top of it: a crackling duststorm of
synthesizers that evokes vintage Hawkwind. The opening
“Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate” is as bracing a
beginning as you’ll hear in the sometimes staid quarters
of experimental jazz discs. The following “15/05”
reaffirms it, but that carefully controlled chaos soon
yields to an album of gracefully lumbering lines
(“Saturn”), sputtering rhythms (“Malign Siesta”),
buzzing dreams (“Sheepwrecked”) and ambient soundscapes
(“Waves And Radiations”) that suggest Soft Machine with
an edgier, electronic outlook. Stories From The Shed is
squawking boxes tumbling in traffic, the parallel lines
of post-bop patriarchs criss-crossed over watercolors,
intellect rattling in the black cages of Limbo, it’s
dichotomy and duality and diabolical mischief. It’s
jazz, that liberating land between intellect and
emotion, and it’s great to hear a band that still gives
a Shed about tending to the wild things that grow
there.- Dave Connoly, Prorography (June 2009)
Un sound che mischia improvvisazioni jazz al prog. The
Wrong Object elaborano armonie, piegandole a piacimento,
fino all'estremo. I ritmi vengono plasmati, distorti, in
una sorta di nuovo percorso spazio temporale. Il gruppo
assomiglia ad una sorta di Mahavishnu Orchestra, con
innesti prettamente improvvisati dagli splendidi fiati
di Fred Delplancq e Jean-Paul Estiévenart sul sottofondo
della chitarra fusion di Michel Delville. L'incipit,
affidato a "Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate", lascia in
bocca il sapore dei balcani, nonostante questa sia una
band che proviene dal Belgio.
Sono subito chiari la forza e la peculiarità di questo
quintetto. Dopo la serratissima e accelerata "15/05",
costellata di soli e tempi sghembi, parte un sottofondo
etereo e sognante su cui pian piano si poggiano gli
ottoni, in un crescendo melodico che incalza ed emoziona,
sopra l'ostinato di basso di Damien Polard. Contornano i
piatti e le pelli percosse dell'ottimo Laurent
Delchambre. Non si può tacere nemmeno su "Acquiring The
Taste", dove un'elettrica intrisa di wah e
sintetizzatori sputa fuori note e rumori che si
accostano ai temi di tromba e sassofono, infilando un
inserto quasi rock tra paesaggi più jazzistici. Il
gruppo ha una carica formidabile, oltre ad una tecnica
invidiabile, non si può rimanere coi piedi fermi per
terra al susseguirsi dei brani di questo lavoro,
"Stories From The Shed", sempre più interessante in ogni
minuto di suonato. L'intero disco è registrato in presa
diretta e ciò è sufficiente a far capire lo spessore
artistico di questi musicisti. La grazia della melodie
si sposa perfettamente con il dissonante tappeto
armonico, lasciando spazio anche per un affascinante
solo di batteria. Nonostante le ripetute improvvisazioni
tra gli strumentisti, le tracce sono di breve durata:
questi ragazzi saggiamente non si arrischiano in lunghe
cavalcate, a volte troppo impegnative, in cui spesso un
simile genere cade. Ciò rende il tutto molto più
godibile, restituendo la giusta importanza alla
composizione in sé e agli equilibri nella costruzione
della struttura dei pezzi. Non mancano anche
sperimentali divagazioni come in "Rippling Stones", che
mette a dura prova chi non è avvezzo al genere. Rumori,
fraseggi appesi qua e là, note soffiate fino ai limiti
dell'estensione dello strumento, armonie che si vanno
componendo di nota in nota, seguendo un percorso
istintivo, dando vita ad una qualche forma di magia
creativa estemporanea. D'improvviso si viene affogati
dalla potenza di "Strangler Fig", che sterza bruscamente
da toni più violenti a quelli più giocosi, alla Frank
Zappa. Impossibile non rimanerne folgorati. Chiude l'esaltante
"The Unbelievable Truth", in due parti, con un energico,
inaspettato assolo di un Delville quasi hendrixiano sul
finale. Un disco da non lasciarsi scappare assolutamente.
- Sonia, Scialanza, Babylon Magazine (April 2009)
Die
2002 gegründete belgische Combo
"The Wrong Object" spielt laut
eigenem Bekunden "psychedelic jazz
with modern rock sensibilities" und
beruft sich dabei unter anderem auf Gong
und Soft Machine. Die gong'schen
Spacigkeiten kann ich zwar aus der
vorliegenden Live-Aufnahme nicht
raushören, aber Soft Machine stehen
deutlich Pate: hier gibt es
treibend-jazzige, improvisationslastige
Stücke mit viel - ich meine das positiv,
andere mag es abschrecken - hektischem
Sax-Getröte. Insbesondere wenn der Bass
heftig verzerrt erklingt und die Saxe
sich knapp vor dem Übersteuern befinden,
lugen Soft Machine à la Noisette
deutlich um die Ecke. In den immer wieder
auftauchenden manischen, hektischen
Momenten findet sich auch eine deutliche
Verwandtschaft zum hyperaktiven
AvantJazzProg von Akinetón Retard,
insbesondere, da - bis auf den hier
vertretenen Gast Ed Mann - die Besetzung
obendrein mit der der Chilenen
übereinstimmt ... Neben den
Zappa-Nummern tauchen übrigens immer
wieder Melodie- oder Riff-Fetzen anderer
Fremdkompositionen in den Stücken auf,
etwa das beatle'sche "I Am The
Walrus" (das Zappa allerdings auch
auf seiner letzten Tour spielte), was
nette Hinhorcher ergibt. Die
Klangqualität des Mitschnitts ist gut,
wenn auch etwas roh, dabei aber absolut
nicht störend. Grosse Teile dieses
Konzertes kann man übrigens auf der
Wrong Object Website neben weiteren
Stücken kostenlos herunterladen, anderes
befindet sich auch auf der offiziellen
3-CD-Box zur Zappanale 2004. Fans von
jazzig-kratzigem, improvisierten
Canterbury und Frank Zappa sollten auf
jeden Fall mal reinhören.
— Babyblaue-Seiten
The Wrong Object is een
groep waar je niet direct een etiket op kan kleven. De
groepsleden houden zowel van jazz als van folk en pop en
ze kunnen ook de grillige muziekstukken van Frank Zappa
wel waarderen. In 2004 mocht The Wrong Object trouwens
optreden op de “Zappanale”, een festivalletje ter ere
van Frank Zappa.
The Wrong Object deelde er het podium met Ed Mann, de
legendarische percussionist van Zappa.
—
Onderox
I find no better
description for The Wrong Object
musicality than to call their style
Canterburian Zappa, if you get the
picture. The true ability and virtuoso
capacities of each and every band member
is securely unveiled throughout the whole
11 tracks that this album comprehends. If
the guitar occasionally tends to
exaggerate a bit its soloing units, by
virtually transposing the edge of its
player's capacity to play a million notes
per second, it is also true that in most
of the album, this instrument is played
with confidence and skill, and even those
"beyond reasonable" playing
moments are pretty consistent with
Zappa's most lunatic experiments. Then
there is the metals section. And here
there is not a single thing to comment
except to say they are absolutely grand,
brilliant and flawless. Both Clarinet and
Sax (Soprano & Alto) are played with
mastery, being the most notorious
responsible instruments for that
Canterbury flair the music unfolds. . .
Zappa's King Kong song . . . catches The
Wrong Object in its best mood, as they
even throw a tune from "Sound of
Music in the mix. The few tunes of their
own are still well under the influence of
Zappa's musical landscapes, though much
more focused in those Canterbury leanings
I've talked about earlier. This is really
an album that has much to offer to those
who like Zappa, but especially for the
Canterbury fans out there. The mix of
these two essential components is
extremely well achieved and results in a
very refreshing sound. An album that has
truly surprised me, and that deserves to
get my highest recommendation!
— Nuno Lourenço, Proggnosis:
Progressive Rock & Fusion
It’s still hard to believe that Brit jazz giant Elton
Dean is no longer with us. Considering how alive his
performance from Fall 2005 is with Belgian band The
Wrong Object, it was clearly a joyous opportunity for a
seasoned veteran to challenge any new jazz welter
weights. The quintet are most notable for their Ed Mann
Zappa tributes and their recent endeavors with
trombonist Annie Whitehead and trumpeter Harry Beckett.
Cultivating a sympathetic but intuitive dialogue with a
capable quintet was a challenge the group was seriously
up for. Two Dean classics and one less familiar track
are given the “hold your breath and jump” treatment with
exceptional results from all players. Both “Seven for
Lee” and the more recent composition “Baker’s Treat”
carry Dean’s inimitable stamp and the expanded brass
arrangement pushes each song across appreciable
boundaries. The former piece features Elton in a
confident melodic, almost crooning, position with able
and perceptive backing, the latter song is more
melancholy in nature with lots of space and a sweet
chordal development. Dean easily fits into he group’s
original material on the warbly title track and
guitarist Michel Delville’s piece’ “Cunnimingus Redux,”
which recalls the spirit of Phil Miller’s earliest In
Cahoots recordings with a strong Soft Machine Fourth
undercurrent. As Aymeric Leroy documents in his liner
notes, this was a musical magic moment in time now
shared with an appreciative jazz community. —Jeff
Melton,
Exposé
De jazzrock groep The
Wrong Object moest het deze avond doen
zonder de aange-kondigde Britse
saxofonist Elton Dean. Deze werd enkele
uren voor aanvang onverwachts in een
Brussels ziekenhuis opgenomen. Overmacht,
en dus stond de Belgische formatie er
alleen voor, met Michel Delville
(gitaar), Fred Delplancq
(tenor-/sopraansaxofoon), Jean
Estiévenart (trompet), Damien Polard
(bas) en Laurent Delchambre (drums).
Delville tekende voor de meeste stukken.
'CunniMingus' was een compositie van
zijn hand, met spannende dissonanten.
'Eat That Question' was een listig stuk
met verraderlijke stops en een
behoorlijke dosis gitaardistortion.
Tijdens de saxsolo dreigde het geheel
even uit de bocht te vliegen vanwege het
sterk opgevoerde geluidsniveau. Het door
Elton Dean geschreven 'Baker’s
Treat' kreeg een gloedvolle vertolking
door trompet en saxofoon, waaraan ook de
gitarist met sober wah-wah-gebruik
fraai bijdroeg. Bassist Damien Polard was
gedegen maar soms te bescheiden. Jammer
dat hij zich te weinig solistisch kon
profileren. Een ander stuk van Elton,
'Seven For Lee', deed denken aan Morgans
'The Sidewinder'; een sterk motief met
ruimte voor interessant vraag- en
antwoordspel van trompet en tenorsax.
Delchambre deed van zich spreken met
puik, inventief en inspirerend drumwerk
in 'Stucco', een compositie met nogal wat
dissonante samenklanken. Hierin boeide
eveneens het spel van Fred Delplanck en
een fraaie - gelukkig distortionloze -
gitaarsolo. 'Stangler Fig' was een
compositie met veel diversiteit qua
maatsoort en dynamiek. Trompettist
Estiévenant (20 jaar) blies hier met harmon-mute
een meer dan verdienste-lijke solo. Hij
is begiftigd met een mooi geluid en een
gedegen techniek. Een stuk met
reminiscenties aan Miles Davis' periode
met Coltrane. Maar we werden abrupt uit
deze overdenking weggerukt door de
gitarist die Frank Zappa's 'Chunga’s
Revenge' lanceerde. Dit stuk ging
naadloos over in 'Other People' van
Delville, waarmee het concert werd
besloten. Met andermaal een sublieme
trompetsolo van Estiévenant op een groovy
bedje van bas en drums.
—
Cees van de Ven, Draai om je
oren - Jazz & meer (October
2005)
Die
jährlich stattfindende, inzwischen zu
einer Institution gereifte Zappanale in
Bad Doberan wartet in ihrem musikalischen
Programm immer wieder mit ehemaligen
Mitstreitern des Meisters bzw.
eigenwilligen Zappa Coverbands auf.
Besonders interessant wird die ganze
Sache natürlich dann, wenn sich diese
beiden Gruppen verbinden. So geschehen
beim Zusammenspiel der belgischen Zappa
Jazz Rocker The Wrong Object (die ihren
Stil selbst als „Psychedelic Jazz
with modern rock sensibilities“
umschreiben), die letztes Jahr gemeinsam
mit Ed Mann (Vibraphon, Marimba,
Percussion) auf der Bühne standen. Auf
dem rund einstündigen Mitschnitt bekommt
man vor allem eine gehörige Ladung
nervös zuckenden Jazz Rock verpasst,
wobei das Programm abwechselnd aus
eigenem Material bzw. Zappa
Coverversionen besteht. Dabei wird
kräftig improvisiert, hingebungsvoll
gejammt, steht vor allem der ausufernde
instrumentale Aspekt im Vordergrund.
Neben gelegentlichen Vibraphon und
Marimbaeinlagen, bei denen Ed Mann seine
Visitenkarte abgeben darf, spielen sich
vor allem die beiden Saxophonisten Yves
Dellicour und Ludovic Jeanmart in den
Fokus des musikalischen Geschehens. Dies
heißt im Klartext: jede Menge heiß
brodelnde Saxophonluft, die von einer
bisweilen leicht überhitzten
Rhythmustruppe angetrieben wird. Dieser
Livemitschnitt, der im Sound recht
passend sehr direkt und roh aus den Boxen
kommt, dürfte vor allem für Freunde von
improvisierter Musik, sowie einem Faible
für jede Menge Saxophon von Interesse
sein. Eingestreute Kurzzitate mit dem
gewissen Augenzwinkern lassen wohl auch
den Meister wohlwollend amüsiert auf
diese Aufnahme blicken.
— Kristian Selm, Progressive
Newsletter
(June 2005)
|
Sollte man
dieses Album nun unter "Elton Dean" oder
unter "The Wrong Object" führen? Oder
gar eine neue Band aufmachen? Ich habe
mich mal für die Variante "The Wrong
Object" entschieden, da das Copyright
auch so lautet und eine Fortsetzung von
"Elton Dean & The Wrong Object", wie
dieses Album exakt firmiert, leider
nicht mehr möglich ist. Elton Dean, der
bekannte Saxophonist der
Canterbury-Szene, ist nämlich im Februar
2006 verstorben und somit stellt dieses
Album so etwas wie sein Vermächtnis dar.
"The
Unbelievable Truth" enthält eine
Liveaufnahme mit eben Elton Dean und den
Belgiern The Wrong Object, die im
Oktober 2005 im Glaz'Art in Paris
entstanden ist. Ursprünglich sollte dies
der Auftakt einer Reihe von
Zusammenarbeiten von Dean und der
belgischen Band sein, was sich aber
durch den Tod von Dean zerschlug. So
bleibt also dieses Dokument. Dean und
The Wrong Object spielten an diesem
Abend erstmals wirklich zusammen. Vorher
hatte Dean nur anhand einiger
zugesendeter Soundfiles etwas für sich
selbst geübt und The Wrong Object hatten
ebenfalls alleine zu einigen Werken
Deans gejammt. Davon ist aber beim
Konzert nichts zu spüren. Die
beteiligten Vollblutmusiker interagieren
und harmonieren, als hätten sie schon
viele Auftritte zusammen bestritten.
Gemeinsam spielen sie drei Kompositionen
von Dean, drei von Wrong Object-Cheffe
Michel Delville und eine Komposition,
für die The Wrong Object
gemeinschaftlich verantwortlich zeichnet.
Hier
geht es ziemlich jazzig zu. Immerhin
drei Bläser blasen um die Wette und
beherrschen das Terrain. Altmeister Dean
darf im wesentlichen die Linien vorgeben
und überzeugt durch einen weichen, fast
schmeichelnden Ton (zumindest ist das
der Sax-Ton, den ich ihm zuordnen würde),
der aber unvermittelt ins trötige,
kratzige umschlagen kann. Delplancq,
ebenfalls am Sax, und Trompeter
Estiévenart folgen gewandt und setzen
mal gegensätzliche Akzente, mal unisono
Passagen. Dabei klingen vor allem die
drei Dean-Kompositionen wie sanft
swingende Jazz-Standards, die
unaufgeregt, relaxt, aber niemals
langweilig dargeboten werden.
In den
Delville / Wrong Object-Kompositionen
wird freieres Terrain beschritten. Die
Klangkaskasden werden bewegter, schräger
und rhythmischer. Die Bläser inszenieren
schon mal eine fast freiklangige "Kakophonie",
da muss der Hörer 'was aushalten. Michel
Delville, sonst oftmals leider sehr,
sehr im Hintergrund, läßt die Gitarre
von der Leine, spielt eine Reihe von
schrägen Läufen, lässt die Gitarre
seltsam röhren und dominiert das
Titelstück gar mit einem schier endlosen,
repetitiven Solopart. Sicherlich ein
Höhepunkt des Albums. In diesem Momenten
vermischen sich Jazz, Rock und
avantgardistische Freiklänge zu einer
quirligen, lebendigen, unruhigen Melange.
Heimlicher Star des Albums ist Wrong
Object-Drummer Laurent Delchambre.
Ständig feuert er die Songs mit einem
treibenden, lockeren Groove an, spielt
ungeheuer kreative Fills und Breaks und
sorgt für permanente Bewegung, Unruhe
und "action". Allein dies ist schon ein
Erlebnis und macht das Album äußerst
empfehlenswert. Daneben geht die solide
Arbeit von Damien Polard am Bass fast
unter, aber irgendjemand muss das Ganze
schließlich zusammenhalten.
Eine
dynamische, mitreißende Gratwanderung
zwischen Jazz, Rock und Avantgarde von
hervorragenden Musikern dargeboten. Eine
Empfehlung für "Open Minded"-Proggies
und musikalische Entdecker und
Grenzgänger.—Thomas
Kohlruss,
Babyblaue-Seiten
|
|
For
me, one of the highlights of the 2004
Zappanale festival was seeing The Wrong
Object on stage. With, or even without Ed
Mann, these guys gave a hell of a show. I
caught the band in Liège a couple of
days ago, and they might have changed
their line-up, but they're sounding more
powerful than ever. "Live At
Zappanale 2004" is an excellent
introduction that should get them into a
club near you.
— United Mutations (March
2005)
Dann trat The Wrong Object mit Ed Mann
auf: handwerklich gut mit einen ewig jung wirkenden und
an den diversen Percussioninstrumenten herumspringenden
Ed Mann überzeugend.
— Der JW-Jazzpoint: Das Musikmagazin für Bremen und
Umgebung
(Zappanale report, 2004)
Und noch einmal gibt es
ein Konzert dieser Ausnahmeband zu hören. Aufgenommen am
18. Oktober 2005 im Pariser Glaz'Art. Bei schnöden
Rockbands könnte man von Resteausbeutung sprechen,
Konzert auf Konzert auf CD zu bannen. Es würde keinen
Sinn machen, alles zu konservieren. Jedoch nicht bei
dieser improvisativ arbeitenden Jazzrocktruppe, die
nicht nur stets neue Songs, sondern diese auch stets in
personeller und melodischer Variation spielt. Elton Dean
(as, Saxello), Laurent Delchambre (dr, perc), Fred Delplancq (ts), Michel Delville (g, voc),
Jean-Paul Estiévenart (tr) und Damien Polard (b) sind
ein exzellentes, witziges Team, das keine Spur gefällig
wirkt und seine virtuosen Stücke, von Songs kann hier
keine Rede sein, auf hohem Niveau mit modulationsreichen
Phrasierungen auf dynamischer und melodisch aktiver
Rhythmusbasis zelebriert.
Drei von Elton Deans Lieblingskompositionen sind dabei,
"Seven For Lee", "Baker's Treat" und "The Basho
Variations". Drei weitere Stücke stammen vom
Ensemblechef Delville, "Millennium Jumble" ist eine
Gruppenkomposition.
Erstaunlich die personelle Parallele zu den Belgiern The Wrong
Object, die wie In Cahoots erst mit Elton Dean,
schließlich mit Annie Whitehead aufgenommen hatten. Auch
stilistisch liegen beide Ensembles nicht weit
auseinander. In Cahoots zeigen eine stärkere Rockpräsenz,
The Wrong Object rocken jedoch partiell wesentlich
härter. The Wrong Object klingen europäischer, In
Cahoots britischer. Der größte Unterschied ist wohl der
Einsatz der elektrischen Gitarre. Beide Ensembles werden
von Gitarristen geleitet, Phil Miller ist der ältere,
abgeklärte, Michel Delville der "rockigere", härtere. Alle Tracks sind lang ausgeführt. Die Grundstruktur der
Songs ist nur marginal wahrzunehmen, in den
ausführlichen Improvisationen; Bass, Gitarre, Saxophon
und Trompete sind die Ausführlichsten darin; ist der
virtuose Geist der Band mitreißend zu spüren. Exzellent
die langen Jazzexkursionen, nicht zu beschreiben, von
großer Intensität und Dynamik.
Die Band, aus jungen und alten Musikern bestehend, macht
ihre Sache mit Bravour. Der Jazzcharakter ist
beherrschend, in wenigen, dann aber auffallend harten
Passagen, geht die Band leidenschaftlich in den Rock,
dessen Grundsubstanz aus Jazzrock gereift ist.
Wie bereits die vorherigen Alben der belgischen The
Wrong Object ist "The Unbelievable Truth" für
Jazzrockmaniacs sehr empfehlenswert, zudem gehört diese
Aufnahme zu einer der letzten Elton Deans überhaupt.
Und schon ist eine weitere Produktion der Band,
natürlich und leider ohne Elton Dean, angekündigt. The
Wrong Object werden Anfang 2008 oder gar noch Ende 2007
eine weitere CD vorlegen - mit frischen, neuen
Studioaufnahmen.
Tipp!—
Ragazzi
(August 2007)
A brilliant
modern progressive band that brings on the tradition of
artists such as Soft Machine and Frank Zappa.
The Wrong
Object è una interessantissima band che unisce jazz
rock, nu-jazz e progressive moderno. Nati nel 2002,
hanno focalizzato l’attenzione su di loro per la
collaborazione che nel 2005 avevano intrapreso con il
grande Elton Dean, sassofonista dei Soft Machine,
scomparso nel febbraio del 2006. The Wrong Object
suonano con Dean nell’ultima registrazione di un suo
concerto live, dell’ottobre 2005, pubblicata nell’album
Elton Dean & The Wrong Object – The Unbelievable Truth.
Notevoli per le loro capacità
tecniche, The Wrong Object si ispirano a musicisti che
vanno da Frank Zappa ai grandi del Canterbury sound, e
in questo album suonano con grinta e determinazione
tutti brani originali. Alternano momenti grintosi ed
energici (come l’efficace e bell’ inizio Sonic Riot at
the Holy Palate) anche a momenti più lirici, in cui la
tromba di Jean-Paul Estièvenart e il sassofono di Fred
Deplancq si liberano in parti più cantabili e tematiche.
C’è posto per
l’improvvisazione ma con grande disciplina e ordine, in
brani la cui lunghezza si mantiene sui 4 minuti di
media.
Gravitando attorno ad
una etichetta come la Moon June Records, che oltre a
pubblicare interessanti dischi di progressive, anche
italiani, è la casa della Soft Machine Legacy, The Wrong
Object sembrano essere, per le loro capacità musicali e
strumentali, tra i degni eredi della scuola del
jazz-rock del passato.
—Giulia Nuti, Il
Popolo des Blues
The
Wrong Object
were the next highlight after
Frogg Cafè and
Mats/Morgan.
The guys from Belgium played some Zappa music, very well
worked out and very jazzy but still heavy rocking and
mercilessly virtuoso!
Ed Mann played with them (after he had
accompanied Frogg Cafè
already on the day before) – a nice concert! We want
more of that!! ... [Ed Mann's] own world-music/jazz
songs were in contrast to the usual crazy Zappa sound
which he certainly played with his band (which mostly
consisted of members of The Wrong Object and was great).
— Volkmar Mantei's
Zappanale
report
This release from 2007 offers 68 minutes of lovely jazz
music recorded live in Paris at Glaz'Art on October 18,
2005. Elton Dean plays saxello and alto saxophone. The
Wrong Object is: Laurent Delchambre on drums and
percussion, Fred Delphanq on tenor saxophone, Michel
Delville on guitar and voice, Jean-Paul Estievenhart on
trumpet, and Damien Polard on bass. Energized relaxation
is the keynote here, with tunes that tenderly smolder
while conveying an undercurrent of lively verve. These
melodies are alive with agile percussion that flavors
the gentle pace with an appropriate level of versatile
pep. Periodically delving into seeming chaos, the
rhythms loyally slide into delightful cohesion and
flourish with mercurial determination. Strummed guitar
lurks in the mix, providing a tasty strata of twinkling
demeanor. The guitar also surfaces to shine with
compressed chords that generate an ambrosial sense of
numbed hyperactivity. The basslines are seductively
buried, allowing them to season the tunes from a hidden
vantage. When the bass elbows its way to the forefront,
its rumble is quite visceral. But it's the horns that
drive these songs. Emotional trumpet belting out
sparkling notes of grand depth. Twin saxophones
describing spry aerial arcs of soulful demeanor, filling
the mix with vigorous melodies that frequently ascend to
scrape heaven's ceiling with their glorious breaths. For
all their power, these compositions are generally gentle
structures, designed to relax, yet the instruments
strive to break that pacification with brisk expressions
that brim with command.—Matt Howarth,
Sonic Curiosity
"FIVE-five-five"
van Frank Zappa in de versie van The Wrong Object. Maar
daar is zeker niets mis mee, integendeel, want die
onbekende Brussels-Luikse groep vertolkt op een
bijzonder frisse manier musiek van Zappa, naast eigen
composities die wel erg Zappaiaans klinken.
— VRT
Radio 1 (8 December 2003)
Elton Dean, ex Soft Machine, died in February 2006. Four
months earlier, still playing with resilience and
brilliance, he recorded a set with The Wrong Object in
Paris. They’d never worked together before, though the
band had independently rehearsed some of Dean’s charts
and Dean, in his turn, had independently worked on some
of the band’s – mainly the work of Michel
Delville.There’s plenty variety in the sixty-eight
minutes that constitute The Unbelievable Truth.
Dean’s Seven for Lee finds the altoist spinning
constant, endless patterns over the band’s tightly knit
rhythm section – in which guitarist Delville has been
well mixed into the balance. Trumpeter Jean-Paul
Estiévenart plays with punchy, full toned bravura. There
are strong echoes of Dean’s Jazz-Rock days in
Millennium Jumble where the funky guitar distortion
has c.1968 written all over it. Still the groove is
powerful though it’s possibly the least successful
track. By contrast Dean’s work on his own punning
composition Baker’s Treat is a tour de force of
fluency and nasally lyrical lines, as they skim the
surface of the rhythm section’s propulsive wash. Maybe
there’s some Eastern, perhaps Arabic influence in the
title track – though Miles Davis’s influence on
Estiévenart is palpable here and the funk bass and Jazz
Rock guitar tell their own stories. There’s a Soft
Machine workout on A Cannery Catastrophe and the
rather smart aleckly titled Cunnimingus Redux –
more Mingus than Cunni and not much Redux – thins to
single, spare, sparse lines rather attractively. It
makes a change from some of the relentlessness
elsewhere. Dean plays with tremendous versatility
throughout, whether one appreciates his tonal qualities
or not. The arrangements are spirited, and there’s great
density and depth to the sound. There are crisp front
line passages, some intriguing guitar fills, funky bass
lines and powerful percussive statements. As a Dean
envoi it could scarcely be bettered. —Jonathan Woolf,
Jazz CD Reviews
A seguire, l’ottimo The Unbelievable Truth, dal
taglio più jazzistico, che assume anche una triste
valenza di addio ad Elton Dean, scomparso dopo soli
quattro mesi da questa registrazione live, dell’ottobre
2005, che lo vede affiancato al quintetto belga The
Wrong Object. Nonostante l’assenza di prove prima del
concerto, l’interplay fra i sei musicisti è la carta
vincente del disco, sia nei momenti strutturati con
maggior rigore (la classica
Seven For Lee,
la pacata ballad
Baker Treat’s,
entrambe dovute alla penna del sassofonista inglese),
che nelle fasi più libere e roventi, come la
title-track,
del chitarrista Michel Delville, e la riuscita impro
Millennium Jumble.—Alfonso
Tregua,
Jazzitalia
Dans la
petite salle du milieu, là par contre, ça décoiffe:
The Wrong Object!
Un groupe brûlant et puissant qui revisite à sa manière
Zappa, Soft Machine et toute la tendance jazz-rock
progressif.
Compos personnelles ou reprises, le groupe se donne à
fond. Michel Delville est époustouflant et Fred
Delplancq (que je ne connaissais pas dans ce registre)
est explosif. Coup de cœur!
—Jazzques (May 2007)
Elton Dean, scomparso nel febbraio del 2006, è stato uno dei
padri fondatori di quel sottogenere del progressive
nominato a posteriori "Canterbury", connubio fra jazz,
free attitude, dadaismo lisergico e progressive;
musicista di grande sensibilità e spessore rimarrà
sicuramente per tutti un'icona ed un riferimento nella
storia del genere da noi amato.
Noi di Agartha lo celebriamo con colpevole ritardo
recensendo questo T.U.T., un live edito postumo dalla
Moonjune records registrato il 18 ottobre 2005 a Parigi.
Trattasi di free jazz suonato da musicisti di qualità,
ben inciso e per nulla noioso, a patto che ovviamente ci
si aspetti quel che il genere e le modalità dell'evento
inevitabilmente implicano: non certo composizioni
particolarmente strutturate, bensì un discreto feeling,
senso dell'improvvisazione, coesione d'insieme, tecnica
sopraffina e fantasia esecutiva tale da scongiurare
inutili e tediosi polpettoni (come accade nel 99% dei
casi a parità di premesse). L'improvvisazione jazz non è
esattamente ciò che preferisco, ma, un po' per affetto
ed un po' per l'effettiva qualità del prodotto, ho
ascoltato molto volentieri questo live.
Viste le premesse di cui sopra non consiglio
ne sconsiglio l'acquisto di "The Unbelievable Truth",
lasciando a ciascuno la propria personale valutazione in
merito.—
Ruggero Formenti,
Agartha: The Prog Music Dimension
Elton Dean had a number of albums over the years under
his own name. They are generally a little closer to the
Jazz end of the spectrum than the Soft Machine works. On
“The Unbelievable Truth” he joins up with a European
outfit called The Wrong Object (Laurent Delchambre, d;
Fred Delplancq, ts; Michel Delville, el g, vcl;
Jean-Paul Estiévenart, tpt; Damien Polard, el bs), which
are closer in spirit to the Soft Machine than many of
the ensembles Elton had performed with on his earlier
records. This is a collaboration between the band and
Dean that was cut short by his declining health and
ultimate death shortly after this live recording was
made. The encounter meshes simpatico musical minds and
it surprising how well it works given that they had not
played together before, even in terms of rehearsal.
A bass riff leads off “Seven for Lee” (which is in
seven) and Dean plays the lead melody on saxello while
the other horns play a complementary riff underneath.
The solo that follows is idiomatically modal dean. If he
isn’t feeling well, it does not show in his playing. The
trumpet and tenor solos that ensue are well structured.
Dean’s ballad “Baker’s Treat” (aka “Bakers Street”)
shows him again in fine form. Tenor Delplancq follows to
build to a nice multi-note froth and some lyrically
soulful phrasing in a post-Trane idiom. This is all
quite attractive. My favorite of the session is the
title track, “The Unbelievable Truth.” It sports a
Middle-Eastern sounding head. A fuzz bass drone sets up
Dean’s alto solo, again in good form. Now it is
guitarist Delville’s turn and he supplies a heavy
rock-fusion solo hammering out lots of notes with taste.
Then he gets into a cyclical riff with the horns
counter-riffing in back. It is well-done. A theme from
Peer Gynt surfaces with a six-swing Mingus treatment in
“Cunnimingus Redux” and it is good fun. The final “Basho
Variations”features Dean on alto in an up-tempo swinging
context. That may be the last solo Dean recorded.
This is a very good record. It has contrast, jams, and
shifting textures. The Wrong Object show that they are a
band worth taking seriously and Dean plays his last act
with the sophistication and surety he had all of his
mature life. I recommend this one, for certain. — Grego
Applegate Edwards,
Cadence Magazine
Luego de algunas ediciones en CD de material tocado en
vivo y un par de álbumes producto de proyectos paralelos,
THE WRONG OBJECT graba su primer álbum de estudio,
"Stories from the Shed", con el Sello estadounidense
MoonJune Records, etiqueta neoyorquina especializada en
Jazz fusión.
The Wrong Object está compuesto por
Michel DELVILLE (guitarra, guitarra
sintetizador, artefactos electrónicos),
Fred DELPLANCQ (saxo tenor),
Jean-Paul ESTIÉVENART (trompeta,
flugelhorn),
Damien POLARD (bajo, artefactos
electrónicos) y
Laurent DELCHAMBRE (batería, percusiones,
sampleos), músicos que no resultan para nada nuevos ni
novatos en la hechura de un Nu-Jazz [término acuñado a
finales de los 1990 para referirse a estilos musicales
que mezclan texturas jazz y algunas veces
instrumentación jazz, funk, música electrónica para
bailar e improvisación libre (1)] de alcance amplio y
efectivo. Juntos como grupo han pisado el escenario
donde lumbreras jazz han deleitado a miles, con el sello
diferenciador de ser un grupo cuya esencia musical se
fortalece con el Canterbury, uno de los géneros del rock
progresivo más gustados desde que Caravan y Soft Machine
le dieran nombre allá a finales de la década de los 1960
y principios de la de los 1970. Pero aquí nos
encontramos ante algo más original, sin que esto
demerite el crédito y honor a quien en sus diferentes
tiempos lo merecen. The Wrong Object, por decir lo menos,
es un grupo de jazz rock lo suficientemente vanguardista
y progresivo para crear su propio estilo, muy zappiano y
modernista si se quiere ver así, pero añadiéndole su
propia idiosincrasia libre y experimental.
“Con influencias que van de las complejidades appa a las
inesperadas bocanadas electrónicas Squarepusher, de Soft
Machine, a Béla Bartok y Charles Mingus, "Stories from
the Shed" sorprenderá a los seguidores del rock
progresivo y del ‘jam-rock’,
tanto así como a los aficionados al jazz moderno,
gracias a sus composiciones desafiantes, improvisaciones
eléctricas y arreglos intrincados” (2). Un álbum para
gente que le guste escuchar música compleja, inteligente
y pasional. —Alfredo Tapia Carreto,
Manticornio
Ce groupe belge emmené
par le guitariste Michel Delville
s’est déjà produit, depuis 2002,
une trentaine de fois lors de concerts
énergiques et inventifs. Ce disque
renferme 6 compositions de Zappa et 5
compos originales. Les reprises sont
exécutées avec une virtuosité et une
maturité étonnante. Toutefois on
remarquera que l’accent est placé
sur une orientation jazz (deux
saxophonistes), ce qui densifie les
morceaux et augmente leur intérêt.
Outre Michel Delville, le groupe se
compose de Alain Deval (batterie), Damien
Polard (basse), Yves Dellicour (saxo,
clarinette) et Ludovic Jeanmart
(saxophone). Ils sont tous d’un
excellent niveau. Leurs morceaux
originaux ne souffrent pas de la
comparaison avec ceux de Zappa.
L’influence du Canterbury est
évidente et agréablement mariée
parcimonieusement avec un petit côté
funk-soul seventies. L’énergie est
garantie par les parties improvisées car
l’essentiel des morceaux a été
enregistré en live, ce qui
n’empêche pas le groupe de rester
rigoureux quant à une certaine
fidélité aux compositions, de
l’impro oui, mais pas trop. Un
véritable album studio est prévu pour
la fin de l’année. Nous
l’attendons avec impatience et
curiosité.— Prog-résiste, No 38
(2005). Compte-rendu de The Wrong Object Play Zappa and a
few Tunes of their Own.
‘Twas wunnerful to see the
Wrong Object again, and it seems it’ll be much sooner
before I see them again: they’ve been asked to play
Zappanale this year. Whoopee! They are a fine bunch of
musicians and, with no disrespect to those who played
before him, Laurent Delchambre was the best tub-thumper
I saw all weekend. The focus of the band, though, is
very much on the brass section, here augmented by
Frank van der Koiij on soprano saxamaphone. Starting
with their klezmer version of Eat That Question
(which incorporates Michel Delville’s sprightly
Honeypump Riff). They played mainly FZ,
but did deviate a little, slotting in their own
Strangler Fig (I think) and having me come up for
some poetry (backed by Michel, I read slightly amended
lyrics to Bow Wow Wow’s King Kong and the good
Captain’s Apes Ma, ending with a reference to the
above-mentioned Kansas City crazy little woman). —Andrew
Greenaway, T’Mershi Duween (Zappateeers 2008
festival report)
One of the last concerts Elton Dean did was not supposed
to be such an instant meeting directly on stage, but
that was more or less what happened, although Elton Dean
had prepared and learned Michel Delville’s compositions,
and The Wrong Object had rehearsed some of Elton Dean’s
compositions. The Wrong Object had “warmed up” with
their own repertoire and the usual Zappa covers before
they invited Elton Dean on stage. If this was that
concert this surely immediately created some magic.
Hearing this concert and especially the first and last
tracks if not all it is hard to understand how Elton
Dean soon was going to break down and not continue with
them, because here he gives himself completely,
providing some of the most convincing jazz I have heard
in a long time.
“Seven for Lee“ is a smooth track that gives the sax and
trumpet to improvise with a free choice of heights and
moods. “Millennium
Jumble” written by The Wrong Object I
assume must have had its portion of inspiration from
Soft Machine and the works of its members. It starts
with a beautiful pedalled guitar, skilled jazz drums by
Laurent Delchambre, who uses both hands greatly to form
different rhythmic themes. Beautiful sax
contribute and is added, silently improved and
stimulated by Michel Delville’s guitar, the bass and of
course further drumming, a marvellous track in
composition, sound and execution. “Baker's
Treat” is a beautiful and moody change (with
a reference to Chet Baker, of course). The track “The
Unbelievable Truth builds up with great
composting energy, using a beautiful fuzz bass sound in
it too, and a wild and vivid sax, and a great electric
guitar solo. This shows once more a skilful band that
learned certain skills from founding their interest in
people like Zappa and Soft Machine, amongst other
influences. “A
Cannery Catastrophe” is more complex with
rhythms which give it its own specific complex drive,
welcomely grounded by the correct bass and guitar
balance against the wild sax excursions. “Cunnimingus
Redux”, with its reference to the great
Charles Mingus, has of course some bass fundament with
melodic/rhythmic themes worked out with much fire from
deep within. The last Elton Dean composition, “The
Basho Variations” is a rather wild form of
loose themes on vibrant water of changing rhythms, until
it finds some more recognisable jazzy tunes, in babbling
sax/trumpet triplet form, coming to a perfect
conclusion, with a for me comparable to Mingus-like
vision on jazz. A remarkable concert.
-
Progressive Homestead (September 2007)
Il me semble que je vous avais fait part de mon désarroi à propos
du jazz et ‘qu’il fallait que je vous explique un jour
pourquoi. C’est en partant de l’écoute et de l’étude du
nouvel album de ce groupe belge crée en 2002 par Michel Delville, guitariste et fan de Zappa, que je me décide à
vous en dire plus au sujet de mon aversion à l’égard
d’un certain jazz. Vous allez me dire : il va descendre
ce disque. Raté ! Je vais en dire du bien de cet album.
Ce que je déteste dans le jazz, c’est lorsque les
morceaux s’étirent au profit de chorus interminables et
barbants. C’est ce que je craignais avant l’écoute de ce
disque. En fait, il n’en est rien car les morceaux sont
courts. Vous allez me dire : c’est tout ? Ca suffit ?
Clairement, oui. Car le fait que les titres soient
courts oblige à une construction plus rigoureuse dans
l’écriture et une meilleure immédiateté de l’attirance
vers l’auditeur. Et puis, aussi, les chorus ne sont pas
du tout envahissants, malgré la présence d’une guitare,
d’un sax et d’une trompette ... Il s’agit ici d’un jazz
hybride mêlant à la fois le rock et la musique électro
et parfois la musique folk de l’Europe de l’Est, voire
même orientale. Le plus surprenant dans cette histoire
c’est que « Stories from the Shed » est le premier album
studio de cette formation ! Mais The Wrong Object reste
un groupe de jazz qui a toujours finalement privilégié
l’instant fugace des conditions live avec déjà six
albums à son actif. Il manquait peut-être encore jusqu’à
aujourd’hui le témoignage d’une personnalité qui
s’affirme enfin. —Patrick Robinet,
Koid9
Intruth is a brief intro to the
Eastern-sounding Honeypump Riff, which my daughter’s
boyfriend thought was the theme from Borat.
This’ll have you bopping before Big Swifty knocks you
off your feet. The one thing I always admire about TWO
is that main man, Michel Delville, doesn’t try and hog
the limelight. His guitar solos are sporadic but always
worth waiting for. The other is the fact that they’re so
willing to experiment and collaborate. At Zappanale,
they had Ed Mann sit in, and here they have two of the
British jazz scene’s finest joining them: trombone Annie
we know and love from her stints with the
Zappatistas and the
afore-mentioned Robert Wyatt; and trumpeter and
flugelhorn player, Harry Beckett who, over the years,
has worked with such diverse folk as Charles
Mingus and
Jah Wobble. They both are
given copious chances to shine here – and shine they do
(eg Annie on the title track,
which she wrote, and Harry on his lovely lilting
Tinseltown). Oh, and you
should hear what the Object have come up with for my IBS
project in cahoots with The Friendly Dogs. If you’re not
gonna catch them at
ZappaFest NL, you need your
cranium’s inspected. No
offence. Seen?— T
Mershi Duween (on Platform One; 2007)
Dal vivo con Ed Mann!
Come nel disco d'esordio
in studio, anche in questo formidabile live-album la
band belga dei Wrong Object ama alternare omaggi a Frank
Zappa con brani propri: l'occasione ghiotta - il
concerto allo Zappanale - avrebbe legittimato un tributo
completo a Zappa, invece il quintetto di Michel Delville
lascia spazio alle proprie composizioni.
E proprio queste ultime sono una dedica zappiana, visto
che il gruppo ha una forte inclinazione a proporre il
jazz-rock proprio nella versione del maestro, anche se
senza il sarcasmo e la provocazione di Elio e le Storie
Tese e gli Ossi Duri.
Il trittico "Eat that Klezmer" - "Chunga's Revenge" e
"King Kong" è immancabile, arricchito dalla
straordinaria presenza di Ed Mann, premiata
marimba-percussioni-vibrafono del miglior Zappa fine
anni '70 ("Sheik Yerbouti", "Joe's Garage") e anni '80
("Jazz from hell"). Esecuzioni vertiginose, inebrianti,
tese all'inverosimile, ricche e coinvolgenti. Come i
brani della band, che rivelano un'attenzione alla
sfumatura e alla contaminazione, planando spesso nei
territori del miglior sound di Canterbury. Segnaliamo su
tutte la strepitosa "Strangler fig", che vede la band in
un insieme davvero eccellente, e la carica "Malign
Siesta" (grande Mann). Peccato solo per la resa sonora
scadente, che non rende giustizia al talento dei sei.
Dopo un ottimo esordio e un live-cd di conferma, per i
Wrong Object è proprio venuto il momento di esprimersi
nel migliore dei modi con un nuovo album, speriamo non
autoprodotto ma valorizzato da un'attenta casa
discografica.
— Donato Zoppo,
Movimentiprog (September 2006)
Avevamo lasciato The Wrong Object l'anno scorso,
all'uscita di “The Unbelieveble Truth”, registrazione
dal vivo realizzata insieme al compianto Elton Dean; li
ritroviamo ora al loro terzo album in studio, “Stories
from the Shed”, registrato interamente in presa diretta.
La formazione belga ruota intorno alla figura del
leader, il chitarrista Michel Delville, il quale funge
da “cerniera” tra una dinamica sezione ritmica, composta
dal batterista Laurent Delchambre e dal bassista Damien
Polard, e una sezione fiati versatile, quale quella che
comprende Fred Delplanq al sax e il giovanissimo
Jean-Paul Estièvenart alla tromba.
Le linee ispiratrici del progetto sono dichiarate e
riconoscibili: esse si possono ricondurre
fondamentalmente al Jazz-Rock di matrice canterburiana;
tuttavia non mancano altre influenze di vario genere, da
Frank Zappa a Charlie Mingus.
“Stories from the Shed” vive i suoi momenti più intensi
nelle fasi in cui i musicisti danno la sensazione di
liberare completamente e coralmente la loro carica
creativa: è il caso del brano “Malign Siesta”, dove si
può trovare un po' di tutto: accenni di ritmi sud
americani, caos canterburiano, assolo di batteria e
altro ancora; oppure “Strangler Fig”, un collage di
piccole follie con Zappa sullo sfondo; e ancora
“Saturn”, dove le atmosfere si fanno più rarefatte e la
tromba di Estièvenart prende il sopravvento. Ottimo è
anche “15/05”, brano oscuro ed intricato in cui la
coralità prevale sugli spunti solistici. —Antonio Mossa,
Arlequins
Equivocación Belga :
A ver... se dice por ahí que
The Wrong Object es una banda que hace
“heavy avant-pro-jazz-rock”. Son belgas; el líder es
Michel Delville, quien parece estar
influenciado por Robert Fripp, Terje Rypdal y Allan
Holdsworth pero, fundamentalmente, por Frank Zappa.
No es de extrañar entonces que, aunque su repertorio se
base en composiciones originales, siempre haya lugar
para un “Zappa
moment”, recreando temas del querido Pancho.
El nuevo trabajo de
The Wrong Object se titula “Stories
from the Shed”.
Fue grabado en vivo en el estudio en octubre de 2007 y
se estima que en estos días será editado en USA por el
sello Monnjune
Records. Acompañan a
Delville (que aquí además toca
electrónicos):
Fred Delplancq en saxo tenor,
Jean-Paul Estiévenart en trompeta,
Damien Polard en bajo y electrónicos y
Laurent Delchambre en batería y chiches
varios. —El
Intruso
A még „gyerekkorúnak” számító angol kiadót, a MoonJune Recordsot
2001-ben alapította Leonard Pavkovic. A zsenge kor
ellenére fajsúlyos produkciókkal kerültek be a zenei
világ vérkeringésébe, miközben olyan közismert
előadókkal dolgoznak együtt, mint Hugh Hopper, a Soft
Machine és a most bemutatásra kerülő album gazdája, a
The
Wrong Object. Ugyanakkor szívesen felkarolnak
minden olyan, még a parnasszus lábánál toporgó művészt,
akiben kellő spirituszt éreznek.
A The Wrong Object fiatal belga muzsikusok fiatal
formációja. Az elmúlt évek során több mint száz
koncertet adva végigturnézták kontinensünket.
Első albumuk All Hands On Dreck címmel -
magánkiadásban - jelent meg 2001-ben.
Az idei évben kiadott új albumot egyértelműen „rock”
besorolással illette a kiadó. Ezzel az egyértelmű
beskatulyázással mindenképpen vitába szállnék.
Kétségtelen, hogy a repertoár tartalmaz rockos elemeket,
de ennek ellenére az album inkább a fúziós zene
kategóriába tartozik.
Az együttes tagjai (főként a gitáros Michel Delville)
régmúlt idők alkimistáihoz hasonlóan valamiféle titkos
receptura alapján adagolják a különböző zenei
stílusokból (jazz, rock, elektronikus zene, new wave
stb.) származó elemeket, bízva abban, hogy a folyamat
végén megszületik a „prima materia”… Egyszer
megkérdezték tőlük, hogy kik azok a zenei életben, akik
inspirálóan hatnak illetve hatottak rájuk? Ők Bartók
Béla (!), Charles Mingus, Frank Zappa és a Soft Machine
együttes nevét emelték ki. Ez a néhány név is jól
példázza, hogy az alkotásaik milyen sok forrásból
táplálkoznak.
Az albumon 14 szám kapott helyet, melyek döntő hányada
Michel Delville szerzői munkáját dicséri. A kompozíciók
listája alapján úgy tűnik, hogy a fiúk szeretik többször
átgondolni a dolgaikat.
Talán ez a magyarázata annak, hogy újra feltűnik néhány
felvétel a korábbi albumokról. Ismét hallható például a
2003-as Malign Siesta címadó trackje, a tavalyi
korongról pedig a „The Unbelievable Truth”. A Stories
From The Shed olyan, mint egy jó film; amíg a
moziban sokadik megtekintés után is találunk új
részeket, addig ennél a lemeznél a többszöri
meghallgatás az újabb és újabb felfedezés jóleső
érzésével ajándékozza meg a közönséget. —Czékus Mihály,
Ekultura
Tra Zappa e il Canterbury sound l'esordio dell'ottima band belga
Zappiani per vocazione,
più che per il numero di cover presenti nel loro
repertorio, i belghi The Wrong Object esordiscono con un
dischetto che mette subito in chiaro la loro proposta:
"Play Zappa and a few tunes of their own" dimostra
proprio che accanto ai brani del maestro il quintetto
non disdegna l'inserimento di proprie composizioni.
Immancabili pezzi come "King Kong" e "Chunga's Revenge",
arrangiati in modo impeccabile (così come un'incalzante
"Eat that question"), con un mood soffuso e morbido
(fatta eccezione per l'abrasiva "Five-five-five") che
testimonia anche l'amore per le sonorità di Canterbury.
Soft Machine e Hatfield And The North sono riferimenti
notevoli nei brani originali di Michel Delville e soci:
"Malign Siesta" e "Soft cage" sono concepiti all'insegna
del jazz-rock più contaminato, sia dalla psichedelia che
dal blues e dal funk. "Cunnimingus" e "Wet weather wet"
hanno un andamento davisiano, sommesso e tenue, con
rapide impennate elettriche ed esplosioni di fiati;
"Strangler Fig" mostra invece il lato più bislacco e
stravagante.
Band di caratura tecnica
eccellente, dall'interplay degno di lode e dall'impatto
di gruppo dirompente ma sempre raffinato, il quintetto
mette in mostra una bella varietà timbrica, sfruttando
bene sia i fiati (sax alto e soprano, clarone) che la
sezione ritmica. Un ottimo inizio, al quale faranno
seguiito negli anni a venire le collaborazioni con
grandi
come Ed Mann e
Lol Coxhill.—
Movimentiprog (April 2006)
Name: THE WRONG OBJECT Mitglieder: Michel Delville (e. &
synth g.; electr.), Fred Delplancq (sax.), Jean-Paul
Estiévenart (tr.), Damien Polard (b.; electr.), Laurent
Delchambre (dr.; perc.; samples; electr.)
Gründung: 2002 Stil: Jazz-Fusion/Avant-Rock/Progressive
Rock Herkunft: Belgien Veröffentlichung(en): "All Hands
On Deck" (Lim. Ed., Private Release 2001), "Malign
Siesta" (Lim. Ed., Private Release 2003), "Live 2005" (T.W.O.
& guests; Lim. Ed., Private Release 2005), "Platform
One" (T.W.O. feat. ANNIE WHITEHEAD & HARRY BECKETT;
Voiceprint 2007), "The Unbelievable Truth" (T.W.O. w/
ELTON DEAN; MoonJune Records 2007),
"Stories From
The Shed"
(MoonJune Records 2008) Feature(s) auf: "Zappanale 15"
(DVD; 25-minütige Performance feat. ED MANN), "Zappanale
15" (3-CD; 40-minütige Performance feat. ED MANN)
Bandinterne Konsensplatte: irgendeine JOHN COLTRANE-Aufnahme
Ultimatives Coverartwork: (evtl.) CAPTAIN BEEFHEART -
"Trout Mask Replica" Vergleiche mit diesen Bands
schmeicheln uns: THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION, KING CRIMSON
("Larks' Tongues"-Periode), MASADA Diesen Vergleich
verbitten wir uns: viele
Easy-Listening-Post-Fusion-Bands Homepage:
http://www.wrongobject.com/
MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/wrongobject
Die Belgier vom WRONG OBJECT verbinden Nu-Jazz mit Rock
und Elektronik, und das auf ungewöhnliche Weise. Kein
Wunder, denn zu ihren Einflüssen zählen sie sowohl die
Progrocker der Canterbury Scene als auch grundlegende
Komponisten der Neuen Musik (BÉLA BARTÓK) und
elektronischen Musik (KARLHEINZ STOCKHAUSEN), die
Intelligent-Dance-Music-Avantgardisten SQUAREPUSHER, die
genreübergreifend arbeitenden Hip-Hop-Instrumentalisten
AMON TOBIN, ihre progressiv jazzenden Landsmänner AKA
MOON, die (Post-)Bop- und Avantgarde-Jazz-Legende
CHARLES MINGUS und nicht zuletzt den wohl ikonischsten
Jazzrock-Pionier, Multi-Avantgardisten und Rebell gegen
die E-und-U-Musik-Unterscheidung überhaupt: FRANK ZAPPA.
Aus dem Bereich Progrock und Prog-Jazz schlugen sich (meinem
Interviewpartner Michel Delville zufolge) vor allem SOFT
MACHINE und HENRY COW direkt im Klang von THE WRONG
OBJECT nieder, wohingegen jüngere Projekte wie
SQUAREPUSHER und die von Damien Polard verehrte,
mehrköpfige Nu-Jazz-Combo JAGA JAZZIST (der Rockgemeinde
eventuell über die Zusammenarbeit mit MOTORPSYCHO bei
"In The Fishtank 10" aus dem Jahre 2003 bekannt) eher im
Bereich der elektronischen Klanglandschaften und
Atmosphäre einflussreich waren. Stücke wie 'Strangler
Fig' oder 'Lifting Belly' wiederum stünden noch am
ehesten in der Tradition von Komponisten wie BÉLA BARTÓK
oder IGOR STRAVINSKY. Somit ergibt sich eine gehörige
Bandbreite an Musikern, deren Wirken denn auch den Sound
von THE WRONG OBJECT entsprechend vielfältig ausfallen
lässt - im Zusammenspiel mit dem jeweils ureigenen
Genius der Bandmitglieder freilich; denn es mangelt dem
Quintett keineswegs an Eigenständigkeit.
Wer sich vom besonderen Klang der Band überzeugen möchte,
braucht sich fürs Erste nur fünf Stücke vom aktuellen
Album "Stories From The Shed" anzuhören, die
zusammengenommen sämtliche Mitglieder, sowohl
kompositorisch als auch spielerisch, voll zum Zuge
kommen lassen und zugleich mehr als nur eine Ahnung von
den Studioqualitäten der Progressiv-Fusionisten geben.
Da wäre zum einen die rhythmisch interessante,
bläserorientierte Jazznummer '15/05' zu nennen, die
recht eingängig beginnt, dann jedoch zu freier Hochform
aufläuft, und Fred Delplancqs Tenorsaxofon in den
Vordergrund rückt. Anders klingt 'Sheepwrecked':
Verhaltene Trompetenklänge kreisen zu nebliger
Elektronik um den ruhenden Pol des Bassspiels von Damien
Polard, dem Hauptschöpfer dieses Stückes. Die äußerst
quirlige 'Malign Siesta' dagegen entpuppt sich als
wahrer Wirbelwind an Klängen und lässt in äußerst
wandelbarem Fluss die Technik der Modulbauweise mit
ihren ineinanderfließenden Versatzstücken noch gut
erkennen. Alleine dieses Stück bietet schon eine Reise
durch unterschiedlichere Klänge, als sie so manche
andere Band Zeit ihres Bestehens zuwege bringt.
Ambienter wabert das entspannt psychedelische
Stimmungsgemälde 'Waves And Radiations' aus den
Lautsprechern, zu dem man sich gut einen Sonnenaufgang
bei Ebbe nach der privaten Strandparty vorstellen kann.
Außer dem Gitarristen und dem Bassisten zeichnet hierfür
auch der Rhythmusmensch Laurent Delchambre
kompositorisch verantwortlich. Das vom Trompeter
Jean-Paul Estiévenart geschriebene 'Saturn' schließlich
klingt eher nach den auf MILES DAVIS' Album "Bitches
Brew" zu hörenden Arrangements. Doch auf "Stories From
The Shed" gibt es noch weitaus mehr zu entdecken.
Für eine Jazzrock-Band haben wir es bei THE WRONG OBJECT
mit einer ungewöhnlichen Besetzung zu tun. Die Musiker
wohnen in verschiedenen Städten, was sie aber nicht
daran hindert, gemeinsam Musik zu machen, die komplex
und unterhaltsam zugleich sein soll. Nach einem ersten
Versuch in anderer Besetzung und zahlreichen Live-Alben
innerhalb weniger Jahre ist "Stories From The Shed" ihr
erstes "offizielles" Studioalbum - und auch eine
schillernde Aneinanderreihung höchst unterschiedlicher
und doch äußerst flüssig miteinander verknüpfter
Passagen. Interessant ist, neben den darin
aufscheinenden Klangfarben, auch die Solches erst
möglich machende Arbeitsweise der Band. Die Musiker von
THE WRONG OBJECT arbeiteten einzelne Versatzstücke
zunächst "modular" aus, bevor diese Skizzen dann im
Studio in eine angemessene Reihenfolge gebracht wurden
und schließlich die meiste Überlegung in die besonders
schwierig zu komponierenden Übergänge einging. Im
Live-Spiel ist der Band laut Gitarrist Michel Delville
die Improvisation besonders wichtig, so dass bereits
beim Schreiben der Stücke auf dazu einladende Passagen
Wert gelegt werde. Ihre Samples spielen die Musiker
selbst ein. Insgesamt hält sich die Elektronik für den
Zuhörer jedoch eher im Hintergrund und ist wie bereits
erwähnt für zusätzliche Atmosphäre zuständig.
Bei aller Sorgfalt im Studio zieht es THE WRONG OBJECT
doch auch immer wieder auf die Bretter, die die Welt
bedeuten (Michel Delville: "Nichts kann einen Live-Gig
schlagen - das ist besser als belgische Schokolade und
fast so gut wie Sex"). Bei einer derartig umtriebigen
Band mit zahlreichen Vorbildern, tüchtig Live-Hummeln im
Hintern und steilem Hang zur Improvisation nimmt es auch
nicht Wunder, dass die Musiker bereits mit mehreren
bekannten Musikern zusammenspielten. So trat THE WRONG
OBJECT auf der "Zappanale 2004" in Deutschland gemeinsam
mit Frank Zappas Perkussionisten Ed Mann auf. Eine
Fortsetzung dieser Jam ist in Planung, ebenso ein
Treffen mit einer "bekannten New-York-basierten
Persönlichkeit", zu der sich die Band allerdings noch
nicht näher äußern mag, da ihr Manager Leonardo Pavkovic
erst einmal die Verhandlungen für ein Überqueren des
großen Teichs abschließen muss, bevor an so etwas
präziser zu denken ist.
In der Vergangenheit traten die Belgier jedoch schon bei
mehreren Gelegenheiten zusammen mit zwei britischen
Szenegrößen auf: mit der Posaunistin Annie Whitehead,
die sich in ihrem Heimatland als Sessionmusikerin außer
um den Jazz (WORKING WEEK, BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH) auch
um den Ska/Reggae/Postpunk (Fashion-Label) verdient
machte, Exkursionen in afrikanische (PILI PILI) und
lateinamerikanische Musik unternahm und des Weiteren
auch in populärer Musik reüssierte (mit JAH WOBBLE,
STYLE COUNCIL, FUN BOY THREE, BANANARAMA, SPICE GIRLS,
BLUR), und mit Harry Beckett, der ebenfalls schon mit
JAH WOBBLE spielte und auch im Film "All Night Long"
(1961) mit Annie Whiteheads Einflussgeber CHARLES MINGUS
auftaucht. Mingus wiederum ist ja für THE WRONG OBJECT
ebenfalls nicht unwichtig. Eine weitere Verbindung
zwischen den Musikern besteht u. a. durch die Gruppen
BROTHERHOOD OF BREATH, FAST COLOUR und RUDE, wo nicht
nur Whitehead, sondern auch Beckett (Trompete bzw. bei
B.O.B. auch Flügelhorn) spielte. Außerdem steuerte er
mit der ASIAN DUB FOUNDATION den Track 'Return Of Django'
zum Soundtrack des Films "The Beach" (2000) bei.
Whithehead und Beckett performten des Weiteren unter dem
Titel "Soupsongs" diverse Stücke aus der Feder Robert
Wyatts (THE SOFT MACHINE), womit sich der Kreis zur
Canterbury Scene einerseits und THE WRONG OBJECT
andererseits schließt.
"Die Canterbury Scene bleibt ein unverzichtbares und
unterschätztes Kapitel in der Geschichte progressiver
Musik", betont THE WRONG OBJECTs Michel Delville und
verrät, dass die auf "Platform One" (2007) zu hörenden
Stücke mit Annie Whitehead und Harry Becket insofern ein
Wagnis darstellten, als dass zuvor zwar ein kurzer
Austausch stattfand, die Musiker selbst dann aber beim
Live-Einspielen das erste Mal zusammentraten.
Entsprechend groß ist die Freude über das Gelingen und
die Bereitschaft zum Experiment: "Ich bin sehr dankbar,
dass [Annie und Harry] dieses Risiko eingegangen sind -
sie sind geborene Improvisatore und mutige Kämpfer für
wahrlich progressive Musik!" Ein weiterer Traum wurde
durch das Spiel mit dem Jazzmusiker und SOFT MACHINE-Saxofonisten
Elton Dean wahr, der leider Anfang 2006 im Alter von
sechzig Jahren kurz vor einer geplanten Reihe von Gigs
im Rahmen einer SOFT MACHINE-Reunion-Tour verstarb.
Eigentlich hatte man gehofft, das große Vorbild noch
einmal auf einer Tour begleiten zu dürfen. Ihm widmen
THE WRONG OBJECT denn auch oftmals ihre Live-Version
seines Stückes 'Seven For Lee', welches auch auf dem im
Oktober 2005 gemeinsam eingespielten Album von ELTON
DEAN & THE WRONG OBJECT, "The Unbelievable Truth", zu
hören ist, welches Stücke von Michel Delville, Elton
Dean und THE WRONG OBJECT enthält. Im gleichen Jahr
erschien auch das Album "Live 2005" von THE WRONG OBJECT
& GUESTS. Ihren nächsten großen Auftritt in Deutschland
wird die Band Mitte August auf dem vom Zappa-Fanclub Arf
Society veranstalteten Festival "Zappanale 2008" in Bad
Doberan haben. Unter dem Namen NEW TEXTURE PAN TONAL
FELLOWSHIP werden sie dort gemeinsam mit Franks Neffe
Stanley Jason Zappa auftreten, aber auch noch ein
eigenes Set spielen. Ein möglichst breites Publikum ist
den Fünfen zu wünschen, denn verdient hätten sie es! —Eike
Schmitz,
Powermetal
The Wrong Object,
Paestum (SA), Italia, 15 giugno 2008.
Il concerto dei Wrong Object a Paestum è sembrata la
diretta prosecuzione di quello tenuto dall'Allan
Holdsworth Trio ad Agropoli la settimana precedente…
Tanto è vero che Michel Delville, chitarrista della
band, presenta lo spettacolo ricordando la strada
intitolata a Frank Zappa e aprendo le danze proprio con
un brano dell'indimenticato artista statunitense, Eat
that question.
Inizio di fuoco e prosecuzione in grandissimo stile,
perché questa è una grande band! Suonano moltissimo
materiale del loro splendido album Stories from the
shed, uscito ad inizio anno e caratterizzato da un
jazz-rock articolato, che riprende benissimo gli
insegnamenti dei vari Zappa, Soft Machine, Nucleus, King
Crimson. La chitarra elettrica nervosa di Delville,
pronto ad avventurarsi in sequenze tortuose di note e ad
offrire una notevole varietà timbrica, sfruttando al
meglio la tecnologia, si fonde alla perfezione con il
sax irrequieto di Fred Delplancq e con la tromba di
matrice jazz di Jean-Paul Estiévenart. Laurent
Delchambre alla batteria e Damien Polard al basso fanno
i salti mortali per tenere i ritmi tra frenetiche
accelerazioni, momenti più rilassati e sperimentalismi
vari.
E proprio la sperimentazione è parte importante della
proposta dei Wrong Object, pronti ad affascinare sia con
la vena jazz, loro precipua caratteristica, sia con
folli collage sonori, contraddistinti da un “caos
ragionato” e da bizzarri andamenti percussivi. Non è un
caso il riferimento precedente ai Soft Machine, perché
questi musicisti, oltre ad aver suonato insieme al
compianto Elton Dean (omaggiato con due pezzi), sembrano
proprio riprenderne al meglio quello spirito di ricerca
che il fenomenale ensemble di Canterbury dispiegava
immensamente quasi quaranta anni fa. Un altro gruppo che
mi hanno fatto venire in mente sono i canadesi Miriodor,
sia per le loro tendenze canterburiane, sia per la
propensione ad un progressive vicino al R.I.O. e
all'avanguardia odierna.
Dopo Big Swifty, altra composizione zappiana, e
Sheepwrecked, una delle tracce più belle di
Stories from the shed, sale sul palco Biagio
Francia, musicista locale e organizzatore del concerto,
e viene eseguito un lungo brano dedicato al Tempio di
Nettuno di Paestum, introdotto da un sample con un'ode a
Nettuno recitata in greco. Francia si esibisce con
percussioni e con diavolerie elettroniche che spingono
ulteriormente in avanti il profilo sperimentale del
concerto e i Wrong Object lo seguono alla perfezione,
creando atmosfere particolari ed inquiete e slanciandosi
in solos e momenti di insieme stravaganti.
Non ci poteva essere finale migliore per un concerto di
grande livello. —Giuseppe di Spirito, Rotters Club
Stories of the Shed.
This release from 2008 offers 54 minutes of intense
progrock.
The Wrong Object is: Michel Delville (on
guitar, guitar-synth, and electronics), Fred Delplanco
(on tenor saxophone), Jean-Paul Estievenart (on trumpet
and flugelhorn), Damien Polard (on bass and
electronics), and Laurent Delchambre (on drums,
percussion, and samples). All music was recorded live in
the studio with no overdubs.
Tight is the key word here. Tight
compositions, tight performances, tight intentions, and
tight consequences. The various instruments meld
together into a compact unit that pursues each melody
with a strict focus and an exuberant heart.
The horns blare away with passion and
cerebral determination. Their resonance lifts the
listener to soaring heights, and the journey is an
ambrosial one. From this dizzying altitude, saxophone
and trumpet coalesce to form an emphatic brass section
that possesses an almost addictive quality.
The percussion is intricate and forceful,
providing more than just locomotion, instilling an
expansive flair to the tunes. At times, the beats adopt
a cacophonous character, only to ascend into cohesion
with engaging charisma.
The guitar sears and growls and wails,
imbuing each song with astounding pyrotechnics of the
audible variety. Crashing outbursts slide into
nimble-fingered chords of glistening disposition.
The bass rumbles, establishing a sturdy
foundation lurking in the mix for the melodies to stand
erect and stretch their delightful threads.
Amidst this compressed mass are
electronic touches that act as bonding agents,
connecting diverse aspects with a cybernetic cement that
is often barely discernible.
The compositions are trim and often all
too brief. The longest song is under six minutes, yet
each track flourishes with maturity and totality. The
melodies surge with charming authority and then espouse
whimsical variations of bewitching distinction. —Sonic
Curiosity
Siste skiva til saksofonisten Elton Dean før han så
tragisk gikk bort bare 61 år gammel. Med seg har han det
herlige Belgiske jazz-artrock ensembelet Wrong Object.
Liveskive hvor øvinga ble heller minimal. Dette skyltes
av Wrong Object ble heftet i en trafikkulykke. Selv uten
annet enn minimal lydsjekk er dette et godt dokument på
hvordan store musikere klarer å samhandle bare kjemien
stemmer. Fra første tone gløder Elton Dean, og jammen
klarer også Wrong Object å henge seg på denne vitale og
talentfulle saksofonisten. Her spilelr han for øvrig på
Saxello, som er en spesiell sopran saksofon som gir sitt
eget bidrag til lydbildet. Et lydbilde som er svært
diversifisert, og går fra Zappa`s kompleksitet til
tidlig Soft Machine og jammen et streiftog innen swing
og mye annet på en helt naturlig måte.
Skiva viser Elton`s fabelaktige brede musikalske pensel,
g står om en fjellstø bauta over en stor musiker minne.
Sakte og mytiske trompetsoloer og Hugh Hopper aktig
fuzz-bass er noen av det utmerkede musikalske
sortimentet vi kan hygge oss med her. Lyden er varm og
fin, og det blir aldri for ”far out” slik liknende
settinger har en tendens til. Gjennom stor kontraster
får vi her en vellykket plate som i våre ører klinger
bra.
—MerlinProg
Pour ceux et celles qui ne connaissent pas le jazz-rock
souvent musclé de The Wrong Object, autant prévenir
d’entrée, ça déménage très dur dès le premier morceau.
D’ailleurs rien que son titre, « Sonic Riot at the Holy
Palate », laisse présager une belle tempête musicale.
Cependant, disons-le clairement, il serait absurde de
réduire The Wrong Object à du jazz-rock bruyant. C’est
même un groupe exceptionnellement intelligent et dont la
musique est pétrie de subtilité. C’est aussi une
formation qui ose carrément. Car Stories from the
Shed, premier album studio de ce quintet belge a été
enregistré comme au bon vieux temps, en condition de
concert et sans ajouts ultérieurs. Oui, il faut de
l’audace pour faire ainsi de nos jours, et aussi une
sacré dose de confiance dans sa technique. Et pour bien
mesurer l’exploit, il suffit de savoir que la plupart
des live, même de très grands groupes, sont pas mal
refaits en studio. C’est là un secret de Polichinelle.
The Wrong Object, lui, refuse, les facilités qu’offrent
les technologies d’aujourd’hui, préférant la vérité, ce
qui est à saluer. Avouons également que ce combo avait
déjà une grande habitude d’être enregistré sur scène,
plusieurs live officiels du groupe étant déjà sortis
chez Voiceprint et Moonjune.
Mais qui est donc The Wrong Object ? C’est un groupe
liégeois fondé en 2002, composé d’un trio
guitare-basse-batterie plutôt rock et d’un duo de
cuivres plutôt jazz, et qui ne cache pas une forte
influence du côté de Frank Zappa ; Toutefois l’écoute
attentive de ces Histoires venues de la Grange nous
guide aussi vers Soft Machine, King Crimson, John Zorn
et même, par moments, Terje Rypdal, Stravinsky ou Bela
Bartok. C’est dire si The Wrong Object allie culture
autant que brio. Notons de plus que trois des musiciens
de la formation plongent aussi de pleines mains dans la
musique électronique, ce qui achève de donner une allure
fièrement polystylique à ce groupe. Aucun étonnement
donc à ce que leur opus Stories from the Shed
soit tout autant polymorphe, alternant passages
bouillants (citons « Lifting Belly » ou « Strangler Fig »),
instants extrêmement calmes, voire mystiques (écoutez « Acquiring
the Taste » et « Waves and Radiations » pour comprendre
de quoi je parle) et improvisations parfaitement menées
(comme dans « Rippling Stones »). Signalons aussi la
richesse des arrangements, notamment sur « Strangler Fig »
et « Malign Siesta ». mais on aurait pu dire tout aussi
bien « 15/05 » ou « Teresa’s Dress » (et sa reprise).
Bref, le Stories from the Shed de The Wrong
Object c’est du sérieux, du solide et surtout du grand
art. Un vrai must dans sa catégorie. -Frédéric
Gerchambeau, Traverses no 25 (2009)
The Wrong
Object standen in der Besetzung Michel Delville (g, g-synth,
electr), Fred Delplancq (ts), Jean-Paul Estiévenart
(tr), Damien Polard (b, electr), Laurent Delchambre (dr,
perc, samples) und Nick Skrowaczewski (perc) mit Stanley
Jason Zappa (ts) - die beiden letzten in den vier
letzten Tracks auf der CD - zusammen auf der großen
Zappanale-Bühne und spielten einen mörderischen
Jazzkrawall, der genügend Avantgarde und satten Rock im
Blut hatte, die Meute vor der Bühne mit ihrem
kraftvollen Sound zu erfreuen. Es gibt nur drei Zappa-Covers
zu hören, "Big Swifty", "Blessed Relief" und
"Five-Five-FIVE", wie auf den vorherigen Wrong-Object-CDs
ist das Programm gut durchmixt, Michel Delville,
Jean-Paul Estiévenart und Damien Polard - die
überwiegenden Komponisten der Band - nutzen jede
Gelegenheit, ihre eigenen Songs lauschendem Publikum um
die Ohren zu hauen. Auf der Zappanale sind sie gern
gesehene und gehörte Gäste. Die Eigenart der Band,
lustig komisch schwülstigen 50er Jahre Sample-Tasten-Kitsch-Sound,
abstrakten Jazzrock und zappaeske Turnabteilung samt
dynamisch federndem Jazz zu zelebrieren und die
Gebläseabteilung dabei die Instrumente glühend heiß
spielen zu lassen, kommt fabelhaft an.
Ich bin mir jetzt nicht mehr sicher, zu welcher
Tageszeit The Wrong Object auf der Bühne standen - was
entscheidend ist! - die beste Zeit ist die des
Sonnenunterganges, die Stimmung ist auf dem Höhepunkt
und in die Musikdröhnung legt sich die Lüsternheit der
Abendkühle, die noch viel Zeit offen lässt, sich auf
eine Menge kommenden Stoffes (aller Arten) freuen zu
dürfen, die der Nutzer gern so auf wirken lässt, samt
diverser Bands.
Die Sonne hat zuerst noch Licht und Kraft und steigt
rapide ab, das Licht quer vor der Bühne hat Magie, die
Band wird verzaubert, im Publikum jagt die Körperchemie
durcheinander, der Wind geht lind und The Wrong Object
sind nicht zum Zuhören da, sondern zum Irritieren.
Nachher weiß keiner mehr so genau, was die gespielt
haben, waren das mehr Gitarrensoli oder mehr
Bläserlatein, haben die gerockt wie die Hirten oder sind
die als Jazzpropheten ans Werk gegangen?!?
11 Songs und 55 Minuten des Auftrittes, mit Gast Zappa,
sind zum Archivhören jetzt verfügbar. Tipp!—Ragazzi (avril 2010)
Vier Jahre
nach ihrem wohl ersten Auftritt beehrten
die Belgier The Wrong Object 2008 mal
wieder die Zappanale. Von ihrem Auftritt
liegt inzwischen ein Tondokument vor,
welches auf dem Fazzul-Label von Markus
Stauss erschienen ist. Wie schon 2004 (damals
war Ed Mann mit dabei) umgaben sich die
„falschen Objekte“ auch 2008 mit
zappaeskem Flair – auf den letzten vier
Stücken stießen Stanley Jason Zappa (ein
Neffe des berühmten Frank) und Nick
Skrowaczewski (ein Musiker wohl eher aus
dem Jazz, der unter anderem zusammen mit
SJ Zappa musiziert hat) als Gäste hinzu.
Wer The Wrong Object bisher schon mochte,
kann bei diesem Album ungehört zugreifen.
Er wird nicht enttäuscht werden. Die
Belgier entfachen wieder das ihnen
eigene Klanggemisch aus treibendem,
leicht nervösem Jazzrock, rauhem
Canterbury garniert mit fetten Bläser-Attacken,
schrägen Gitarren- und Synth-Gitarren-Soli,
melodischem Bassspiel und dem hyperaktiv-verspieltem
Drumming von Laurent Delchambre (der im
Verlauf sogar ein kurzes, prägnantes
Solo einstreuen darf). Rockfreunden sei
allerdings gesagt: Die Jazz-Schlagseite,
die die Belgier fraglos schon immer
hatten, darf diesmal deutlicher als
sonst dominieren, was sich vor allem in
einem gewissem Übergewicht für die
Bläserfraktion niederschlägt. Trompeter
Estievenart liefert sich vor allem in „Saturn“
wilde Gefechte mit Gitarrist Delville,
Saxfonist Delplancq gibt im Mittelteil
des Albums ordentlich Gas und bringt das
Saxophon gelegentlich zum Übersteuern.
Und wenn dann Stanley Jason Zappa, der
seine Wurzeln in der improvistorischen
Free-Jazz-Szene hat, eingreift, dann
wird das Getröte ganz schön hektisch und
wüst. Das ist also vielleicht nicht
Jedermanns Sache, aber letztlich ebenso
cool wie beeindruckend und mitreißend.
Für meinen Geschmack dürfte sich
Bandleader Delville ruhig selbst
manchmal mehr in der Vordergrund spielen,
machte er aber bis auf einige geniale
Soli nicht, sondern sorgt mit Gitarre
und Gitarren-Synth (und Effekten) vor
allem für Basis und Rahmen der Songs.Neben
einigen Zappa-Covers, von denen
„Five-Five-FIVE“ unbestritten einer der
Höhepunkte des Albums ist, gibt es vor
allem Musik vom aktuellen Studioalbum
„Stories from the shed“ der Belgier zu
hören. Live kommen die ohnehin schon
guten Titel nochmals mehr zur Geltung,
beginnen etwas rauher, kratziger, wilder
dargeboten richtig „zu leben“. Der Klang
des Album ist hervorragend, die
Konzertatmosphäre könnte etwas mehr
sein.Wer
sich also von allerlei Getröte verpackt
in wildes Klangkuddelmuddel nicht
abschrecken lässt, dem bringen The Wrong
Object eine mitreißende Live-Darbietung
ins Haus, nach der man unwillkürlich „We
want more“ rufen möchte. Nun, die „Repeat“-Taste
steht ja schon bereit.—MusiekxtrBabyblaue-Seiten (mars 2010)
This just in from Moonjune Records - The Wrong Object's
"Stories From The Shed." It's a very unique group
consisting of guitar, bass, drums, trumpet and
saxophone. It's right there on the line where I'm not
sure if I should call it fusion or jazz-influenced
progressive rock. Either way, this is some really tasty
stuff that you're sure to hear on an upcoming episode of
The Fusion Reactor pretty soon! —ProgPositivity
Radio
The Wrong Object feat.
Stanley Jason Zappa, "Live at Zappanale 2008". Le groupe
de Michel Delville a commencé en tant que tribute band
de Frank Zappa. S'ils ont fait bien du chemin depuis,
publiant une poignée d'albums studios articulés autour
de compositions originales, parfois en compagnie
de'artistes internationaux tels que Elton Dean, Annie
Whitehead ou Harry Beckett, jamais il ne leur serait
venu à l'esprit de renier ce socle commun qui les vu
naître. Reprenant régulièrement des titres de Zappa à la
demande durant leurs concerts (le groupe belge revient
d'une mini-tournée au Japon), The Wrong Object s'est
souvent illustré lors des dernières éditions de la
Zappanale. En compagnie de Ed Mann en 2004, c'est cette
fois Stanley Jason Zappa qu'on retrouve à leurs côtés
pour ce témoignage en concert donné lors de leur
prestation de 2008. Trois titres du maître seulement ("Big
Swifty", Blessed Relief" et "Five-FIVE-FIVE") qui
donnent le ton d'un set ouvertement jazz fusion ravira
les fans de Waka Jawaka et The Grand Wazoo,
ainsi que les amateurs de piruouettes guitaristiques
dans la veine d'un Caravan ou d'un Soft Machine auréolé
de la présence d'Allan Holdsworth.—Domenico
Solazzo,
RifRaf (avril 2010)
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The Wrong Object. Stories from the Shed. From the
avant-prog-klezmer-jazz opener “Sonic Riot at the Holy
Palate” to the similarly themed horn arrangement that
ends the otherwise modal jazz drone of “The Unbelievable
Truth – Part II,” the third release from Belgium’s The
Wrong Object is brimming with artful compositions and
quirky guitar work. Originally a Zappa tribute band,
guitarist Michel Delville and his colorful cohorts have
pushed the quintet’s music far beyond homage status,
into an oeuvre combining structural complexity with
emotional authenticity, much as their mentor’s music
did. The super-flanged atmospherics on “Acquiring the
Taste,” the anarchic wah work on “Malign Siesta,” the
choppy rhythm madness on “Strangler Fig,” and the manic
soloing on the aforementioned album closer are just a
few of the many guitar highlights scattered throughout
the disc. —Barry Cleveland,
Guitar Player
Quelles sont ces histoires cachées au fond de la
grange de
The Wrong Object ? Faut-il s’en méfier ?
Faut-il les écouter sans crainte ? Que nous
réservent-elles ?
Ce sont en fait des histoires de rock fiévreux
trempées dans un jazz bouillant et électrique. Comme
Zappa à l’époque (le groupe revendique clairement son
influence), The Wrong Object n’hésite pas à mélanger les
genres pour en extraire une substance explosive. Car les
deux souffleurs, venus du jazz (Estiévenart
et
Delplancq), et le trio,
guitare–basse–batterie, d’origine plutôt rock (Delville,
Polard et
Delchambre) ont bien retenu la leçon du
grand Frank et l’ont appliquée à notre époque. Le rock
s’est enrichi d’influences plus actuelles et le jazz
d’accents plus contemporains. À cela, The Wrong Object
ajoute une touche plus hard dans le traitement.
C’est sans doute une des raisons qui ont poussé le label
américain
Moonjune (spécialisé dans le jazz
rock progressif) à le signer.
Stories From The Shed
alterne astucieusement moments forts et plages plus
atmosphériques, dans une tension toujours présente.
Emmené par Michel Delville à la guitare électrique, « Sonic
Riot At The Holy Palate » ouvre l’album de manière
retentissante. Les riffs de guitares sont autoritaires,
tandis que les cuivres rappellent un peu le Masada de
John Zorn. Le ton est donné. Place ensuite à une
déferlante de thèmes puissants aux constructions sinon
complexes, du moins jamais innocentes. Il faut souligner
par exemple la richesse des arrangements sur « Strangler
Fig » ou « Malign Siesta » (ah, ces agitations
délirantes de guitares, ces breaks apaisés et
swinguants de sax et de trompette, cette batterie
brûlante !…), ou encore le très beau « 15/05 » et son
ostinato de basse lancinant. Entre les jupes de velours
au son capiteux où l’on plonge en apnée (« Theresa’s
Dress » et « Theresa’s Dress – Reprise »), The Wrong
Object vient placer quelques cailloux free rock
(« Rippling Stones ») qui ravivent des souvenirs
douloureux aux lointains accents de valses. Toujours
soutenu par une rythmique qui maintient la pression à un
niveau élevé, Delville fait preuve d’une grande habileté
à la guitare. Ses riffs sont mordants, et ses
développements, clairvoyants, visent à rejoindre la
trompette ondulante d’Estiévenart ou le sax rageur de
Delplancq. Un Delplancq que l’on découvre dans un
registre étonnant, même si l’on connaît déjà sa capacité
à extraire toute l’énergie d’un thème dans un contexte
plus « jazz », et qui, ici, est à nouveau éblouissant.
La musique de The Wrong Object vient des tripes,
mais garde toujours un sens mélodique malgré une
débauche d’énergie souvent à la limite de la rupture.
D’ailleurs, le groupe joue beaucoup plus sur les nuances
qu’il n’y paraît au premier abord. Allez donc ouvrir les
portes de cette grange au fond du jardin et poussez le
volume à fond, vous ne serez pas déçus. —Jacques
Prouvost,
Citizen Jazz
An amazing band performing surprisingly cohesive set of
structured Zappaesque mprov-jazz-avant-prog-rock. Truly
on fire!—Exposé
magazine
The Wrong Object – “Stories from the Shed” (Moonjune
Records, 2008). This young Belgian quintet does indeed
intimate references from jazz/prog-rock heavyweights
Soft Machine, King Crimson and other seminal bands.
Unlike many other entities of this ilk, these young men
home in on solid and cohesive compositional aspects that
serve as a foundation for their often-torrid soloing
escapades. Moreover the ensemble’s distinct sound and
soaring mode of operations all stacks up to a fun-filled
jamboree, where revved-up progressive-rock movements are
counterbalanced by the ever-present jazz element.
It’s a high-impact outing, enamored with memorable
hooks, and a certain coolness that permeates throughout.
With sonorous horns, teeming with an overriding sense of
triumph, this unit also sparks remembrances of Britain’s
fabled Canterbury rock scene amid a contempo stance. But
the music is also characterized by mood-evoking passages
as notions of loneliness attain a happy co-existence
with bravura and rocking song-structures, shaded with
knotty time signatures.
The piece titled “Lifting Belly” features Damien
Polard’s monstrous fuzz-bass licks that perhaps pay
homage to Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper’s now
patented methodology. Yet the musicians also fuse a
prophet-of-doom gait via slash and burn type, keys,
horns and guitar patterns, occasionally tempered with
darting free-jazz lines, psycho guitar riffs and
ethereal backwashes. And of course, a prominent,
forward-moving attack rounds out the entire program. In
sum, this release looms as an early top-10 contender for
2008. Don’t let it pass you by … —Glenn Astarita,
JazzReview
The Wrong Object. Stories from the Shed (Moonjune
Records, 2008). The Wrong Object are a Belgian jazz-rock
fusion act that flout preconceptions of the genre.
Technical chops abound – some of Michel Delville’s
guitar parts evoke Frank Zappa’s on Waka/Jawaka –
but technique is never the focus. The pure colors of the
album’s middle three songs allow room for drum-kit
flourished and legato brass swoops. When Laurent
Delchambre’s beats approach 4/4 meter in bassist Damien
Polard’s piece “Sheepwrecked”, it’s to drive home the
drama, to bring out the rock if you will. Burners
like “Saturn” and “Lifting Belly” are pure rock’n’roll
in the 1950s Sun Records sense, Delville’s
reverb-flanged licks bumping up against the brass
section’s sweaty squawks in a juxtaposition of the urban
and the blue collar. The Wrong Object have come up with
a winner here; their brand of fusion is both fresh and
emotionally charged. —Nathan Turk, Signal to Noise
I have been playing The Wrong Object’s Stories from
the Shed repeatedly since the purveyors of all that
is challenging and great about “jazz fusion, avant rock
and progressive rock”, Moon June Records sent it for
review.
Through all the listens I find it harder and harder to
‘pigeonhole’ it. There is nothing not to like about it.
It’s hard to believe the music was recorded live in a
Belgian studio so polished are the performances with
spectacular playing by the two piece brass section (Fred
Delplanq on tenor sax and Jean-Paul Estievenart on
trumpet) and exuberant electric and synth guitar by
Michel Delville. Add a solid and imaginative rhythm
section who also employ electronics to give the music a
very modern edge and you have an extraordinarily gifted
and creative outfit.
Looking through the list of influences the musicians
have there are Frank Zappa, Soft Machine, John Coltrane,
Miles Davis (and many others) as well as modern
classicists like Bartok and Stravinsky and
impressionists like Debussy and Ravel. They have also
collaborate with many famous musicians such as Ed Mann,
Annie Whitehead and Elton Dean with whom they released
an album on Moon June called ‘The Unbelievable Truth’.
Despite my difficulty in describing this breathtaking
music, by good fortune the detailed press release has
made my job easier with its description of “blending
psychedelic jazz with modern rock sensibilities” and
“packed full of heavy and volcanic Frippesque guitar
riffs, extravagant jazz themes and electronic sounds”.
It’s hard to argue with that and there certainly isn’t a
dull moment within the 54 minutes of this recording.
The Wrong Object brings a vital and vibrant edge to
modern electric jazz- “Stories From The Shed” is
recommended without reservation.–Phil Jackson,
Acid Dragon
The Wrong Object, Stories From The
Shed (MoonJune Records): Parafrasando Troisi The
Wrong Object ricomincia da tre. Già, perché questo terzo
(bellissimo) lavoro della band belga costituisce, per
certi versi, un nuovo inizio. Infatti avevamo lasciato
Michel Delville & Co. alle prese con due situazioni live
(cfr. WS 10/07) caratterizzate dalla collaborazione con
i grandi del brit-jazz di stampo (anche) canterburyano:
il mai abbastanza compianto Elton Dean (The
Unbelievable Truth - Moonjune 2007), Annie Whitehead
e Harry Beckett (Platform One – Jazzprint 2007).
“Autarchia” e “registrazione in studio” queste le due
caratteristiche che contribuiscono a “staccare” la nuova
uscita dei TWO dagli album precedenti facendo di
Stories From The Shed senza ombra di dubbio il loro
capolavoro.
L’impressionante maturazione del combo
nord europeo è immediatamente testimoniata da
“Sonic Riot At The Holy Palate” con quel suo incipit
scavato nelle asperità di timbriche elettroniche
post-crimsoniane e un ipnotico riff arabeggiante
sostenuto dall’ottima sezione fiati (Fred Deplanq al sax
tenore e Jean-Paul Estievenart alla tromba/flicorno),
coltivata dalla fosforescente “15/05”, una sorta
attualizzazione del suono Nucleus reso più “maleducato”
dall’abile regia armonica di Delville (chitarrista
sopraffino, dedito al culto dell’arredo sonoro e non del
solipsismo autoreferenziale) e dai potenti panneggi
bassistici di Damien Polard; ed, infine, celebrata
dalla tensione cromatica di “Sheepwrecked” (anch’essa in
parte debitrice al gruppo di Ian Carr) con la batteria
di Laurent Delchambre in efficace accompagnamento
armonico. Un trittico davvero mozzafiato capace di
sedurre anche l’ascoltatore più pigro e distratto ma
anche preludio ad altre undici tracce di eguale spessore
poetico: “Lifting Belly” vero e proprio tripudio di
“elettronica in jazz”, “Malign Siesta”, abile crossover
tra melodia, avant-rock e morbide fluidità jazzy, le
silenti asperità di “Theresa’s Dress” fino alle
fragranze free/zappiane di Strangler Fig e la sghemba
sensualità di Saturn. La densa versione in studio de
“The Unblievable Truth pt. 1 & 2” (composizione
delvilliana già proposta live nell’omonimo primo album)
sigilla il vivido fascino delle quattordici “Storie
dalla Capanna” —Vincenzo Giorgio,
Wonderous Stories
The Wrong Object. Stories from the Shed (Moonjune
Records MRJ018). This latest from jazz collective The
Wrong Object is more melodic yet every bit as
challenging as past endeavors. For the first time, the
group is on its own and not collaborating with outside
musicians, and the results are thoroughly enjoyable.
Perhaps the best way to describe the disc is melodic
avant-garde, rather than free-jazz. The group is
cohesive throughout, with Jean-Paul Estiévenart’s
trumpet usually at the forefront. His playing is never
histrionic, even at its most intense. Without past
guests Elton Dean (sax) or Annie Whitehead (trombone)
and Harry Beckett (trumpet), Estiévenart and fellow horn
player Fred Delplancq (tenor) play comfortably alongside
one another.
Most of the music is by guitarist Michel Delville, who
also plays a mean guitar synthesizer. Combining
tightness and whimsy, avant-garde electronics with
sophisticated acoustic playing. The Wrong Object is
“wrong” in name only. This music is great for all the
right reasons. —Ross Boissoneau, Progression: The
Quarterly Journal of Progressive Music
Recorded live in the
studio with no overdubs, this wide-ranging, hard-hitting
album from the Belgian quintet the Wrong Object (guitarist/main
composer Michel Delville, saxophonist Fred Delplancq,
trumpeter Jean-Paul Estievenart, bassist Damien Polard
and drummer Laurent Delchambre) showcases their restless,
often downright tumultuous psychedelic jazz-rock sound
perfectly. Previous projects have seen them collaborate
with figures ranging from Zappatista Ed Mann to the UK's
own Alex Maguire, the late Elton Dean and trombonist
Annie Whitehead, but this fourteen-track recording sees
them guestless, ranging easily between Soft Machine-like,
sinuous improvisations, blasts of blistering
electric-guitar-led prog rock, riff-based fusion with
the odd whiff of eastern influence and passages of
free-ish jazz. The besetting sins of such music, bombast
and self-indulgence, are entirely avoided, courtesy not
only of the infectious enthusiasm and sheer brio of its
participants, but also of the relative brevity of each
track (nothing over six minutes or so); the result is a
viscerally exciting, powerful but gratifyingly varied
album – another compulsively listenable MoonJune
production.—The
Vortex
The Wrong Object Come of Age: There's no risk of
hyperbole in stating that The Wrong Object come of age
over the course of these two discs. Platform One
is the earlier of the two and it finds the band in
febrile form in the company of esteemed guests
trombonist Annie Whitehead and trumpeter Harry Beckett,
two players whose efforts have over the years lifted
countless British jazz albums onto another plain. In
light of this, Stories From The Shed is perhaps a
set of greater cohesiveness, but what unites the two
albums is their shared attempt to stake out fusion
territory that lies well beyond the norm. The
predominantly live Platform One documents the
band in incendiary form, and as is their custom
unselfconsciously avoiding every fusion cliche in the
book. On something like “Honeypump Riff” an almost
tensile restlessness is generated by the rhythm section
and it's to the credit of all the soloists that they
manage to ride the crest of its wave with such aplomb.
Frank Zappa's “Filthy Habits”—a title Zappa must have
come up with cognizant of the fact that it would be
referred to as such—brings out the cod-sinister aspect
of the band's work, whilst in solo Michel Delville's
guitar is every bit as idiosyncratic as the composer's
ever was.
Harry Beckett's fusion credentials might never have been
the most obvious aspect of his work, but here his
“Scarlet Mine” is right in keeping with the overall mood
and in his solo (on flugelhorn) all his highly
individual hallmarks are to the fore.
The same and more can be said for Whitehead's “Platform
One,” with more in this instance referring to her
unaccompanied intro, where she shows how there's a place
for bawdy lyricism even in a relatively frenetic
setting.
If anything Stories From The Shed somewhat ups
the ante, especially in terms of dynamic range. Even the
crunching riff of “Lifting Belly” is anything but an end
in itself and the balance between soloists and rhythm
section is distinctly fashioned in the best sense; never
is this music of empty gestures.
Neither is it in thrall to masturbatory soloing. “Malign
Siesta” is anything but what its title might imply,
despite the restless energy that's an integral part of
the band's musical expression. Both trumpeter Jean-Paul
Estienvenart and Fred Delplancq on tenor saxophone offer
hints of reflective vistas and such is the band's
rhythmic sensibility even in the oddest time signatures
that the spirit of the British band Hatfield And The
North is gleefully evoked, albeit with a harder, perhaps
less whimsical edge.
Although brevity is a mark of the music here it doesn't
provoke the feeling that ideas are simply not given the
time to develop. If anything, the speed at which ideas
are customarily executed is best served by the band's
evident collective tendency not to indulge itself and
thus dilute the music's impact; we need look no further
than Michel Delville's “Strangler Fig” for evidence of
this, especially when it's followed up by the positively
reflective “Waves And Radiations” wherein the mood is
one of other-worldly melancholia.
So, if indeed a band does come of age on record, we
listeners should be only too grateful. There can never
be too many times when the fusion genre is taken out of
the hands of the technocrats and utilized in the service
of greater, less superficial ends. —Nic Jones,
All About Jazz
Apparently, due to transport
problems, Elton Dean didn't get to rehearse or even
soundcheck before this gig with Belgian Zappaheads, The
Wrong Object. This was meant to be a longer and even
more productive association, not one ended by Dean's
passing as one more might-have-been. Seven tracks, three
by Elton and four from the band. There's the slippery-slidey
"Seven for Lee" and the spacey Afro-Bop of "Millenium
Jumble". There's great, post-Trane tenor from Delplancq
and unbelievable drums from Delchambre. There's a smoky,
bluesy "Baker's Treat" with Elton's sour-lemon saxello
running through it, while his alto graces the frantic "Basho
Variations". Guitarist Delville is quite stunning
whether soloing or filling out the spaces between and
Estiévenart has that Lee Morgan boxer thing down cold.
With more time, this could have been better but even so
it's still a blast. Suppose you've a friend, who thinks
jazz-rock an aberration and fusion noodling its
inevitable nadir. Here's what you do. Strap them to a
chair, put this on at full volume and leave them a few
hours. If by then they still don't get it, find another
friend. Duncan Heining,
Jazzwise
(July 2007)
The
Wrong Object, Stories from the Shed (Moonjune
Records, 2008): Après plusieurs disques en collaboration
avec des artistes renommés de la scène du jazz et de
l'avant-garde tels que Elton Dean (Soft Machine), Annie
Whitehead (Robert Wyatt) ou Harry Beckett, ces belges se
décident enfin à sortir leur premier véritable album,
six ans après leurs débuts. Il n'est pas surprenant de
voir que les musiciens de The Wrong Object possèdent un
solide bagage musical, tant la technique est mise au
service de la mélodie. Le groupe sonne de manière très
particulière, grâce notamment au rôle important alloué
aux cuivres. En effet, la trompette de Jean-Paul
Estiévenart et le saxophone ténor de Fred Delplancq
tiennent souvent la première place, et guident la
construction des morceaux d'une très belle manière. Ils
mettent en relief l'influence jazz indéniable du groupe,
mais permettent aussi une mise en valeur des autres
instruments, pour un dynamisme qui se rapproche très
souvent du rock. La variété des timbres est ainsi un
argument important pour The Wrong Object, ce qui leur
permet d'assurer une assise confortable aux
compositions.
Michel Delville, le principal compositeur de la
formation, officie aux guitares et tient un rôle
principalement rythmique. On peut rapprocher son jeu de
celui du regretté Yan Hazera (Sotos, Zaar) qui jouait de
la même manière avec les sonorités, entre jazz
aventureux et rock progressif expérimental. Autre détail
rare pour ce genre : le groove ! La batterie et la basse
sont parfaitement complémentaires, et les compositions y
gagnent énormément en fraîcheur et en vivacité. Le fait
que ce disque ait été enregistré sans aucun overdub y
est aussi pour beaucoup : les sections des titres
s'enchaînent naturellement, tout en laissant du répit à
l'auditeur grâce à des passages plus atmosphériques (« Rippling
Stone ») sans pour autant sonner hors propos.
Bien que l'ensemble reste très élaboré, tout y apparaît
fluide. La variété des ambiances se reflète sur beaucoup
de morceaux, comme ce « Malign Siesta » qui entraîne peu
à peu l'auditeur dans une course folle à la cohérence
rythmique éblouissante. Même si les compositions ne sont
pas exagérément longues, les musiciens parviennent à
faire évoluer leur jeu à l'intérieur même de celles-ci,
et ce sont ces nuances maîtrisées qui font de ce Stories
from the Shed un album indispensable pour les amateurs
de musique « vivante ». Rares sont les formations qui
maîtrisent un langage aussi personnel dès leur premier
album. Ces belges sont là pour nous prouver que tout
n'est pas encore dit en matière d'expérimentations en
tous genres. Bref, il faudra suivre leur cas de très
près à l'avenir, car la marge de progression reste
importante, malgré la grande qualité de ce premier
album. –Jérémy Bernadou,
Progressia
The Wrong Object, Stories from the Shed (Moonjune
Records, 2008). Dopo le collaborazioni con Elton Dean,
Harry Beckett e Annie Whitehead, la band belga torna
alle esplorazioni autonome, cui l’immagine della capanna
nel bosco in copertina pare alludere. Senza recidere le
proprie radici (jazz canterburyano e poliritmie zappiane),
i Wrong Object dimostrano di aver acquisito ulteriore
personalità unita a un interessante spessore creativo,
grazie sopratutto all’impronta del leader Delville,
capace di una scrittura fresca e argutamente aperta,
abbinata a un chitarrismo molto timbrico.
Ciò che può sorprendere, rispetto ai loro lavori recenti,
è il ricorso a situzioni più destrutturate (“Acquiring
the Taste”), dove emerge una decisa pulsazione rock
(“Lifting Belly”) talora accompagnata da riferimenti
etnico-orientaleggianti (“Sonic Riot at the Holy
Palate”). Da segnalare è l’inquieto incedere di “15/05”
dove si consuma lo sghembo sposalizio tra quei riff così
cari ai Nucleus (presenti anche nella sensuale “Sheepwrecked”)
e certe armonizzazioni non lontane dalle intuizioni di
Christian Vander. —
Musica Jazz
(June 2008)
Un jazz-rock assolutamente incandescente, che
viaggia su ritmi incalzanti, che lascia pochi attimi di
respiro, moderno e robusto nei suoni.
Ecco a cosa andrete incontro ascoltando Stories from
the shed dei Wrong Object, formazione belga che può
essere considerata al vero e proprio esordio
discografico, visto che finora aveva solo fatto uscire
tre private releases e due side projects.
L'ascolto di questo album ci catapulta in un
vortice sonoro impetuoso, in cui jazz-rock e progressive
si uniscono alla grande. Si tratta di un lavoro
interamente strumentale e interamente registrato dal
vivo in studio; contiene quattordici tracce quasi sempre
di durata contenuta, ma strutturate magistralmente, per
merito di una coesione invidiabile. Infatti, tra riff
micidiali di sax, una chitarra che quando è protagonista
fa venire in mente i King Crimson, effetti elettronici e
guitar-synth che creano atmosfere e sfondi
particolari, tromba e flicorno che guidano maggiormente
in territori jazzistici e ritmi quasi sempre indiavolati,
si deve denotare un'intesa tra i musicisti assolutamente
perfetta. D'altronde non deve essere un caso se i Wrong
Object hanno collaborato con artisti del calibro di Ed
Mann, Elton Dean e Annie Whitehead (giusto per citarne
alcuni) e se stanno consolidando una fama di grandi
fuoriclasse nei live-acts. E se spesso in
Stories from the shed si avverte la spontaneità
quasi da jam-session, sorprende come alcuni brani in
esso contenuti siano stati suonati e registrati in presa
diretta, tenendo conto di come riescono ad essere allo
stesso tempo dinamici, ben strutturati e molto
coinvolgenti. La perfetta interazione tra gli strumenti
permette quest'accostamento di prog variopinto, jazz
aggressivo e una libertà zappiana decisamente
fascinoso e che può far felice tutti coloro che amano
viaggiare su questi confini.
Stories
emoziona sin dal primo ascolto per l'impatto "live" dato
dalla registrazione diretta in studio.
L'eccellente caratura dei musicisti impegnati in questo
lavoro emerge prepotente, a sottolinearci la bellezza
della musica suonata senza troppi orpelli tecnologici
fini a se stessi. L'ascolto risulta piacevolmente
variegato per le numerose influenze condensate, in cui
non mancano le morbidezze jazz classiche accostate alla
irruenza dei graffi "zappiani". Ma ciò che caratterizza
maggiormente la fresca proposta del gruppo è l'addentrarsi
con dovizia nella scena di Canterbury ed alle affinità
sonore contigue, facendoci ritrovare i suoni cari agli
Hatfield & the North, National Health, Nucleus. Grande
equilibrio nelle partiture, dove convivono perfettamente
i momenti armoniosi, temi piacevolmente orecchiabili e
le divagazioni avanguardistiche.
Musica di classe elevata, caldamente consigliata. —Musical
Box (June 2008)
2008 has been a great year for jazz. Marco Benevento has
released the fabulous Invisible Baby, and Ben
Allison "answered" with the equally invigorating
Little Things Run the World. The Wrong Object
deserves a place on this list as well, as Stories
from the Shed is a fiery klezmer-tinged jazz rock
record that takes no prisoners. Right from the start,
with the fabulous Sonic Riot at the Palate, this
Belgian quintet melds klezmer melodies with free jazz
saxophone and a driving rock grooved, an explosive
combination that shows the full potential of jazz-rock
fusion. It's an explosive combination that yields one of
the year's best opening songs to date.
It doesn't stop there. Stories from the Shed
never again rocks quite as hard as on the opener, but
that's no fault, as the jazzier numbers that dominate
the rest of the album are far from dull. They are all
imbued with the same energy as "Sonic Riot", but this
energy manifests itself in different ways. And, while
the driving energy may be what initially draws the
listener in, it's the subtleties that ensure the
listener never leaves. Take "15/05", for example, where
a fairly standard (if very good) saxophone line plays
over a fairly standard (if, again, very good) drum and
bass groove. The song should be fairly standard (if very
good, of course), but because of the keyboards throwing
in a curveball or two, the song not only becomes less
standard, but becomes much better for it. It's the
details like that that make Stories from the Shed
such a refreshing release. — Progressiveears
Ca
fait quand même plaisir de temps en temps de recevoir
des disques qui sortent des ornières. Encore que ; en
réalité, tout est question de contexte. Par exemple, The
Wrong Object est typiquement le genre de groupe que l’on
retrouverait chroniqué dans les magazines spécialisés.
En musique progressive. Voire en jazz. On dit justement
de la Belgique qu’elle est terre de jazz ; quelle douce
ironie qu’il faut désormais transiter par un label
américain (Moonjune Records) pour pouvoir parler d’une
formation qui évolue sur nos terres ! De prime abord, on
pourrait croire que Stories from the Shed est un
ovni qui débarque comme ça, sans prévenir. Eh bien, pas
du tout ! C’est que notre quintette (guitare, basse,
batterie, saxophone, trompette) en est déjà à sa
troisième réalisation, les deux précédents les ayant vu
évoluer aux côtés d’Elton Dean (Soft Machine) et Annie
Whitehead, excusez du peu, le groupe s’étant avant cela
taillé une solide réputation en interprétant les
morceaux de Frank Zappa … Des noms prestigieux, certains
ayant un rapport avec la scène dite de Canterbury ; il
n’en faut pas plus aux principaux intéressés pour se
sentir tout de suite en confiance. Avec à sa tête Michel
Delville, guitariste émérite qui a dernièrement intégré
un nouveau groupe aux côtés de Frank van der Kooij, Guy
Segers (Univers Zero) et Ivo Sans (Animus Anima), The
Wrong Object propose en réalité un jazz fusion exigeant
qui devrait convaincre sans trop de peine les amateurs
de In Cahoots, Curlew, et dans une certaine mesure aussi
Aka Moon. —Domenico Solazzo, Rif-Raf (juillet
2008)
Vorig jaar besprak ik in deze kolommen een cd die wijlen
Elton Dean maakte met een Belgische groep, The Wrong
Object. De live-opname was zijn zwanezang. Het
kwintet van bandleider/gitarist Michel Delville komt nu
op hetzelfde label (MoonJune) met de “eigen” CD “Stories
from the Shed”. Ook zonder de oud-Soft Machine-blazer is
duidelijk waar de groep z’n inspiratie vandaan haalt.
Veel
van de muziek ademt de jazz-en progrock uit de jaren
zeventig van groepen uit de Canterbury Scene, maar ook
van contemporaine genregenoten als Dr. Nerve en Blast.
Toch is The Wrong Object geen retro-bandje.
Daarvoor zijn de stukken toch te eigen en te eigenzinnig.
De composities (veelal van Delville) bestrijken een
breed spectrum, van rustig en open tot druk en complex.
Oneven maatsoorten zijn niet van de lucht en af en toe
komen er daarbij Balkanloopjes langs (zoals in het
openingsstuk « Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate »).
Evenzogeoed zijn er soms bijna klassiek aandoende
blazerslijnen (in « Theresa’s Dress »), waarbij de
blazers (trompettist Jean-Paul Estiévenart en tenor
saxofonist Fred Delplancq) qua klank goed mengen. Ook
schrikt de groep niet terug voor open improvisaties (« Rippling
Stones », bijvoorbeeld), waarin de elektronica van
Delville en de fuzzbass van Damien Polard sterke troeven
zijn.
Humor is er gelukkig ook, in de vorm van het uit de
bocht vliegende « Strangler Fig » dat associaties
oproept met het Nederlandse Supersister van weleer. De
helder klinkende productie maakt het geheel af. —Herman
te Loo, JazzFlits
(February 2008)
The Wrong Object - Stories from the Shed:
Registrato in presa diretta e senza sovraincisioni,
Stories from the Shed è il frutto del lavoro svolto
dai The Wrong Object dagli esordi del 2002 a oggi.
Il gruppo belga piega il flusso sonoro fino a formare una curva che
abbraccia il progressive rock, la fusion più cupa e il
jazz d’avanguardia. I 14 brani proposti trovano la loro
forza nelle continue incursioni strumentali, spiazzanti
e fantasiose, che rendono l’ascolto vivo fino all’ultimo
minuto.
L’intera band è trascinata dalla chitarra elettrica/synth di Michel
Delville, leader e autore della maggior parte dei brani.
Le sue derivazioni (Gong, Fripp, Zappa) sono il fulcro
sul quale far leva per creare una musica personalissima,
di carattere e votata a una sperimentazione coerente e
affiatata.
Si va dai sapori balcanici dell’opener “Sonic Riot at the Holy
Palate”, con la bella alternanza dei due fiati –
Jean-Paul Estievenart, tromba e Fred Delplancq, tenore
-, passando per il pandemonio di “Strangler Fig”, alla
notturna “Acquiring the Taste” in pieno stile
psichedelico settantiano, fino all’andamento frammentato
di “Malign Siesta”. Piccole figurazioni che affiorano,
cellule melodiche che rimbalzano senza sosta,
decostruzioni ritmiche, sono alla base della filosofia
del quintetto che accetta senza difficoltà le sfide
lanciate da Delville, ricavandone un’ottima performance.
L’atmosfera fascinosa della jam d’alto livello, l’intraprendenza
dei musicisti e l’amalgama a tratti perfetto, ne fanno
un disco di valore: base ideale per ambire a mete
lontane.—
Roberto Paviglianiti,
RockAktion
This young Belgian group gets compared to an awful lot
of impressive innovators from Soft Machine & Frank Zappa
to John Coltrane to Terje Rypdal. And it is all
deserved! If you like superb jazz-rock fused with
experimental music then The Wrong Object is right up
your musical alley! They made a superb album with Elton
Dean just before his untimely death and now they have a
second release on MoonJune that is just as fantastic! —ZNR
Newsletter
The Wrong Object are a extraordinarily good, modern,
avant-progressive-electric-jazz or jazz/rock (but not in
the "old" meaning of the term) band from Belgium. They
are an instrumental quintet consisting of five great
players on guitar, tenor sax, trumpet, flugelhorn, bass,
drums, samples and electronics. Really great and highly
recommended.—Steve
Feigenbaum, Wayside Music
Ce
groupe belge a récemment enchanté les oreilles de
certains d’entre nous, que ce soit en exposant leur
propre musique ou en se produisant sur scène avec le
regretté Elton Dean. Cet opus, c’est de la pure popote
interne, composée avec passion par des musiciens
vraiment fortiches dans leur domaine. Michel Delville
(guitare), Fred Delplancq (sax ténor), Jean-Paul
Estiévenart (trompette, bugle), Damien Polard (basse) et
Laurent Delchambre (batterie, percus) jouent en totale
symbiose. Ca s’entend, ça se sent. Et puis, leur rayon
d’action est assez étendu, passe par le jazz électrique
contemporain (« Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate » et son
riff de cuivres irrésistible, « 15/05 », …), un RIO
accessible (« Lifting Belly », « Strangler Fig » et son
accélération féroce), de l’ambient façon avant-garde (« Acquiring
the Taste », « Waves and Radiations »), un jazz plus
classique (« Saturn »). Le CD se termine sur le diptyque
« The Unbelieveable Truth - Part 1 & 2 », dix minutes de
haut vol qui résument à la perfection tous les styles
abordés au cours de cet opus. La deuxième partie voit
aussi Michel Delville lâcher un solo de guitare
incroyable que n’aurait pas renié le grand Frank Zappa
lui-même ! Vous devez certainement vous en rendre
compte, le RIO est en perte de vitesse pour le moment et
rares sont les CDs vraiment intéressants. On assiste
plutôt à un concours de complexité qui finit souvent par
donner pour tout résultat des œuvres absconses. The
Wrong Object arrive lui à composer une musique exigeante
et complexe qui sait rester accessible et audible. Car
la mise en son est superbe et rend justice aux cinq
musiciens. Le résultat est superbe et mérite amplement
que vous jetiez une oreille sur ce CD. Hé, y’a un groupe
énorme en Belgique, probablement un des tous meilleurs
dans le genre à l’heure actuelle. Alors, donnez-lui une
chance. —Alain Quaniers, Prog-Résiste (August
2008)
The Wrong Object : Stories from the Shed
(Moonjune Records MJR018). Na enkele privé uitgebrachte
CD’s en het met Elton Dean opgenomen live-album The
Unbelievable Truth (zie iO 74) is Stories from
the Shed het studiodebuut van The Wrong Object. In
tegenstelling tot de vaak langgerekte solospots,
improvisaties en groepsthema’s tijdens optredens, speelt
dit Belgische gezelschap in de studio een compact soort
moderne jazz/jazzrock. De basis wordt gelegt door het
vaak fuzzy basspel van Damien Polard en de loops,
vreemdsoortige akkoorden en nerveuze begeleidingen van
bandleider/gitarist Michel Delville, die samen vooral
met rockende injecties de link met progressieve muziek
leggen. De elkaar harmonieus mooi aanvullende melodieuze
thema’s van tenorsaxofonist Fred Delplancq en
trompettist/flugelhornspeler Jean-Paul Estiévenart en
hun meer vrijere solospots trekken de musiek echter
duidelijk naar de jazz. Hierdoor kun je The Wrong Object
omschrijven als een Bill Bruford’s Earthworks met heavy
gitaarspel inclusief, mede door het fantasievolle
percussiewerk van Laurent Delchambre, een met Gentle
Giant vergelijkbare springerigheid en gelaagdheid van
instrumenten. Atmosferische improvisaties voor bas,
gitaar en drums met spacy snareneffecten wisselt men,
soms binnen een compositie, af met naar freejazzz
neigende passages of intense aan King Crimson en Brand X
verwante climaxen, waarbij toch altijd de controle over
het materiaal wordt behouden. Kenmerkend hiervoor zijn
het Mellotronstrings-achtige guitarsynthesizereffect dat
de korte trompetuitbarsting in “Sonic Riot at the Holy
Palate” begeleidt en de psychedelische, naar Jimi
hendrix neigende gitaarclimax in “The Unbelievable Truth
– Part II”. Een zowel intense als confronterende en
intrigerende luistervaring. —René Yedema,
iO Pages
The title [The
Wrong Object Play Zappa and a few Tunes
of their Own] is no idle boast:
Michel Delville, leader and guitarist of
The Wrong Object from Liège, Belgium, is
writing tunes which emulate Zappa's taste
for succinct idiosyncrasy and melodic
lilt.... in a modern music scene that
regularly trundles out all the
paraphernalia of intelligence (laptops,
bald heads, performers' desk-tops like
mad electronic laboratories), this is the
real thing: an intelligent handling of
the Zappa/King Crimson legacy, a
tradition that questions the power of
rock with musical, rather than moral,
means. The clever title 'Cunnimingus'
indicates where this group is coming
from, as does Andrew Norris' surreal,
warped curses versus George W Bush on
'King Kong'".— Ben Watson, HIFINews (May
2004)
Dans un tout autre
style et une approche plus rock,
The Wrong
Object s’inspire clairement de la musique de
Frank Zappa. Dès les premières notes, le ton est donné.
On entre directement dans le magma en fusion de « Big
Swifty ».
Frédéric Delpancq, au sax ténor, renvoie les
attaques de
Michel
Delville à la guitare électrique. Le son est
presque saturé. On navigue à la limite du « free » ou du
« heavy rock ». Cependant, le groupe garde toujours une
ligne directrice claire, laissant de généreuses
ouvertures aux improvisations.
Jean-Paul
Estiévenart (tp) s’y engouffre avec délectation
alors que Delplancq redouble de puissance. The Wrong
Object trouve aussi ses influences dans l’école
jazz-rock progressif de Canterbury, comme sur "The
Unbelievable Truth" par exemple. Cette pâte musicale
bouillonnante, que font trembler
Laurent
Delchambre (dm) et
Damien
Polard (eb), est toujours à la limite de
l’implosion. The Wrong Object est une vraie réussite.
—
Jacques Prouvost,
Citizen Jazz (compte rendu du festival Jazz à Liège 2007)
Certains ont sans doute un peu vite catalogué The Wrong
Object comme le groupe des enfants de Zappa. S’ils n’ont
jamais renié cette parenté - la clamant plutôt haut et
fort – ils ont bien d’autres cordes à leurs guitares.
«Stories from the Shed» est un album qui témoigne s’il
en était besoin de la
maturité de ce groupe. Les 14 compositions,
principalement du guitariste Michel Delville, sont
denses, variées, naviguant entre le progressif, la
fusion et le psychédélique. Elles sont admirablement
servies par le sax ténor et très coltranien de Fred
Delplancq, la trompette du remarquable Jean-Paul
Estiévenart, la basse aérienne et puissante de Damien
Polard et la batterie fournie de Laurent Delchambre.
C’est puissant, c’est précis et c’est surtout à
écouter!l —
Hothouse (February 2008)
Escono quasi in
contemporanea due registrazioni dal vivo della band di
Michel Delville, vulcanico chitarrista belga fortemente
attrato da Allan Holdsworth, Terje Rypdal, Robert Fripp
e Frank Zappa oltre che – come evidenziano qui gli
ospiti – dal jazz britannico.
Lo scenario disegnato da
« Platform One » mostra chiaramente la varietà dei
percorsi intrapresi dal gruppo : le riletture zappiane,
i convincenti apporti di Beckett (la sensuale « Tinseltown »)
e di Annie Whitehead (la gradevolissima « Platform
One ») e, sopratutto, le due composizioni a firma
Delville che sembrano muoversi in spazi più liberi e
trasversali (tra il jazz, l’oriente et certo rock
illuminato).
Maggiormente improntata al
jazz è invece la collaborazione con Elton Dean, il
compianto sassofonista di Nottingham, di cui questa
ulteriore uscita postuma sembra proprio confezionata per
far aumentare la nostalgia. Il motivo è duplice e
paradossale : non solo non c’è traccia di nostalgia
nell’unico concerto di Dean con i Wrong Object ma la
musica lascia anche presagire promettenti spazi
evolutivi che purtroppo non si sono potuti consumare.
Se infatti è suggestivo
assaporare la freschezza delle tre riletture di
materiale deaniano – partendo dalla classica « Seven for
Lee » (dove l’interplay tra i fiatisti e il basso
hopperiano di Polard sanno creare un’ atmosfera fatta di
tesi chiaroscuri), passando per la dolente melodia di
« Baker’s Treat » e approdando infine a « The Basho
Variations » - la vera sorpresa sono proprio i quattro
brani di Delville e compagni. E li che nuove ipotesi di
orrizonti paiono dischiudersi partendo da una evidente
matrice jazz su cui si innestano strutture armoniche
strettamente legate a certe intuizioni zappiane, in cui
il poliedrico sax di Dean (in perenne bilico tra melodia
e dissonanza) sapientemente s’insinua.
—Vincenzo
Giorgio,
Musica Jazz (July 2007)
Soon after releasing a convincing onetime collaboration
with sax great Elton Dean, The Wrong Object is back with
another rather high profile (and shortlived)
collaboration. On board this time are two key figures of
British creative jazz: trumpeter Harry Beckett and
trombonist Annie Whitehead. The Belgian group exchanged
mp3 files and charts with them, everyone rehearsing in
their respective time and place, meeting only for two
concerts on Belgian soil, both recorded and edited into
Platform One. The compatibility between the forces in
presence is very high, especially between The Wrong
Object and Whitehead, who share a fondness for groove
and lighthearted yet intelligent heads. The set list
consists of a hodgepodge of Wrong Object originals,
compositions from both guests, and two Frank Zappa
covers. For many a listener, these will be the standout
tracks, if only because they are more familiar, although
the quality of these readings of "Big Swifty" and
"Filthy Habits" do warrant a "highlight" sticker on
each. "Filthy Habits," in particular, is delightfully
badtempered and menacing. The album also features two
pieces by Wrong Object guitarist Michel Delville: the
Zappaesque "Wet Weather Wet" and the klezmertinged "Honeypump
Riff," both propelled by catchy yet angular heads.
Whitehead contributes "Platform 1" and "This Affects
That," the latter providing an excellent vehicle for the
group's tight playing and whimsical demeanor.—François
Couture, All Music Guide (December 2007)
Wonderful stuff here -
real jazz with chops, subtle use of electronics - very
Musique Actuelle. When I was hanging out in Brussels in
the late 80's & early 90's, nobody but NOBODY dared to make music this wild & out there, apart from Aka Moon &
(yes, very different, but I have to say it!) the Morton
Fork Gang! Good to see it all happening.
—
Geoff Leigh
Stories from the Shed est le premier album studio du
groupe The Wrong Object, 100% belge, mais publié sur le
catalogue new-yorkais Moonjune Records. Entre rock
décoiffant et jazz improvisé, ce quintet étonnant
pourrait bien être une des révélations de l’année. —J-P.
G., Vers L’avenir
Ayant découvert récemment The Wrong Object pour leur
prestation live avec Elton Dean, c'est avec un intérêt
certain que je me suis penché sur ce "Stories From The
Sheld" à son arrivée dans la boite aux lettres de Music
Waves. Après un témoignage live d'une telle qualité,
j'espérais une nouvelle pépite croustillante.
Et je ne suis pas déçu. Voila de
l'inaudible comme on l'aime. Au "casquomètre" familial,
cet objet a battu un nouveau record avec seulement 15
secondes avant la fatidique phrase "mets le casque,
s'il-te-plait !!!"
Pour ceux qui avaient lu avec
intérêt ma prose précédente sur le "Unbelievable Truth"
avec Elton Dean, je serais tenté de résumer par un bien
senti "allez-y sans hésiter, c'est du tout bon !".
D'une technicité parfaite, les
musiciens se permettent ici de se réunir dans un studio
et de nous enregistrer un album en live. De la vraie
musique toute brute sans ajouts pour un plaisir sans
artifices.
Bon, d'accord, on l'admettra tous,
c'est du jazz qui demande une certaine habitude et un
effort certain pour être apprivoisé. On commence en
fanfare avec un morceau aux accents d'Europe de l'est
qui met en avant ce qui semble être la marque de
fabrique de The Wrong Object : un goût particulier pour
les cuivres.
On est en effet ici en présence
d'un jazz assez éloigné du classique album prétexte à
une succession de chorus. Autour de compositions
complexes mais non dénuées de mélodie (écoutez bien le
"Sheepwrecked") s'expriment avec talent une trompette et
un saxophone omniprésents.
Cet album présente une alternance
fort bien équilibrée entre mélodies recherchées au
service des interprêtes et effets d'ambiances, comme sur
"Acquiring The Taste" ou "Saturn".
A noter également une section
rythmique remarquable par sa présence toujours juste
dans le propos : il faudra en effet un certain nombre
d'écoutes pour comprendre à quel point le travail du
bassiste et du batteur est à la fois d'une grande
qualité musicale et technique tout en restant au simple
service des compositions, sans démonstration hors propos
mais avec d'excellentes surprises (le groove au milieu
de "Strangler Fig" ou la fin de "Rippling Stones")
Enfin, à la différence de bon
nombre de formations officiant autour du jazz et de ses
dérivés, le guitariste et principal compositeur donne
une leçon d'humilité par sa discrétion, malgré quelques
soli bien ficelés comme il semble savoir les sortir.
En effet, alors que beaucoup
d'albums de ce style musical tournent trop souvent
autour du concept "écoutez comme je joue bien", Michel
Delville utilise vraiment le groupe dans sa totalité au
service de compositions parfaitement équilibrées, avec
pour point d'orgue ce qui pourrait devenir l'hymne de ce
groupe : un "Unbelievable Truth" de toute beauté qui
revient de façon récurrente dans les albums de cette
formation pour un plaisir encore renouvelé.
Digne héritier de Soft Machine et
de Frank Zappa, l'une de mes découvertes favorites de
l'année 2007 me redonne donc en cette année 2008 une
claque comme j'aimerais en prendre un peu plus souvent.
Merci et bravo... —Progressive
Waves
Buone notizie dal Belgio. Almeno per chi è interessato a
quegli strati più innovativi e di ricerca del prog.
La band di Michel Delville esce quasi in
contemporanea con due lavori, entrambi con uno sguardo
ben preciso: il jazz inglese para-canterburyano. Se
della collaborazione con Elton Dean ve ne darà conto il
sempre più intrattabile TeddyGreyPink, a me il
gradevolissimo compito di parlare di questa ottima
collaborazione con altri due grandi musicisti del
panorama britjazz : ta trombonista Annie Whitehead e il
trombettista Harry Beckett, due nomi che, per chi segue
questa scena, sono molto più di una garanzia. Eppure, un
po’ come è successo con la collaborazione con Elton, è
proprio l’Oggetto Sbagliato a constituire la sorpresa
più gradita. Un sestetto che sta spiccando il volo da
questa sua « piattaforma » di suoni fatta di Canterbury,
Zappa, Fripp, jazz e molto, molto altro. Innanzitutto
bisogna riferire delle composizioni a firma del leader
(solo due purtroppo) : « Honeypump Riff » dove la
lezione zappaniana si sposa a meraviglia con certi
fraseggi orientaleggianti in un’amalgama davvero
avvincente con il jazz suggerito da Beckett e la
Whitehead (ma gli stessi Fred Delplancq al sax tenore,
Jean-Paul Estiévenart alla tromba e Yves Dellicour al
sax soprano e clarinetto basso danno un apporto davvero
interessante) e la più oscura « Wet Weather Wet »
magnificamente giocata su una tortuosa pulsazione rock
introdotta dalla trasversale chitarra del leader. Molto
belle le due riletture di cover zappiane (non bisogna
dimenticare che Annie ha partecipato al progetto
Zappatistas diretto da John Etheridge) : « Big Swifty »
caratterizzata dalle tipiche poliritmie del Nostro e « Filthy
Habits » introdotta dal chitarrismo frippiano di
Delville. Poi è il tempo del jazz firmato dagli ospiti
illustri : la gradevolissima « Platform 1 » di Annie
Whitehead introdotta da un suo suggestivo solo, lo swing
trascinante di « This Affects That », e le caldissime « Scarlet
Mine » e « Tinseltown » entrambe firmate da Beckett.
Chiude alla grande l’africaneggiante « Hello Max », vero
a proprio campionario di delizie virtuosistische grazie
anche all’apporto del valoroso Frank van der Kooij (già
collaboratore di Hugh Hopper) al sax baritono.—Wonderous
Stories
Belgium’s The Wrong Object is on a roll. An album as
strong as
The
Unbelievable Truth
(MoonJune, 2007), documenting a first (and, sadly, only)
encounter in 2005 with the late British saxophone legend
Elton Dean, would be more than enough for any group in
any year. But with Platform One, this intrepid
art/rock group teams with another legend—trumpeter Harry
Beckett, born in Barbados but a fixture on the British
scene since the 1950s—and trombonist Annie Whitehead,
who may not be a legend yet, but deserves to be.
Recorded live, Platform One isn’t necessarily
better than The Unbelievable Truth, but it is
more powerful, brimming with reckless abandon and rock
energy.
The term reckless abandon makes a lot of sense for The
Wrong Object. The group’s reputation was first
established paying tribute to the music and, more
importantly, spirit of the late Frank Zappa. Platform
One features two Zappa covers—the complex, twisting
and turning and ultimately swinging “Big Swifty,” from
Waka/Jawaka (Ryko, 1972), and the slower but no
less visceral “Filthy Habits,” from Sleep Dirt
Ryko, 1979). The former features a lithe and
unpredictable solo from Whitehead, while guitarist
Michel Delville’s unfettered solo on the latter
approaches Zappa’s solo of complete abandon on “Zombie
Woof,” from Overnight Sensation (Rkyo, 1973).
There’s no shortage of fine original material either.
The brief improvised fanfare of “Intruth” leads into
Delville’s Middle Eastern-tinged “Honeypump Riff,” where
bassist Damien Polard and drummer Laurent Delchambre
propel a brief but outrageous Zappa-esque solo from
Delville, before Jean-Paul Estiévenart takes an increasingly frenetic
solo that’s equally matched by Whitehead. The
guitarist’s episodic “Wet Weather Wet” moves from gentle
waltz to “Peter Gunn”-style rifferama to periods of
greater freedom that the group navigates with complete
ease.
The rest of the album features equally strong material
by Whitehead and Beckett. Whitehead’s title track, a 5/4
minor blues, is introduced by a probing a capella
trombone solo that is reason alone for Whitehead to
garner greater international acclaim, while “This
Affects That” swings hard, but is kept sonically
off-kilter by Delville’s guitar synth. It’s a testimony
to the flexibility of the group and its guests that
Beckett’s fiery and open-ended “Scarlet Mine,” from
1970’s Flare Up, sounds absolutely contemporary
thirty-five years later. Beckett’s elegant flugelhorn
work is featured on “Tinseltown,” an elegant jazz waltz
carried by The Wrong Object’s flexible support.
That Platform One sounds like a group that’s
played together longer is even more remarkable for the
fact that the group and its guests never met prior to
hitting the stage. Instead, they passed mp3 files back
and forth before meeting, so each could learn the
other’s material. It may be a new way of dealing with
the prohibitive costs of bringing geographically
distanced artists together, but based on the many
wondrous sounds of surprise on Platform One it’s
one that, in the hands of capable musicians, clearly
works just fine.—Jon Kelman,
All About Jazz
Esse não é o primeiro CD da banda belga The Wrong
Object. Eles têm uma história longa, são fãs e
influenciados pela música do Zappa, já tocaram em vários
festivais Zappanale, inclusive contando com a
participação de Ed Man. . Este não foi o único famoso a
tocar com eles, Elton Dean, Annie Whitehead, Harry
Beckett e Bart Maris são alguns deles. Stories from
the Shed é o trabalho mais novo lançado pelo selo
Moonjune Records (que já lançou outro CD da banda que
tem a participação de Elton Dean – a resenha desse vem
em breve) e a banda mistura Nu-jazz, com aspectos mais
melodiosos e criativos do Canterbury, influência das
instrumentais do Zappa e jazz-rock mais atravessado e
experimental do Doctor Nerve. A cozinha da banda é
nervosa, o baixo sempre de marcação forte, às vezes com
som de fuzz bass que nos remete a Hugh Hooper. A tríade
trumpete + sax + guitarra detona em uníssono em algumas
faixas. A guitarra pesada e distorcida nos remete ao
Doctor Nerve. O CD tem 14 faixas e abre com « Sonic Riot
at the Holy Palate », uma das mais dinâmicas do CD, com
sax, trompete e guitarra meio metal marcam o tema dando
lugar a solos nervosos de trompete, baixo e bateria; a
mais doctornerviana do CD, em três minutos de adrenalina
total. « Sheepwrecked » começa com acordes bem
distorcidos e loucos de guitarra misturados com clima de
soundscape e logo trompete e sax apresentam o tema leve
e bonito, algo como Miles & Trane do terceiro milênio.
Algumas faixas são mais curtas, com 2 minutos ou menos,
e os soundscapes, com baixo brincando com os harmônicos,
os pratos sendo explorados, criam clima para a entrada
das faixas mais nervosas, este é o caso de « Acquiring
the Taste » e « Lifting Belly », que têm levada esperta
e rápida e solo de fuzz bass animal. « Strangler Fig » é
pauleira total, meio Naked City, com vários estilos em
uma única faixa. Vou parar por aqui e espero ter chamado
a atenção para esse CD. Já está na lista dos 10 melhores
de 2008. —Renato Moraes, ProgBrasil
Fort de son expérience scénique et de ses nombreuses
collaborations avec des artistes renommés issus du jazz
tel que le regretté Elton DEAN, ou lors de fréquents
hommages à Frank ZAPPA, THE WRONG OBJECT, fondé en 2002,
a su se forger une solide réputation. Plusieurs
enregistrements live officiels ont été publiés,
notamment chez Voiceprint Music et Moonjune Records.
C'est sur ce dernier label que le quintet belge propose
son premier album studio "Stories From The Shed"
enregistré à l'ancienne (prise live et sans ajout d'over
dubs), ce qui est un gage de qualité et force le
respect.
Dans un esprit d'ouverture, le
jazz électrique contemporain développé sur ce disque est
généreusement agrémenté d'ingrédients psychédéliques,
rock ou métal. Le discours est riche en couleur et
alterne allègrement thèmes soutenus, expérimentations
sonores et profondes alcamies. Une certaine dérision et
un esprit un peu déjanté, hérité du Senior ZAPPA,
amènent un peu d'exentricité à l'ensemble. Le titre "
Malign Siesta" en est le parfait exemple avec sa
progression toute en puissance. Dans le même esprit, "
Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate" décoiffe avec son
introduction métal festif dominée par les cuivres. Les
titres les plus débridés sont assurement "Lifting Belly"
et "Strangler Fig". Façonnés pour la scène, la liberté
d'expression est totale.
Plus groove, j'apprécie
particulièrement ce "15/05" avec son pattern de basse
cyclique et ses riffs de guitares accentués par la wah
wah.
Dans un registre atmosphérique,
proche de l'univers de Soft Machine, les morceaux
"Sheepwrecked" et "Saturn" sont d'indéniables réussites.
C'en est presque mystique.
THE WRONG OBJECT est un groupe
résolument ancré dans son époque qui redonne un vrai
sens au terme "fusion".
Spontané, explosif, minimaliste,
épique, "Stories From The Shed" est tout ça à la fois. —Progressive
Area (July 2008)
Een tijdje geleden was op deze website al eens te lezen
over The Wrong Object, een Belgische band die
psychedelische jazz en stevige rock mengt - met een
prettig pittig resultaat. The Wrong Object is opgericht
door Michel Delville, een hoogleraar Engelse literatuur
uit Luik. Niet meteen denken dat het dan wel
intellectuele muziek zal zijn! Want al word je
getrakteerd op Fripp-achtige riffs, quirky soundscapes
en geïmproviseerde blazerssolo’s, de nieuwe CD, net
binnen van Moonjune Records, is tegelijk uiterst
meetikbaar. Onbedwingbaar meetikbaar wat mij betreft.
Invloeden die je in het werk van de vijf Belgen
terughoort lopen uiteen van Frank Zappa, Charles Mingus,
Squarepusher en Belá Bartók tot Soft Machine. In de tot
nu toe nauwelijks zes jaar van hun bestaan heeft de band
zo’n honderd keer opgetreden en vijf eerdere CD’s
uitgegeven, en samengewerkt met onder meer Elton Dean
(de een paar jaar geleden helaas overleden legendarische
Engelse saxofonist), Harry Beckett (ook al een Engelse
jazzlegende), tromboniste Annie Whitehead en Alex
Maguire (van progrock-icoon Hatfield and the North).
Michel Delville (1969) is - behalve docent Engelse
literatuur - gitarist en de artistieke drijvende kracht
achter The Wrong Object. Hij schreef een boek over twee
van zijn helden:
Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and the Secret History of
Maximalism. In zijn tamelijk explosieve
gitaarstijl hoor je behalve Zappa ook Terje Rypdal en
Robert Fripp als invloeden. Saxofonist
Fred Delplancq
(1971) is de afgelopen ruim tien jaar vooral actief
geweest in de Belgische jazz-scene. De jongste van de
band is trompettist
Jean-Paul Estiévenart
(1985), die beschouwd wordt als een van de meest
talentvolle jonge trompettisten van Europa; hij speelt
met een hele reeks rock-, jazz- en world-bands, en
tourde wereldwijd met het European Youth Jazz Orchestra.
Bassist Damien
Polard (1981) is een autodidact met een Hugh
Hopper-achtig vermogen om de fuzz-bass te laten klinken
als een beheerste lawine (ja, dat is een contradictio in
terminis, maar toch klopt-ie!). De in 1977 geboren
Laurent Delchambre is de drummer. Hij werd in het Engelse
blad JazzWise omschreven als “unbelievable”, in
positieve zin wel te verstaan. Zijn invloeden variëren,
in zijn eigen woorden, van Tony Williams tot de Dead
Kennedys…—Aad van Nieuwkerk,
VPRO/Radio6 (Dutch National Radio)
Elton Dean a quitté cette vallée de larmes le 8 février
2007, à l’âge de soixante ans . . . C’st l’un des
derniers enregistrements live du maestro, en compagnie
de The Wrong Object et forcément, c’est avec un
sentiment étrange mêlant respect et recueillement que
l’on aborde cet album. C’est dans un registre jazz-rock
qu’évolue ce collectif : sur une base rythmique
extrêmement solide, les trois souffleurs, Elton Dean au
sax alto, Fred Delplancq au sax ténor et Jean-Paul
Estiévenart à la trompette se lancent dans de folles
cavalcades improvisées, rehaussées des interventions de
Michel Delville à la guitare. L’immense talent de chacun
des musiciens apparaît avec évidence à chaque mesure,
d’autant que ces compositions n’ont rien d’aride ou de
stérile, même pour un boétien. Les circonstances qui ont
précédé le concert (panne du van qui devait permettre
aux belges de rallier Paris, impossibilité de répéter
avant le concert) sont-elles à l’origine de la chose ?
Toujours est-il que l’alchimie entre les musiciens ce
soir-là a permis d’atteindre une sorte de grâce qui
permet à cette musique de transcender les stéréotypes et
de capter un supplément d’âme. Respect, Monsieur
Dean.—Philippe Gnana,
Harmonie Magazine (Novembre 2007)
The
Wrong Object est un collectif belge qui mélange
allègrement du jazz, du classique, du Canterbury, du
Zappa … Surtout Zappa, dont ils sont un cover band très
réputé. Fièrement à géométrie variable, il lui arrive
fréquemment d’accueillir en son sein des figures de
proue telles Ed Mann, Annie Whitehead et, justement,
Elton Dean. Ce concert enregistré à Paris permet donc de
découvrir l’osmose parfaite qui régna sur les planches
entre le génialissime saxophoniste (décédé en février
2006) et un cornet plein de talentueux instrumentistes
du plat pays (sauf s’ils proviennent d’ailleurs où c’est
un peu plus vallonné—l’usage du « w » est autorisé). La
set list est équitablement répartie entre les compos de
Dean et celles du Wrong Object et plutôt longues pour la
plupart. Le résultat ? Un jazz canterburien qui ne
déstabilisera pas les fans de Soft Machine, de la
carrière solo du saxophoniste et de Soft Works, dont est
issu un très beau « Baker’s Treat ». Ce qui est
réellement fou, c’est que le concert a été marqué du
sceau de la calamité : problème de véhicule pour le
collectif belge, avec, à la clé une arrivée tardive et
l’impossibilité de répéter quoi que ce soit avant
l’heure fatidique. Mais la classe naturelle de ces
merveilleux musiciens leur permet de se jouer des
impondérables et de livrer unes prestation cinq étoiles
au cours de laquelle le niveau technique et, surtout, le
feeling, atteignent des sommets. Vous découvrirez une
rythmique impériale (ce batteur !), un trio de cuivres
en effervescence et une guitare incisive autant
qu’audacieuse. Du grand art ! — Alain Quaniers,
Prog-résiste (Janvier 2008)
In the world of improvised music the energy of a first
meeting can often be better than when there’s been
adequate prep time. British saxophonist Elton Dean’s
collaboration with the Belgium group The Wrong Object
wasn’t meant to be impromptu. And with Dean and the
improvisational jazz/art rock quintet having exchanged
scores for the October 18, 2006 performance documented
on The Unbelievable Truth, it isn’t as if either
party had no preparation. But unexpected
circumstances scuttled a pre-show rehearsal, so what you
hear is literally a first encounter.
The Wrong Object has built a reputation for its astute
interpretation of the music of Frank Zappa, but its
members are strong and idiosyncratic composers in their
own right. They’re also intrepid improvisers who combine
an appreciation of the jazz vernacular with a more
aggressive rock stance, making them ideal foils for
Dean, whose reputation was built on a distinctive blend
of free improvisation and unequivocal melodicism that
defined his early 1970s tenure with Soft Machine, and
other non-related projects.
Dean’s contributes three familiar tunes to the
seventy-minute set. “Seven for Lee” may be based around
an ambling and repeated 7/4 bass pattern, but no matter
how many times it’s been covered it manages to provide
compelling improvisation. “Baker’s Treat” is the closest
thing to a traditional jazz ballad that he’s ever
written. Dean navigates the elegant changes with a
combination of lyricism and simmering intensity that,
along with Jean-Paul Estiévenart’s spare and tender
trumpet solo, makes this a definitive reading. “The
Basho Variations,” based on the barest of themes,
ultimately becomes a swinging solo feature for Dean and
a freewheeling in-tandem spot for Estiévenart and tenor
saxophonist Fred Delplancq.
The collective composition “Millenium Jumble” approaches
greater extremes, another tune based around a simple
vamp. With guitarist Michel Delville’s jagged
accompaniment and drummer Laurent Delchambre’s loose
and, at times, explosive interaction, its further
demonstration of just how ( in the right hands) much can
be done with so little.
The balance of the seven compositions are by Delville,
ranging from the brooding, Middle Eastern texture of the
title track with bassist Damien Polard switching to a
Hugh Hopper-like fuzz bass which approaches early-1970s
Soft Machine territory. Delville takes an edgy,
distorted solo that, while clearly his own, makes clear
his roots in Zappa through its wild sense of abandon. “A
Cannery Catastrophe” illustrates Delville’s own sense of
the absurd, with a knotty theme featuring his only vocal
appearance leading into another energetic exchange for
everyone.
That this would be one of Dean’s last live appearances
before passing away a few months later makes The
Unbelievable Truth worth checking out. But even if
Dean were alive today and what turned out to be a
one-off affair became an ongoing collaboration, this
first meeting stands on its own merits as a compelling
mix of diverse writing and unfettered improvisational
imagination.—All About Jazz (May 2007)
Lumbering bass, jazzy horn
circulations, improv sounds, intense
fuzz, keys... this reminds me somewhat of
Phil Manzanera and Keith Jarrett in their
days together in Quiet Sun. This is a
very cool jazzy fusion prog take on
Zappa. The word jazz section is perhaps
at odds with the coolness of the rest, or
maybe it's perfect.
— Phil Dirt, Reverb Central
(May 2004)
Disco dall’impatto notevolissimo, questo “Stories From
The Shed” è un compendio della ricca inventiva del
chitarrista belga
Michel Delville, autore della maggior
parte dei brani, affiancato da un efficace e rodato
quartetto con il quale vanta prestigiose collaborazioni
dal vivo (Elton Dean, Harry Beckett, Annie Whitehead e
Ed Mann fra gli altri).
La scelta di registrare “live” in studio, senza alcun
uso di sovraincisioni, è indice di grande padronanza e
sicurezza, e garantisce fluidità all’ascolto, lasciando
spazio ad un uso equilibrato dell’improvvisazione, in un
impianto comunque costruito in maniera assai meticolosa.
Difficilissimo citare un’influenza diretta: in filigrana
traspare un percorso che va dall’art-rock al progressive
per approdare al jazz europeo di matrice contemporanea;
affiorano qua e là frammenti di Zappa, del Dr. Nerve,
dei progetti Masada di John Zorn, ma il tutto è
sminuzzato e rielaborato in maniera personale.
Melodie sghembe e fraseggi intricati, una creativa
attitudine a spiazzare l’ascoltatore, continue sorprese
timbriche nella fitta tessitura, che pur essendo
alquanto complicata non smarrisce quasi mai il filo
rosso della coerenza, sono gli elementi caratteristici
di questo lavoro, in più punti davvero riuscito e
coinvolgente.
Pur ricordando a sprazzi, nei momenti ad elevata
energia, il Terye Rypdal più duro, Delville rivela anche
una personale e feconda voce strumentale, parca nell’uso
degli effetti; scevro dal narcisismo per gran parte del
disco, si concede con parsimonia l’occhio di bue, come
nel conclusivo The Unbelievable Truth – part II (brano
già proposto in versione live nel pregevolissimo
side-project “Elton Dean & The Wrong Object – The
Unbelievable Truth”).
Fra gli altri, merita particolare menzione
Laurent Dechambre, con il suo drumming
irregolare e fantasioso, seppur solidissimo nella
pulsazione ritmica, che sostiene ed integra il percorso
sonoro dei solisti, senza limitarsi ad accompagnarlo.
Tirando le somme, al di là di qualche episodico calo di
intensità, un disco da raccomandare, un invito a
sfuggire alle ovattate confezioni dei soliti noti, un
ascolto che può rappresentare una salutare sferzata per
molti apparati auricolari.—Alfonso
Tregua,
Jazzitalia
Le dernier album du Wrong
Object (B) feat. Annie Whitehead & Elton Dean est un
hommage appuyé à la musique de Frank Zappa. Jusque là
rien de bien étonnant de la part du groupe mené de main
de maître par Michel Delville. Reste que cet album est
un vrai petit miracle musical et l'esprit avant-gardiste
zappaîen, notament tout le côté free jazz de Zappa
période '60s transpire au travers des 11 titres. Amateurs de jazz live et
d'ambiances cuivrés zappaïennes ce disque est fait pour
vous! Point besoin d'être un afficionado du ternaire
pour apprécier cette musique puisque à l'instar de Zappa
nous écoutons du jazz sans le savoir trop envouté par la
hardiesse et l'énergie des musiciens.
—Zapinfrance (June 2007)
The Wrong Object,
Stories From The Shed
(Moonjune Records):
A Belgian quintet who play jazzy art-rock, for
lack of a better description, these humans were last
heard from via this label with a great set with late
saxophonist Elton Dean. This new collection is sonically
interesting, very well-played, and the sort of music I
recommend listening to while you're writing your
New This Week blog for Yahoo Music! I'm sure you
can relate! —Dave
DiMartino,
New This Week
On
avait découvert ce quintette belge d’abord avec un
répertoire de reprises de Frank Zappa, puis une
collaboration avec Elton Dean, le saxophoniste de Soft
Machine, peu avant sa disparition. On était impatient de
l’entendre sur un terrain plus personnel, et autant le
dire, on n’est pas déçu !
Stories From The Shed
est un kaléidoscope passionnant, plein à craquer de
riffs tarabiscotés et d’ambiances contrastées,
revisitant le meilleur de la tradition Canterbury, avec
de mélange de structures solides et d’improvisations
débridées qui n’oublient jamais d’être efficaces et
mélodieuses : une musique à la fois aventureuse et
hospitalière, servie par une cohésion sans faille et un
enthousiasme contagieux. Recommandé ! —Cosmosmusic
L’idea
di contattare Elton Dean venne a Michel Delville,
chitarrista e compositore italo-belga leader dei The
Wrong Object, band avvezza a certo prog di confine con
un album all’attivo pubblicato dalla Voiceprint.
Possiamo immaginare l’entusiasmo del leader quando, poco
tempo dopo aver spedito all’ex Soffice alcuni brani che
mostravano i lato più jazz-oriented del suo gruppo,
ricevette la seguente risposta : « Hi Michel, Let’s do
something together ! ». Il fatidico incontro avvenne
dell’ottobre del 2005 a Liegi e, dopo una dolorosa serie
di eventi (dovuti alla salute sempre più precaria di
Elton), si concretizzò nel concerto del 18 ottobre 2005
al Glaz’art di Parigi di cui questo Elton Dean & the
Wrong Object, The Unbelievable Truth (Moonjune
2007) è fedele e toccante testimonianza. Così come è
accaduto per Soft Mountain qui si può intuire quale
potrebbe essere il futuro dell’eredità di Canterbury se
fosse più frequentemente consegnata al « sincretismo »
tra gli Irriducibili Storici e i Giovani Volenterosi
Adepti.
In
effetti il sestetto ripropone un dna eminentemente
“deaniano” che, però, sa fare precioza sintesi degli
stimoli apportati da Delville & Co., più propensi al
suono oscuro, vagamente rock e, comunque, ammicante a
certe intuizioni gravitanti tra Zappa e il RIO. È ciò
che si respira nell’orgasmica « Millenium Jumble », un
crepuscolo olezzante « universi azzerati » ceh pare
incombere sui fiati disciolti in lancinanti assoli (Fred
Delplancq al sax tenore, Jean-Paul Estiévenart alla
tromba oltre, naturalmente, a Elton Dean) così come
nell’oreintaleggiante « The Unbelievable Truth » dove
certa lezione contemporanea pare ulteriormente
assimilata sotto l’attenta regia della chitarra acida di
Delville, il cui somesso vocalizzare (quasi wyattiano)
apre il dark jazz di « A Cannery Catastrophe » fino a
sublimarsi nello swing malato di « Cunnimingus Redux »
(in primo piano l’efficace sezione ritmica congegnata da
Laurent Delchambre e Damien Polard). Dal canto suo il
vecchio Elton non si limita a lasciarsi coinvolgere
dalla giovane energia dell’Oggetto Sbagliato ma sfodera
tre colpi veramente notevoli : l’indimenticata « Seven
for Lee » (un suo tema classico che ci rimanda a
Rogue Element dei Soft Head – 1978) con Fred e
jean-Paul a contrappuntare energeticamente ai fiati, la
sensuale Baker’s Treat (da Moor Song del 2001) e,
infine, « The Basho Variations » (da Boundaries).—Wonderous
Stories
Après la rencontre avec
Ed Mann, l’ancien percussionniste de Frank Zappa,
immortalisée sur « Live at Zappanale 2004 »,
voici maintenant le groupe liégeois en concert, le 18
octobre 2005, avec le saxophoniste Elton Dean,
figure historique du « Jazz Anglais » et de l’ « Ecole
de Canterbury », peu avant son décès le 8 février
dernier. A l’écoute, ces six pièces se révèlent
attrayantes de bout en bout. La longueur et les nombreux
débordements, des cuivres principalement, ne provoquent
jamais la moindre lassitude, que du contraire. Tout
s’avère bien construit et maîtrisé. De plus, malgré sa
réputation et sa reconnaissance internationale, Elton
Dean ne paraît jamais vouloir exercer une quelconque
prédominance sur ses partenaires. Il faut dire que son
désir insatiable de rencontres l’aura amené toute sa vie
à de tels exercices, au mépris d’ailleurs d’une
recherche carriériste et de valorisations bassement
matérielles. La musique produite ici se situe dans la
droite ligne du « Jazz-Rock » Anglais de la seconde
moitié des années 1960, dont Elton Dean fut un
des acteurs majeurs. Au sujet des accointances, si toute
la mouvance de « Canterbury » et de Soft Machine,
au sens large, peut être citée, les liens avec Ian
Carr et ses différentes formations, Nucleus
en tête, apparaissent encore plus nettement.
Dans l’ensemble, la musique se fonde sur un duo
rythmique basse et batterie hors pair, soutenu par la
guitare qui procède par traits nets mais légers, à la
manière de Chris Spedding dans Nucleus ou
de John McLaughlin dans les formations de
Miles Davis à l’époque de « In a Silent Way »
et « Bitches Brew ». Ces trois-là constituent
alors un socle idéal pour les improvisations des trois
souffleurs. Les compositions sont toutes d’une
incontestable qualité, quel qu’en soit leur auteur.
Le premier titre, « Seven for Lee », composé par
Elton Dean à la fin des années 1970, est une
petite merveille dans laquelle les cuivres s’évadent en
solo, avec brio, à tour de rôle. Si la basse conserve la
même ligne du début à la fin, secondée par la guitare,
la batterie en profite pour filer dans tous les sens.
Excellent ! Quant à « Unicycle », seul titre déjà
repris sur « Live at Zappanale 2004 », il
apparaît complètement revisité et n’a rien à envier à la
version précédente. A la base, l’esprit de Frank
Zappa s’y retrouve toujours, mais dans un registre
plus « British » et moins délirant. « Baker’s Treat »,
la seconde composition de Elton Dean, est plus
récente et apparaît même sur l’album « Abracadabra »
de Soft Works en 2003, une association des quatre
anciens Soft Machine Allan Holdsworth,
Elton Dean, Hugh Hopper et John Marshall.
Cette pièce « cool », à la chaleur typiquement « Jazz »,
est à nouveau construite autour de longues interventions
en solo aux saxophones et, plus brièvement, à la
trompette. Sublime ! Pour les quelques vocaux et les
splendides interventions aux saxophones, « A Cannery
Catastrophe » rappelle beaucoup Didier Malherbe
et Gong, dans ses approches les plus « Jazz ».
Billy Cobham, avec son chef-d’oeuvre « Spectrum »,
influence largement la mécanique rythmique (basse,
guitare et batterie). Les côtés « Free » et «
Avant-Gardistes » emplissent « The Unbelievable Truth
». La composition est bâtie sur une succession de
parties, parfois délirantes, à la trompette, aux
saxophones et même à la guitare, quittant un instant son
rôle rythmique. La basse est lourde et hypnotique. La
batterie n’en finit pas de s’échapper. « Cunnimingus
Redux » apparaît comme une bonne pièce de « Jazz »,
bien foutue et bien jouée, mais très standard.
En définitive, Elton Dean et The Wrong Object
évoluent en parfaite osmose et produisent ici un album
d’une incontestable maturité. Un véritable hommage
posthume à Elton Dean et la confirmation d’un
groupe prometteur, The Wrong Object.
—
Music
in Belgium, (April 2006).
Platform One
from last year is properly credited to The Wrong Object
featuring Anie Whitehead and Harry Beckett, British jazz
trombonist and trumpeter respectively, continuing this
Belgian jazz-rock ensemble’s tradition of working with
better-known musicians from outside their inner circle
(recall on their earlier album The Unbelievable Truth
the were joined by the late Elton Dean). This time out
the core group is asextet led by guitarist Michel
Delville, featuring bass, drums, tenor sax, soprano sax,
bass clarinet, and trumpet. No parsing words here, these
guys play some damn great music, brillian an colourful,
energetic and melodic, every musician giving it their
all in a classic electric jazz style with plenty of
solos and improves, but never going harsh on the ears.
Whitehead and Beckett aren’t just guesting either, their
presence is integral to the effort, with Whitehead
contributing the two-part title track and one other,
Beckett contributing two, and the eleven minute album
closer “Hello Max” (originally from Whitehead’s early
90s album This Is … Rude) between them. Of
special note there are the group’s takes on two classic
period Zappa tunes, “Big Swifty” and “Filthy Habits,”
the latter with Deville assuming an amazing FZ-like
shredding guitar sound trading off solos with tenor
saxophonist Fred Delplancq.
Right from the starting block, Stories from the Shed
(2008) takes no prisoners and offers a more direct
harder-rocking style. Still plenty of brass and wind
power (though no as a quintet configuration, with the
soprano sax dropped) and the same very strong melodic
approach and tight rhythms, full of fire and energy. The
compositions this time out tend to be shorter and more
succinct, mostly penned by Delville, but with fourteen
pieces in all, each of the other band members gets one
or two cuts in as well. Seems they are incorporating
more electronics into their sound as well, mostly guitar
or bass triggered (there is no keyboard player),
embellishing the existing sonic fabric. Even with the
perceived heaviness and direct approach of this one, the
influence of bands like Soft Machine and Nucleus is
never too far away, still permeating much oftheir
stylistic palette, the result making for a very
satisfying listen. This is a band that’s full of
surprises at every turn, and both of these discs have
plenty to offer the discriminating listener. Highly
recommended. —Peter Thelen, EXPOSE Magazine
The Wrong Object: Stories from the Shed (Moonjune
2008): Big trend this year: fusion jazz, heavy on the
metal. These five Belgians apparently used to be a Frank
Zappa tribute band or something — thankfully, they’ve
gotten over that. (NB: I used to like Zappa a lot. Then
I graduated from junior high school.)
Now they walk their own path, and it’s a big fat lovely
mess of flanging guitar chords, lyrical trumpet solos,
and an extremely aggressive rock rhythm attack. The
songs are twisty-turny things that mostly just pay a
tariff to Electric Miles; “15/05″ would have worked
nicely on the second disc of Get Up With It
(still my fave rave EM album), while “Saturn” seems to
be more heavily influenced by Miles’ second quintet,
except if it had been more free and if Herbie Hancock
had been a Belgian electric guitar player named Michel
Delville. Which he wasn’t.
Delville is pretty great both as a soloist, where he
often seems to fly completely off the handle in
angry-lovely ways — his temper-tantrum stuff during
“Strangler Fig” compares/contrasts nicely to Jean-Paul
Estièvenart’s swingin’-trumpet style — and as an ambient
sound-layerer, like his atmospherics on “Rippling
Stones”. If you’re making a list of great guitar
players, please include his name. Remember doing lists
like that? Ah, the old days. Anyway.
But The Wrong Object doesn’t merely ape Miles-isms, or
even that many Zappa-isms either. Instead, hearteningly,
they seem to mostly take their cues from various sorts
of world music, at least in terms of structure. I dig
the Arabesques of the huge two-part epic called “The
Unbelievable Truth,” and saxophonist Fred Delplancq
tends to spiral into some really interesting places in
his solos. For me, though, the wonderfully named “Malign
Siesta” encapsulates a lot that is right about these
dudes: lyrical opening theme, hyperactive salsa-derived
main theme, section for simultaneous sax and trumpet
solos, soft little breakdown section, then total
overdriven thrash semi-nova section to end. Pretty but
not too pretty, technically adept but not too showoffy,
loud and soft all stacked together in the same sandwich.
Like everything else on Moon June Records, the Wrong
Object is heavily invested in the music of Soft Machine.
This legendary British group has a long history of
combining jazz and rock and avant-garde musics; they are
also the group that spawned indie cult guy Robert Wyatt.
(I think TWO refers to his Shleep album in the
title of their song “Sheepwrecked.”) Moon June is
basically built on Soft Machine and their related groups
— I’ll be writing about more of them in the next few
weeks, as my guy Leonardo sent me seven CDs and said I
wouldn’t be getting any more of them until all these
ones were reviewed. Fortunately, they’re mostly really
good and interesting, so it’s not like a chore or
anything.
But it’s pretty clear to me that the Wrong Object is the
best of the bunch, and one of the finest jazz albums of
the year…unless, of course, you don’t consider this
jazz, which I could understand, because I’m not sure I
really think it’s all that much “jazz” either.
But yeah I think there’s a whole movement this year,
especially in Europe, towards loud metallic jazz-related
discs; there’s a Swiss group called Cowboys From Hell
out there, their disc is pretty damn great too, and a
couple of other things that I hope I can get to soon.
Now that I’m feeling better I’m gonna start cranking
stuff out. Hopefully some of the other slackers around
here can get off their butts too. —Matt Cibulla,
Cave 17
Poignant doesn't cover it. This was one of Elton Dean's
last gigs before his death and all the qualities that
made him such a distinctive voice on alto sax and
saxello—his
wit, his ascetic, unsentimental lyricism and the like—are
caught in abundance and in the company of a band who do
a whole lot more than simply provide a framework for his
invention. ”Millennium Jumble (The Wrong Object)” is a
case in point. Dean's saxello work in particular was
always marked by a certain leanness, as if he'd gone to
the trouble of purging his playing of unnecessary
diversions, and his solo on this one is an example of
that. The spirit of Soft Machine comes to the fore on
“Cunnimingus Redux,” where the classic line-up of Dean,
Mike Ratledge, Hugh Hopper and Robert Wyatt is evoked
through the band's uncanny ability to evoke that band's
exploratory way at the same time as they bring their own
virtues to the table. Trumpeter Jean-Paul Estiévenart
turns a solo in on this one in which the individuality
of his musical conception is only too obvious. Dean's
“Baker's Treat” is, rather like his composition Blind
Badger an example of how lyrical his lines could be,
and again his saxello playing is an example of how
valuable a musical asset the ability to just play a line
can be. The band is happily with him all the way, and
credit must go to bass player Damien Polard and drummer
Laurent Delchambre for the deftness of their
accompaniment. Odd though it may sound, Dean had
something in common with James Spaulding. The link was
strong enough to transcend their idiomatic differences
and it laid in the fact that as musicians who doubled
they both intrinsically grasped the fundamental
differences between their instruments of choice. Thus
Dean's alto sax work on “The Basho Variations” is some
way removed from his saxello work because he had long
since understood the differences between the two horns.
That ever-present acidic tone is in place, but informed
by softness that was once perhaps conspicuous only by
its absence. This is a document of a questing spirit
going out on a high. It serves to highlight how
infrequently that happens, especially as the music is an
example of fusion on one of those equally rare occasions
when self-indulgence isn't on the agenda. —Nic Jones,
All About Jazz
Mit ihrer Musik
waren sie DIE Stars der Zappanale 2004.
Michel Delville, Gitarrist und
Bandleader, kann mit dem grossen Vorbild
durchaus mithalten. Mit Zappa teilt er
einen feinen Sinn für den musikalischen
Surrealismus. Davon zeugen Titel wie
"Cunnimingus" oder "King
Kong: The George W. Bush Version".
— Gert Schmidt, IG Jazz
Stories from the Shed
(Moonjune Records 2008): Il disco jazz rock più energico
degli ultimi anni - jazzcrimson? —Paolo Carnelli,
Wonderous Stories (July 2008)
The Wrong Object aus Belgien spielen eine durchweg
interessante Mischung aus wildem und ruhigem Jazz,
Postrock und Prog; eine Mischung, die nicht jedem
zusagen wird, aber bei allem Hang zur
Grenzüberschreitung stets schön flüssig daherkommt.
"Stories From The Shed" ist bereits ihr sechstes Album,
aber erst ihr drittes ohne Gastmusiker. Bereits beim
Debüt kamen sie ohne aus, also ist der Drang zur
Kollaboration wohl recht eindeutig in der Lust an
musikalischen Experimenten und kommunikativen
Schaffensprozessen begründet und nicht etwa in kreativen
Limitationen. Letzteres anzunehmen erscheint ohnehin
absurd, wenn man "Stories From The Shed" gehört hat. Mit
Gitarre (Michel Delville), Tenorsaxofon (Fred
Delplancq), Trompete und Flügelhorn (Jean-Paul
Estiévenart), Bassgitarre (Damien Polard), Schlagzeug
und Perkussion (Laurent Delchambre) schreiten THE WRONG
OBJECT zu Werke, sind aber auch wohldosiert eingesetzter
Elektronik und Sampleeinsatz nicht gänzlich abgeneigt
Los geht's mit einem munter treibenden Jazzstück, das
feurig, aber nicht aggressiv, daherkommt und sich von
einem beschwingt derwischenden Einstieg hin zu auch(!)
flächigen Sounds entwickelt. Kompliziert ineinander
verschachtelt wirken die stoßhafte Bebop-Melodik und die
Rhythmen des zweiten Stückes '15/05', wobei die anfangs
noch leicht verstörende Vertracktheit schon bald durch
den warmen Klang des virtuosen Saxofonspiels geglättet
wird; dennoch bleibt dieses sich von Variante zu
Variante seines Grundmotivs hangelnde Stück stets
sprudelnd frisch. Nach diesen quirligen Werken zum
Einstieg wird das Tempo, nicht aber die Klangfarbe,
deutlich herunter gekühlt: 'Sheepwrecked' fließt fast
schon ambient und so eingängig-entrückt wie ein SIGUR
RÓS-Stück dahin, bleibt dabei aber eindeutig im Jazz
verwurzelt. Auch Liebhaber von PAATOS dürfen hier
getrost ein Ohr riskieren. Nach einem gänzlich
ambienten, aber keineswegs uninteressanten
Zwischenspiel, welches als perfekte Überleitung
fungiert, folgt mit 'Lifting Belly' eine psychedelische
Rhythmuscremeschichttorte im Kunstfilmformat, wie sie
ENNIO MORRICONE wohl selbst auf LSD kaum hinbekommen
hätte. Abermals flott und treibend rollt dann die
'Malign Siesta' heran, die jedoch eher betrunken als
wirklich bösartig wirkt; ein weiterer Trip, der jedoch
weitaus komplexer und längst nicht so seicht daher kommt
wie im Acid Jazz üblich. Statt dessen kommen Gitarre und
Schlagzeug gleichermaßen zum solistischen Zuge, ohne
dass die Entwicklung des Stückes jemals offensichtlich
würde. Nach diesem, immer energetischer und rockaffiner
werdenden, Stück folgt mit dem sehr offen gehaltenen,
kurzen 'Theresa's Dress' die nunmehr vierte, aber längst
noch nicht letzte, Komposition von Gitarrist Michel
Delville, bevor es dann das einzige Stück des Albums zu
hören gibt, bei welchem sich sämtliche Bandmitglieder
die Innovationsbeteiligung sicherten: 'Rippling Stones'.
Ambient, stimmungsvoll, offen, und doch irgendwie tief,
beschwört es glucksend Bilder einer grün-tümpeligen
Unterwasserlandschaft herauf und hat gleichsam etwas von
klassischer Programmmusik wie natürlich auch von
progressivem Jazz; zart. 'Strangler Fig' beginnt
angenehm melodisch zu sanftem Basspulsen, schaltet dann
aber den Warpantrieb zu und psychedelisiert wild drauf
los, bis der Kopfdoktor kommt. Ganz im Gegensatz dazu
steht 'Waves And Radiations', ein weiteres Ambientstück
mit fremd und nächtlich wirkender Stimmung, jedoch nicht
beunruhigend, sondern eher erwartungsvoll; ein wenig so,
als lausche man mit einem alten Röhrenradio auf dem
Heuboden einer alten Scheune nach außerirdischen
Signalen – mit der kindlichen Aufmerksamkeit und dem
Enthusiasmus eines Protagonisten aus RAY
BRADBURY-Erzählung aus den Fünfziger Jahren. Am
klassischsten nach Jazz auf "Stories From The Shed"
klingt immer noch 'Saturn' von Trompeter Jean-Paul
Estiévenart, doch ziehen sich auch hier
avantgardistische Rhythmusmuster durch das sonst eher
ruhig gehaltene Stück; einerseits träumerisch,
andererseits leicht angefunkt. Den Abschluss bildet das
zweiteilige Stück 'The Unbelievable Truth', welches sich
fast schon in Regionen von MILES DAVIS' "Bitches Brew"
vorwagt, dabei aber auch funkige & quirlige
Artrock-Elemente mitverbaut. "Stories From The Shed" ist
damit für offenherzige Jazzhörer ebenso genießbar wie
für Progrockfans, die gerne einmal etwas Neues
ausprobieren möchten. —Eike Schmitz,
Powermetal
Il
grande Elton Dean appare a fianco del gruppo The Wrong
Object in The Unbelievable Truth. Risulta come
sempre emozionante l’ascolto
dell’inimmitabile stile di Dean: fraseggio denso e terso
al contralto; linee aguzze e ficcanti al saxello. Un
tributo a un artista che ha contrassegnato una fase
decisiva della musica improvisata in Europa. —Enzo
Boddi,
Left (January 2008)
Cet enregistrement «
Live » fut réalisé sur les rives allemandes de la mer
Baltique à Bad Doberan, lors de la quinzième édition du
festival « Zappanale », dédié à Frank Zappa, en juillet
2004. Il permet de découvrir un excellent groupe belge,
The Wrong Object, fondé par le guitariste liégeois
Michel Delville en 2002. Lors de ce festival,
l’Américain Ed Mann, percussionniste régulier de Frank
Zappa dès la fin des années 1970, avait choisi The Wrong
Object, parmi les formations présentes, pour
l’accompagner dans sa propre prestation. Le courant
passant fort bien, tant humainement que musicalement, il
accepta aisément de rendre la pareille au groupe.
Depuis ses débuts, les influences du groupe sont
nombreuses et évolutives. En fait, elles fusionnent
toujours principalement « Rock » et « Jazz », mais avec
la prédominance du second. En effet, on y retrouve du «
Free Jazz », du « Jazz Progressif » anglais de la fin
des années 1960 et du début des années 1970, souvent
orienté vers la mouvance de Canterbury (Gong, Soft
Machine, Centipede, Ian Carr, Nucleus, Hatfield & the
North, …), avec ses improvisions débridées. D’autres de
ces tendances, plus modernes, les relient à des
formations belges essentielles comme Aka Moon et Slang.
Tout cela sans évidemment oublier Frank Zappa, le grand
saucier louftingue d’une Fusion « Jazz-Rock » totalement
à part, automatiquement très à l’honneur dans cet opus.
En tout cas, la particularité de tous ces genres et de
tous ces groupes reste leurs côtés dynamiques et peu
figés, qui permettent une constante relecture, ce que
cette formation réussit particulièrement bien. Sur ce
CD, à la qualité sonore un peu brute et améliorable, le
talent des instrumentistes impressionne de bout en bout.
Les constantes envolées des deux saxophonistes, filant
dans tous les sens, remplissent un espace incroyable et
magique, avec des parties franchement délirantes. La
guitare joue dans un registre souvent dur et même
parfois franchement cru, avec beaucoup d’effets et de
bons solos à la Frank Zappa. La solidité de la rythmique
impressionne. En effet, la basse opère dans une ligne
rappelant, tout à la fois, Hugh Hopper (Soft Machine,
Isotope) et Michel Hatzigeorgiu (Aka Moon), tandis que
le duo de percussionnistes s’avère flamboyant et
complice, malgré leur peu d'expériences communes, comme
pouvait l’être celui de Terry Bozzio et de Ed Mann chez
Frank Zappa. Le décoiffant « Eat that Klezmer »
démarre ce CD en fanfare, avec une guitare lourde et
crade, avec des envolées extravagantes aux saxophones et
des accents folkloriques de l’Europe de l’Est. Du Frank
Zappa pur jus. « Unicycle », composition réussie
du groupe, comprend un bon solo d’Ed Mann au vibraphone,
des saxophones délirants sur une rythmique d’enfer
rappelant Aka Moon. « Stranger Fig » s’égare dans
des chemins encore plus « Free ». Les deux longues
pièces suivantes s’avèrent excellentes et
complémentaires. « Chunga’s Revenge » voit
défiler les solos de tous les instrumentistes, sur une
ligne rythmique répétitive mais constamment enrichie de
nombreux extras. « Malign Siesta » poursuit dans
la même voie. Les interventions d’Ed Mann, très
classiquement « Jazz » au vibraphone et au marimba, deux
instruments aux sonorités très pures, contrastent avec
le déchaînement de la guitare de Michel Delville,
définitivement très influencé par Zappa, ou le feu du
duo « Free » Yves Dellicour et Ludovic Jeanmart. La
basse et la batterie forcent toujours l’admiration et
respirent l’air d’Aka Moon. « Outside Now » a son
charme même s’il se révèle plus difficile d’accès, plus
confus et donc parfois, moins digeste. Le solo d’Ed Mann
y est superbe. « Wet Weather Wet » s’inspire
fortement du Gong de Daevid Allen, tant par le rythme
que par les saxophones dingos, estampillés Didier
Malherbe et Theo Travis dans le récent « Zero to
Infinity » et les tournées qui ont suivi. J’adore !
« King Kong » reste un classique du « Jazz-Rock »
de Frank Zappa. Passionnant de bout en bout !
Un groupe belge à découvrir au plus tôt!—
Music
in Belgium, (July 2005).
"Viel Free:
Tonkünstler am Klangwerk": Steve
Swell Quartett und The Wrong Object
faszinieren bei Freiberger
Jazztagen". Die Band aus Belgien
überzeugte in Freiberg mit
eigenständigen Zappa-Interpretationen.
Ein Markenzeichen der diesjährigen, der
31. Freiberger Jazztage, die gestern zu
Ende gingen. Ein Markenzeichen auch die
Internationalität, deren Schwerpunkt
vielleicht auf den vorbildlich
friedlichen musikalischen
europäisch-amerikanischen Beziehungen
lag. Davon zehrte auch die belgische Band
The Wrong Object, die sich als Objekt
ihrer musikalischen Begierde Frank Zappas
Sound gewählt hat. Dabei sind die jungen
Musiker keineswegs Epigonen des
Meisters. Im Gegenteil: Sie benutzen
Zappas Musik, vor allem die
instrumentalen Werke, als klassische
Spielvorlagen, denen sie ein ganz eigenes
Gepräge geben, das im wahrsten Sinne des
Wortes an das Vorbild nur noch anklingt.
Delville beherrscht Zappas röhrendes
Gitarrenspiel ausgezeichnet, organisiert
den Sound aber auf
freundlich-zurückhaltende Art so, dass
jeder Mitspieler seine solistischen
Ausflüge machen kann, die weidlich
genutzt werden. Auch diese Mischung aus
Rock und Jazz wurde heftig beklatscht, so
dass es für die abschließend im Foyer
spielenden Frohnaturen von Triplex ein
Leichtes war, das gut gelaunte Publikum,
150 Jazzfreunde etwa, in die Nacht zu
geleiten.
— Matthias Zwarg,
Freie
Presse
(April 26, 2005).
Am Morgen des 07.
Februar 2006 verstarb Canterbury- und Jazz-Legende Elton
Dean, der vor allem durch seine Mitarbeit in der
Jazzrockschmiede Soft Machine erfolgreich und bekannt
geworden ist, im Alter von 61 Jahren in einem
Krankenhaus in London an Herz- und Leberversagen.
Elton Dean war ein quirliger Musiker, der sich gern mit
diversen Musikern ein handwerkliches Stelldichein gab.
Soft Mountain war eines der letzten Projekte, das in
Studioqualität Songs einspielte, Elton Dean neben Hugh
Hopper, Hoppy Kamiyama und Tatsuya Yoshida (Ruins). Die
äußerst gelungenen und radikal heftigen Aufnahmen werden
möglicher Weise niemals veröffentlicht.
Ein anderes Projekt, dessen Aufnahmen jüngst als
Promo-Edition auf CD zusammengestellt wurde, ist Elton
Deans Zusammenarbeit mit der belgischen Jazzrock-Kapelle
The Wrong Object.
Am 18. Oktober 2005 mitgeschnitten, zeigen die Aufnahmen
die Stücke stark von Elton Dean betont. Seine
Instrumente Altsaxophon und Saxello sind stark im
melodischen Vordergrund aktiv, betonen und bestimmen
schwer jazzlastig und ausgeprägt abstrakt das
harmonische Geschehen in der Band. Michel Delville,
Gitarrist und Chef der Band, gibt sich zwar hin und
wieder Raum, melodisch und improvisativ die Energie der
Stücke zu entfalten, doch viel weniger als Gastbläser
Dean. Neben 3 Delville-Kompositionen und einer
Bandkomposition wurden "Seven For Lee" und "Baker's
Treat" gespielt. Die beiden Elton-Dean-Kompositionen
klingen mit The Wrong Object melancholisch, lyrisch und
entspannt; tief in den Modern Jazz gepflanzt, wirken die
Stücke ganz neu.
Auch auf der zweiten Promotion CD von The Wrong Object
ist Elton Dean zu hören, dabei gibt es jedoch nur eine
Überschneidung mit der ersten CD. "The Wrong Object &
Guests Live 2005" heißt die Promotion CD, darauf drei
Zappa-Kompositionen (ohne Elton Dean), vier Stücke von
Michel Delville und eine Bandproduktion. Der Jazzfaktor
ist auch auf dieser CD extrem hoch, die Bläser haben
weiten Raum, ihre improvisativ-abstrakten Läufe
ausgiebig zu gestalten, Gitarrist Michel Delville selbst
nimmt sich weit weniger Zeit, dafür sind seine wenigen
rockbetonten Soli um einiges kräftiger und härter.
Die Aufnahmen auf beiden CDs werden vor allem bei
Electric und Modern Jazz Begeisterten auf Interesse
stoßen, aber auch Jazzrock-Fans sowie Soft Machine- und
Zappa-Freaks sollten den Konzerttermin-Kalender der Band
studieren, das virtuose Spiel der Band samt ihrer Gäste
ist technisch grandios und tief inspiriert.
Die erste offizielle Studio-CD der Band The Wrong Object
wird im April 2006 eingespielt und noch in diesem Jahr
veröffentlicht! . . . Erstaunlich die personelle
Parallele zu den Belgiern The Wrong Object, die wie In
Cahoots erst mit Elton Dean, schließlich mit Annie
Whitehead aufgenommen hatten. Auch stilistisch liegen
beide Ensembles nicht weit auseinander. In Cahoots
zeigen eine stärkere Rockpräsenz, The Wrong Object
rocken jedoch partiell wesentlich härter. The Wrong
Object klingen europäischer, In Cahoots britischer. Der
größte Unterschied ist wohl der Einsatz der elektrischen
Gitarre. Beide Ensembles werden von Gitarristen geleitet,
Phil Miller ist der ältere, abgeklärte, Michel Delville
der "rockigere", härtere.—
Ragazzi: Website für erregende
Musik
If Poppy tends to get placed in the classical music
category, or is certainly rooted in it, The Wrong Object
could be said to be rooted in jazz-rock. Stories from
the Shed starts with a bang, a kick-ass explosion
that soon mutates into a sinuous honking with an edgy
rhythm chasing its own tail. Soon there is a saxophone
soaring busily above the hyperactivity. Elsewhere
trumpet and saxophone blast in unision, electronics
fidget and subvert, percussion dances, and guitars ebb
and flow. This CD shows that there is life still to be
found in the genre that previously got distracted by
virtuoisity and ego, the horror that is endless guitar
soloing. Many of the fourteen tracks here don't even hit
the four minute mark, so there are plenty of short,
interesting ideas to be found, with showing off clearly
a no-go. There's a great sense of dynamic and tone here
- BIG thanks to poet Michel Delville, the guitarist
here, for sending it along. Elsewhere I'm just getting
to grips with the krautrock-fuelled melodies of The
Phantom Band's Checkmate Savage and the
subversive and playful songs on A Mountain of One's
Institute of Joy, which is clearly rooted in the
good parts of late-80s new wave bands such as Simple
Minds and Magazine. Meanwhile, Crocus' the worst kind
of joy is hope (weheartrecords) contains some
aggressive and heartfelt contemporary punk - tho I
gather some would call it screamo. Either way this is
edgy music that deserves to be heard. - Rupert Loydell,
Stride
Fans of avant garde jazz/rock fusion will love this
Belgian group, who originally started out as a Frank
Zappa cover band. It definitely sounds like these
players spent a lot of time at the Eric Dolphy Memorial
Barbeque growing up resulting in a heavy Zappa influence
to the band, but they have taken the master's blueprint
and gone off on their own, building compelling
structures which blend electric guitars, synthesizers
and electronics with tenor sax and trumpet/flugelhorn
over a tight electric bass and drums rhythm section. Not
for jazz purists or Francophobes (ok Belgiphobes), this
group is living proof that not all European jazz floats
off into the aether, recycles the standards or mimics
the AACM. Zappa's love of odd time signatures and
unusual modes, minus the scatological "humor" is always
a welcome relief from the familiar. And all of the
players here pack the punch to carry it off too. Led by
guitarist Michel Delville, The Wrong Object builds upon
the airtight work of bassist Damien Polard and
powerhouse drummer Laurent Delchambre. A collective
effort, but tenor saxophonist Fred Delplanco especially
shines, as on the churning "15/05." The sheepishly
titled "Sheepwrecked" opts for Jean-Paul Estiévenart's
horn to swirl around lovely Delville guitar passages.
Hypnotic and quite rewarding and in a much more
melodically-driven direction than their icon generally
went. Delville, who favors supportive guitar work
throughout and only displays his impressive lead guitar
prowess on the Balkan-flavored ending track ("The
Unbelievable Truth - Part II"), writes most of the
group's compositions, but they also dabble at times in
free form improv with all members involved in the
creation. Many of the compositions do not reach the
level of complexity of Zappa's best work, but then only
a few do, and they still are considerably more
interesting than much of the current jazz field.
"Saturn" starts out like '60s era Herbie Hancock or
Wayne Shorter with a unison horn frontline but shatters
into serrated pieces, with Delplanco evoking the ghost
of Coltrane over jangly guitar. Songs like "Malign
Siesta" and the waltzing "Strangler's Fig" morph
seamlessly into so many different styles that it is
difficult to describe, other than to say it is a wild
ride and a quite joyous collage hinting at old New
Orleans, free form art noise, cabaret swing and Jeff
Beck among others. Meanwhile, Leonardo Pavkovic's New
York-based Moonjune Records is becoming THE label to go
to for interesting foreign jazz fusion, and they have
struck gold again with this fascinating group, that
deserves more attention here in the country that gave
the world the late, great Frank Zappa. -Brad Walseth,
Jazz Chicago (February 2009)
L’ultima volta ci siamo congedati citando
Moonjune,
la label di
Leonardo Pavkovic. In attesa di nuovi
arrivi, un’appendice con due segnalazioni live. La prima
riguarda un'irripetibile congiunzione discografica nella
galassia jazz rock europea, quella avvenuta nell’ottobre
del 2005 tra
Elton Dean, lo storico sassofonista dei
Soft Machine e la band belga
The Wrong Object.
L'irripetibilità non è data solo dall'impossibilità di
riprendere quei suoni sprigionatisi al Glaz’Art di
Parigi, ma – ahinoi – anche dalla scomparsa di Elton
Dean, avvenuta oltre tre anni fa.
Un’incredibile verità che si fa titolo (The
Unbelievable Truth) e testamento per un
congedo dal palco.
Come ci fa intendere il chitarrista della band, Michel
Delville, quell’ispirazione continua a vivere ben oltre
il fatalismo del transito terrestre. C’è un fertile ABC
di estemporaneità free-rock da coltivare… È pura
emozione quando il concerto si apre con il dinnocolato
7/4 di
Seven For
Lee, composizione che Dean imbastì alla fine
degli anni Settanta per la variante Soft Head.
Dilatazioni
ossessive, dissonanze e ampi spazi solistici:
questi gli ingredienti base offerti dal ricettario The
Wrong Object e Dean si trova a suo agio, come lo fu ai
tempi d’oro con Hopper, Tippett, Ratledge, etc. Dettagli
che lasciano il segno: il motore inossadabile della
ritmica in
Millenium
Jumble e di
A Cannery
Catastrophe, gli interventi rumoristici
della title track, la schizofrenia di
Cunnimingus Redux tra
pigrizia blues e interventi aleatori.
Dean ci mette del suo con
Baker’s
Treat e
Tha Basho
Variations, due pagine di alta classe e di
indubbia qualità “aggregativa”.
Con dedica: a Chat Baker e al poeta giapponese Matsuo
Bashô. - Riccardo Storti, Mente Locale (April
2009)
Formed in 2002, The Wrong Object is a Belgian heavy
avant-prog-jazz-rock quintet which began their musical
activity as a "Frank Zappa" tribute band, but
switched over to creating their own blend of original
repertoire. "Stories From The Shed" is the third
full-fledged official release by the band, though both
its predecessors, "The Unbelievable Truth" and "Platform
One", are in fact the products of their
collaborations with "Elton Dean" and "Annie
Whitehead", respectively. This album marks a return
to the rockier and densely overdriven stance that
characterized the band's earlier productions. With
influences ranging from Zappa's whimsical complexities
to Squarepusher's glitchy electronics, from "Soft
Machine" and "Electric Miles" to "Stravinsky"
and "Béla Bartok", "Stories From The Shed"
will surprise with its genre-defying compositions,
eclectic jam improvisations and intricate arrangements.
Listen carefully all songs you must have a special
attention to "Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate", "15/05",
"Sheepwrecked, Strangler Fig" and "Waves and
Radiations" will cause a very good damage to your
ears.The Wrong Object" is an excellent addition to the
growing catalog of
Moonjune
Records.-Progressive
Rock and Progressive Metal
(Brasil; February 2009)
Saxophone legend
Elton Dean
shines on one of his final recordings with powerhouse
Belgian improv group the
Wrong Object.
Recorded live less than four months before his untimely
passing, "The Unbelievable Truth" demonstrates the
remarkable breadth of the late British saxophonist’s
reach. With Dean originals ranging from the 7/4 jam
Seven for Lee to the tender ballad Baker’s Treat
, the record also highlights The Wrong Object’s equally
diverse writing and freewheeling improvisational ability.
From quirky Zappa-esque complexity to ominous material
reminiscent of Dean’s 1970s tenure with
Soft Machine.—Music by Mail, Denmark (Spring
2007)
Belgian jazz-prog band The Wrong Object have obviously
been listening to some Frank Zappa records. They have
the wonderfully playful mix of progressive rock and jazz
fusion that Zappa excelled at. Stories from the Shed
is their sixth album as a group and their second for New
York based Moonjune Records. While jazz-fusion has a
real tendency to wallow in its own sonic excesses, this
band doesn't have that problem. Heavy guitar based jams
are tempered with playful, and often noisy, horn
flourishes. Sometimes the band dips into some tasteful
big band stylings, like in the opening track “Sonic Riot
at the Holy Palate” or some nice bits of Chick Corea
style fusion, that neither lingers on nor outstays its
welcome. The progressive elements are very tasteful too
and never boring. The band is
adept at bouncing from style to style, punctuating each
with some catchy sax or trumpet, then moving on to the
next permutation without missing a beat. Their sound
never sounds forced. Excellent album for those who like
their jazz challenging, but not too spacy. —Steve
Marlow,
Earshot (June
2008)
Ce Wrong Object est un OVNI, une créature étrange,
brassage de « jazz psychédélique avec des
sensibilités rock moderne" (citation du dossier de
presse !). A l’écoute, ça donne, une grosse artillerie
instrumentale … jouée par des musiciens tout à fait
respectables qui savent mettre un peu de ternaire adouci
dans le binaire fort en décibels. A vous d’écouter ces
belges (francophones !) produits par un label
newyorkais ! —Culture
Jazz (Juin 2008)
The Wrong Object - Stories From The Shed.
Ich habe lange nichts mehr von dem New Yorker Label
'Moonjune Records' gehört und gelesen. Jahre war es
still (habe ich doch vor längerer Zeit ein paar richtig
interessante Veröffentlichungen wie D.F.A., Finisterre
oder auch TriPod besprochen, die allesamt bei Moonjune
das Licht der Welt erblickt haben) doch jetzt scheint es
weiter zu gehen. Insgesamt waren die Moonjune-Sachen ja
eher alle ein bißchen in Richtung Jazz und somit etwas
weg vom klassischen Prog-Rock. Und da macht auch 'The
Wrong Object', übrigens eine Band aus Belgien keine
Ausnahme. Aber da ich aus einigen Zuschriften weiß, dass
auch jazziger Gefilde ab und zu gern gehört werden,
möchte ich die Gelegenheit nicht verpassen, und Euch
diese Band vorstellen. Die Jungs sind zwischen 23 und 39
Jahre alt, haben fast alle Musik-Akademien in Belgien
besucht (nur der Bassist hat sich alles selber
beigebracht), sind in Jazz-Kreisen hoch angesehen
(diverse Jazz-Magazine haben die Musiker schon in den
höchsten Tönen gelobt) und haben alle interessante
Einflüsse (wobei Frank Zappa und Soft Machine doch recht
häufig genannt werden). Und auch wenn's doch eher
Jazz-Rock (als Prog-Rock) ist, finde ich die Scheibe
erstaunlich gut. Das liegt zum einen an den
handwerklichen Fähigkeiten der Musiker (der Drummer
Laurent Delchambre ist der Hammer ... was der abliefert
ist vom Feinsten, Gitarrist Michel Delville haut ein
paar Solis raus, die ein reiner Prog- oder
Rock-Gitarrist nicht besser machen könnte, Bassist
Damien Polard ist auch ziemlich filigran am Werk und das
Bläser-Duo Fred Delplancq und Jean-Paul Estievenart hält
sich für Jazz-Verhältnisse genau richtig zurück. Klar,
für reine Prog-Ohren dürfte 'Stories From The Shed'
nicht unbedingt Jubelstürme auslösen, aber wer auch mal
ein bißchen abseits des Prog antesten und abgrasen will
und auch von jazzigen Sachen nicht abgeschreckt wird,
sollte 'The Wrong Object' auf jeden Fall mal antesten.
Mehr Infos über die Band und Soundfiles gibt es auf der
Homepage (www.wrongobject.com) sowie bei MySpace (www.myspace.com/wrongobject).
—Roland Leicht,
Prog-Music
Come il jazz in generale, anche la fusion è omai un
linguaggio universale. A dispetto di quanto accade
spesso, i Wrong Object non sono né americani né inglesi.
Dal Belgio confezionano pero una musica energica e
brillante, inserendosi nel filone jazz rock di
Canterbury – pur senza eccedere con lo sviluppo tematico
– e costruendo ponti tra progressive rock, avant-jazz
americano e psichedelia. In quintetto ha il fulcro
compositivo nel chitarrista Michel Delville, che firma
gran parte dei pezzi, e affida i temi all’affiatata
front-line sax-tromba di Delplancq ed Estiévenart.
L’esordio ‘Sonic Riot at the Holy Palate’ costringe a
convivere, nei tre minuti scarso di durata, nientemeno
che una melodia balcanica ed un volo di mellotron in
stile King Crimson, ma è la successiva ‘15/05’ a coplire
per l’originalità del ritmo, un 9/8 di basso e chitarra
su cui si incastra il tema all’unisono tra tromba e
tenore con scansione metrica raddopiata, e l’evoluzione
continua che trasporta il brano attraverso due
differenti sezioni centrali, per i rispettivi assolo dei
fiati, prima di riprendere il motivo portante
dell’inizio. I tema docile ed il bel solo di tromba di
Sheepwrecked, assieme alla pittorica ‘Acquiring the
Taste’ rarefanno l’arai prima dealla bella e trasognata
‘Lifting Belly’, aperta da un urlo elettrico di chitarra
e in pieno stile stile Canterbury, con tanto di solo
effettato del basso di Polard. Accostamenti stilistici
azzardati, bruschi scarti, lirismo e jazz piegato alle
proprie esigenze espressive ; quanto basta perché la
bizarra ‘Malign Siesta’ ci ricordi la massiccia presenza
dei dischi di Frank Zappa tra la collezione dei Wrong.
Tre brevi passaggi descrittivi (‘Teresa’s Dress’,
‘Rippling Stones’, e ‘Teresa’s Dress (reprise)’)
preludono ad un altro punto focale del disco, ‘Strangler
Fig’, che ancora una volta lascia libera la musica di
fuir e svilupparssi tra free jazz elletrico e shuffle
blues, seguito dalla psichedelia bassistica di ‘Waves
and Radiations’. Largo spazio in ‘Saturn’ all’assolo
coltraniano di Delplancq e quello davisiano di
Estiévenart. Chiude il disco la suite ‘The Unbelievable
Truth, divisa in due parti e caratterizzata sia dalla
politematicità del miglio prog, sia da assolo lunghi e
tesi. Il livello strumentale del quintetto è altissimo,
le composizioni originali, pur con precisi punti di
riferimento, e le quattordici tracce sono ben collegate.
Se ne giova il risultato finale, organico, intrigante e
generoso con in fan del genere.—Marco Leopizzi,
Musicaround: rivista di cultura musicale e musicologica
(October 2008)
Stories from the Shed
is the newest release from The Wrong Object, a heavy
avant-prog-jazz-rock combo (this is how their label’s
website describes them) from Belgium. Despite having a
few too many qualifiers describing their sound The Wrong
Object has made an album that is as technically
impressive as it is accessible.
I feel honor-bound to divulge my
background in Nu-Jazz. Zero. I have taken a Jazz in
American film class, so I do know more than the average
person about traditional jazz. But for the most part I
am listening to the Wrong Object with the ears of a new
born babe who knows nothing of the style they are
proliferating. This is my first exposure to this genre
and group.
Having said that, Stories from the
Shed is an excellent introduction for someone new to
avant-prog-jazz-rock. Stories begins with the
heavy, almost ska-sounding “Sonic Riot at the Palate.”
This sets the tone the first third of the album where
the Wrong Object leans more towards a rock sound, but
still displays an ability to ease in and out of styles.
This is especially evident on the track “Malign Siesta”
which deftly shifts from Latin influenced horns to an
impressively blistering guitar solo. Eventually they
move into other styles including more traditional
sounding jazz. This keeps their songs varied and
entertaining. Stories favors strong song
structure over a need to create ambiance, which can keep
casual listeners of the genre from becoming fans. The
Wrong Object’s songs sound like they have a purpose and
are going somewhere, not merely vehicles for virtuosos
to impress other hardcore fans. And when they do use
sparse instrumentation it never is self-serving, but for
the good of the song.—Dennis Mersmann,
MuzikReviews
Il
celebre saxofonista inglese Elton Dean ci ha lasciato
oltre un anno fa ma continua a segnare tracce e a
indicare segnali importanti attraverso la pubblicazione
di registrazioni postume, dichiarati omaggi da parte dei
suoi ultimi compagni di strada e avventure parallele che
lo avrebbero visto certamente spettatore interessato.
Andiamo con ordine e partiamo dal bell’album live The
Unbelievable Truth attribuito al gruppo belga The
Wrong Object e registrato a Parigi nel mese di ottobre
del 2005, pochissimi mesi prima della prematura
scomparsa di Elton.
Per quel che se ne sa questa è l’ultima sua
testimonianza discografica, almeno in ordine
cronologico. Il saxofonista inglese è ospite della band
e il suo ruolo sul palco è evidentemente quello del
protagonista, da ospite che non cerca un ruolo da star
ma si mette con passione a disposizione del progetto e
si incarica di tenere ben alta la bandiera di un suono
ormai classico che prende il via dalle strambe
sperimentazioni in quel di Canterbury di un manipolo di
giovani virgulti in cerca di esotismi e sensazioni
diverse per poi approdare a Londra e cercare di mettere
su famiglia con i fuorusciti del jazz e del rock. Fra
l’altro Elton si unì a quel manipolo di temerari proprio
nella capitale inglese e quindi non può fregiarsi del
titolo di elemento fondatore del Canterbury Sound, ma
seppe velocemente recuperare il terreno perduto e ne
divenne certamente una delle bandiere più pronte a
sventolare in alto, incurante dei venti e delle
tempeste, disponibile a farsi sfilacciare e scolorire
dalla pioggia e dal vento, senza mai pensare di
lasciarsi ammainare. La serata con il gruppo The Wrong
Object (piuttosto noto in patria per le loro escursioni
in territorio zappiano e per il lavoro appassionato nei
meandri del jazz-rock d’autore) doveva essere preceduta
da seduta di prove ma un inconveniente legato ad un
guasto meccanico del pulmino che trasportava i musicisti
dal Belgio a Parigi fece saltare questa possibilità e,
se non si tiene conto di un brevissimo soundcheck, i
cinque ragazzi del continente incontrarono praticamente
il loro eroe d’oltre Manica direttamente sul palco al
momento del concerto. L’adrenalina contribuì certamente
a tenere altissima la tensione e i risultati sono di
prim'ordine. La salute di Elton dava già chiari segnali
di preoccupazione ma il saxofonista non si tirò certo
indietro per un’occasione che nei progetti suoi e in
quelli del gruppo doveva essere la prima di una serie
non si sa quanto lunga. Se poi il destino ha voluto che
invece fosse l’unica occasione di incontro non possiamo,
ahimè, farci nulla.
Conviene gustarsi questi sette brani equamente divisi, a
livello compositivo, fra il saxofonista inglese e il
chitarrista Michel Delville che si accredita come vero
leader della band belga. Il brano “Millenium Jumble”
porta la firma collettiva del gruppo e si muove senza
paure a partire da un bel riff che funge da spina
dorsale per le improvvisazioni che si spingono in
territori ampi e variegati. Già dall’apertura dell’album, con il 7/4 ben noto di “Seven For Lee”, una delle composizioni più
note di Elton Dean, si era capito che la serata era
memorabile e fortunatamente la registrazione qui
pubblicata la rende disponibile per i numerosi fans di
Elton Dean e dei Soft Machine.—Maurizio Comandini,
All About Jazz Italy
Der geneigte Leser wird sich fragen, warum ausgerechnet
ich meinen Senf zu diesem seltsamen Album abgebe. Geplagt
von einer Sax-Phobie, verwirrt ob improvisierter
"Jazz-Gelage" und (normaler Weise) genervt durch all zu
freies Rumnudeln, sollte ich doch einen weiten Bogen um
The Wrong Object machen...
Sollte, hätte, wenn und aber... Die
Platte ist mir auf verschlungenen Wegen zugegangen und
hat mich interessiert. Das ist die profane, aber
schlichtweg richtige Antwort auf das Stirnrunzeln meiner
selbst. Ich will es mal so sagen; vermutlich werde ich
niemals nach Alben dieser Machart Ausschau halten, wenn
sie mir aber zu Gehör kommen und eine seltsame
Anziehungskraft entwickeln, dann genieße ich sie auch.
Das "warum" habe ich nach inzwischen
unzähligen Durchläufen auch entschlüsselt. The Wrong
Object rocken den Schweiß aus den Boxen! Drummer
Delchambre gibt Gas. Was dieser Mann abliefert ist
brillant und alleine das Eintrittsgeld wert. Basser
Polard presst die Musik nach vorne, bietet mannigfaltige
Sounds und Stimmungen, vermittelt dieses lockere,
dennoch schweißtreibende Gefühl einer (klingt absurd,
aber besser kann ich es nicht ausdrücken)
"Hard"-Rock-Produktion. Gitarrist Delville steht dem in
nichts nach und "bratzelt" zwischen Garagensound und
filigranen Soli einen begeisternden Akzent nach dem
anderen aus dem Ärmel. Das Gebläse wird niemals zu
aufdringlich oder gar quietschig. Sicher, das ist
ziemlich jazzig und frei, aber eben keine "Blas-Onanie"
um der eigenen Qualitäten willen.
Die Stücke sind nur zum Teil
improvisiert, vieles wirkt aber auch überaus komponiert
und geradezu spaßig, so dass mir an der einen oder
anderen Stelle sowohl Alamaailman Vasarat, als auch
Akinetón Retard in den Sinn kommt.
Lange Rede; Stories From The Shed ist ein
Album, das sogar einem verächtlich dem Jazz
gegenüberstehenden Ignoranten wie mir gefällt.
Vermutlich werden "echte Jazz-Fans" nur verächtlich die
Nase rümpfen, dem Progger dürfte diese lockere,
rockig-improvisierte Vorgehensweise aber schon entgegen
kommen.
Sehr, sehr cooles
Album!
—Fix Sadler,
Babyblaue Prog-reviews
Zappaphiles know The Wrong
Object for being a band that plays jazzy covers of Frank
Zappa. But The Wrong Object is much more than a
(brilliant) Zappa cover band: it is one of the best and
most interesting jazz-rock bands from Belgium. –Zjakki
Willems,
VRT Radio
Untertitelt ist die CD
"The Wrong Object play Zappa and a
few tunes of their own". Im Promo
Flyer erwähnt die Band zudem Canterbury
Prog (Soft Machine, Gong, die belgische
Variante Aka Moon). Die stilistische
Orientierung ist damit ausgepeilt. The
Wrong Object sind Michel Delville (g,
g-synth), Alain Deval (dr, samples),
Damien Polard (b, fuzz-b), Yves Dellicour
(sax, cl) und Ludovic Jeanmart (a-sax).
Das Quartett arbeitet sehr inspiriert,
weder brauchen sich ihre Interpretationen
der Zappa-Songs vor dem Original, noch
ihre eigenen Kompositionen verstecken. Im
Allgemeinen spielen The Wrong Object ihre
Songs und die Zappa-Covers etwas
gebremst, dafür mit einem verstärkten
Hauch Jazz. Der rocktypisch gespielte
Jazzrhythmus ist schön komplex und
lebendig, die instrumentalen Läufe gehen
schon mal ins Improvisative, verlieren
aber nie den Halt zur Komposition,
sondern umspielen und radikalisieren
abstrakt und "schräg" die
Songthemen. Bis auf zwei Stücke ist die
CD instrumental, es gibt also viel Raum
zu füllen und das macht die Band sehr
gut. Zwar ist die Gitarre eher weniger
solistisch aktiv, hält sich songdienlich
zurück und untermauert kraftvoll das
melodische Geschehen, dem vor allem
Saxophon und Klarinette ihren Stempel
aufdrücken. Vor dem Hintergrund der
kraftvollen Rhythmusabteilung und auf dem
Teppich vitaler, fabelhafter
Kompositionen eine sehr angenehme Sache.
Das Zappa-Cover "King Kong"
bekommt so seine ganz eigene Variante,
der Untertitel "George W. Bush
Version" ist sicher den eingefügten
Lyrics zu verdanken. The Wrong Object
haben es drauf und können auf hohem
Niveau sehr gut unterhalten. 6 der Songs
sind live eingespielt worden, wobei das
Publikum völlig ausgespart wurde. Drei
Bonusstücke (Chunga´s Revenge,
Apostrophe, Outside Now), live
eingespielt und nicht im perfekten Sound,
aber gut genießbar, erzählen einmal
mehr von der kraftvollen Musiksprache der
Belgier. The Wrong Object haben sich zur
Zappanale 2004 beworben, hoffentlich
werden sie hier spielen. Ist absolut zu
empfehlen.
—
Ragazzi: Website für erregende
Musik
“It's jazz, Jim, but not as we know it”. Shazam... Here
it is. The long awaited album of The Wrong Object
featuring Annie Whitehead on trombone and Harry Beckett
on trumpet . . . The compositions by Michel Delville,
Frank Zappa, Annie Whitehead and Harry Beckett, make a
perfect mixture. The band is in great shape, and guests
Annie Whitehead and Harry Beckett add an extra flavour
that fits in very well. It’s like they’ve been playing
together for years. My favourite tracks: Annie
Whitehead’s “Platform 1” and Frank Zappa’s “Filthy
Habits”. God, this is good... Moonjune Records recently
released the Paris concert recordings of Elton Dean &
The Wrong Object as “The Unbelievable Truth”. Moonjune
should be known to everyone as the label that puts out
albums by artists like Hugh Hopper, The Soft Machine and
Tripod, just to name a few . . . The album itself is
astonishing. I’ve heard The Wrong Object on various
occasions with different line-ups, and the Elton Dean /
The Wrong Object project is an essential chapter in my
book. Just listen to the first notes of “Seven For Lee”
and you'll know what I mean. Essential listening !!
—
Peter van Laarhoven,
United Mutations
Already to be considered one of the best records of
2008! —Glenn Astarita (contributor to DownBeat
magazine, JazzReview.com, All About Jazz)
on
Stories from the Shed
(Moonjune Records 2008)
Bizzarra formazione belga i The Wrong Object.
La
loro forza consiste nell’interpretare il codice dei
maestri, spezzettandolo per filtrarlo, attraverso le
proprie esperienze, risputandolo fuori con un vigore
terrificante. Chitarre distorte incrociano il drumming
della batteria nel disperato tentativo di trovare il
bandolo della matassa, mentre dalla confusione,
organizzata, tutto defluisce lentamente verso l’ordine.
L’ottone infuocato, posto in apertura, rilascia una
quantità impressionante di schegge impazzite come i
colpi di una machine-gun a pieno regime.
“Sonic Riot At The Palate”
è un inizio al fulmicotone, un sisma di magnitudo otto
della scala Mercalli.
Segue a ruota il matematico e preciso “15/05”, in
cui il sax progredisce inerpicandosi su scale
policromatiche e note altissime, mentre la chitarra
sporcata, da un effetto acido, si amalgama al resto
degli strumenti. Questo combo, di cinque elementi,
impasta Coltrane e Fripp, Mingus e Zappa e lo fa
superbamente.
I The Wrong Object sono davvero una spanna sopra molte
fiacche produzioni odierne.
Una band che fa del rischio, anche se calcolato, la
propria carta vincente riuscendo dove molti peccano di
manierismo affidandosi alla sola tecnica. Nonostante i
loop imbizzarriti e le chitarre “sintetiche” possano
fuorviare la vostra psiche, state tranquilli la band sa
dove sta andando a parare, giocando e spiazzando
l’ascoltatore. Il primo momento riflessivo è
”Sheepwrecked”, un lento e delicato soffio vitale,
perfetta alchimia fra i sussurri degli ottoni, i
feedback delle chitarre e i lenti colpi sulle pelli. La
progressione crimsoniana di “Lifting Belly”,
mista agli stacchi jazz, farà la felicità di chi ama le
contaminazioni fra due mondi, apparentemente molto
lontani, che da decenni si cercano, sfiorandosi nella
danza del corteggiamento. La maggior parte dei brani
sono da attribuire al funambolico Michel Delville, alle
chitarre, capace spesso di stupire. La marcia in più è
rappresentata dalla scelta di suonare in presa diretta,
senza overdubs. Non si può che prostrarsi di fronte a
tanta padronanza degli strumenti, guidata dalla
fantasia, e a tratti da un piacevole delirio nato
dall’improvvisazione, sempre contenuta ma molto
efficace. Drumming sincopato e sghembo, fraseggi
velocissimi, e propulsori, ritmici, all’idrogeno
alimentano questa imprendibile band, “Strangler Fig”.
L’unico momento in cui Delville catalizza l’attenzione
su se stesso è in “The Wrong Object Part II”. La
sua chitarra corre veloce e liquida grazie al wah-wah
che accompagna l’intero e prezioso solo. L’unico punto
“debole” sta nella frammentarietà dei brani, ma fa parte
del gioco. Il consiglio, per un maggiore efficacia su
chi ascolta, è una maggior cura nel song-writing, per il
resto è davvero una scoperta inaspettata e piacevole.
Quando il jazz incontra il rock meno spigoloso e più
“free”, passando per l’elettronica, il nome su cui
puntare è The Wrong Object, e questa mano sarà
sicuramente vostra. —Giuseppe Celano, EXTRA! Music
Magazine
This band are one of the finest tributes
to the music of Frank Zappa you are likely to see and
have performed with Zappa’s own Ed Mann. They are a must
if you are interested in Jazz Rock musical wizardry.
— The Toucan newsletter
(Cardiff, April 2004)
Insgesamt werden zu den
Jazztagen vom 21. bis 24. April zwölf
Bands und Eizelmusiker erwartet. Die
Darbietungen orientieren sich am Jazz aus
den USA und dessen Einflüsse auf
europaïsche Ensembles. Beispiele dafür
sind die Hauptkonzerte im Freiberger
Theater. Am Freitagabend verarbeitet die
belgische Band The Wrong Object
musikalische Einflüsse von Frank Zappa,
der über 30 Jahre Avantgarderock- und
Jazzgeschichte geschrieben hat. Durch ihr
Bestreben Zappathemen zu verjazzen, nimmt
die Band in Musikerkreisen eine
Sonderstellung ein.
— freiepresse.de (April 21, 2005)
MoonJune
Records (New York) annonce le nouvel album du Wrong
Object.
"Stories From The Shed", le 1er album studio du groupe,
sortira le 19 février 2008. L’album est accueilli avec
grand enthousiasme par la presse professionnelle, ainsi
le célèbre critique de jazz Glenn Astarita (DownBeat
magazine, JazzReview.com, All About Jazz) écrit « à déjà
considérer comme un des meilleurs disques de 2008. —Les
Lundis d’Hortense
During his lifetime,
British saxophone great Elton Dean made a huge impact,
hearkening back to those historic days with Soft Machine
and his contributions to British free, modern and
progressive jazz-rock movements. Dean performed with the
crème de la crème of international artists prior to his
passing on Feb 8th 2006, and this live recording with a
Belgian band stands as one of his final concerts.
Recorded at a Paris venue on Oct 18th, 2005, Dean
commences the festive proceedings with his hauntingly
beautiful piece titled “Seven For Lee,” which is a
minor-classic to most of his aficionados. With an
underlying ostinato melody, Dean solos over the top with
equal parts, beauty and power. And throughout various
movements, tenor saxophonist Fred Deplancq and trumpeter
Jean-Paul Estievenart exchange scorching lines with the
leader to complement works constructed upon softly-woven
themes. And with traces of classic British jazz-rock,
the septet renders stately choruses and vigorous
rhythmic maneuvers.
Dean’s interlacing notes on “Baker’s Treat,” are
designed with soul and conviction atop drummer Laurent
Delchambre’s syncopated brush work and e-guitarist
Michel Delville’s raspy-toned chord voicings. Then on
“The Unbelievable Truth,” bassist Damien Polard lifts
something out of Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper’s
playbook, with his monstrously resonating fuzz-bass
lines. Here, contrasts abound as the saxophonists soar
towards boundless vistas and fiercely climactic opuses,
accelerated by Delville’s distortion-heavy progressions.
Elsewhere, the band executes up-tempo jazz waltz motifs
and spirited swing vamps, marked with punchy horns
arrangements and capaciously designed improvisational
passages.
Dean’s vastly expressive musical language will keep the
memories alive as supreme artists have an inimitable way
of living on and sharing themselves with the future. His
legacy continues onward via this jubilantly communicated
and masterfully enacted program. – Glenn Astarita,
ejazznews
Ce « Live » reprend des
extraits de trois concerts différents, enregistrés dans
le courant de 2005. The Wrong Object y prouve une fois
de plus son aisance en scène, son attrait pour les
rencontres les plus diverses et ses capacités
d’adaptation. Plus d’une bonne moitié de ces
compositions se retrouvaient déjà sur « Live at
Zappanale 2004 » et sur « Elton Dean Meets The
Wrong Object ». Pourtant elles apparaissent ici
toujours renouvelées, dans la plus pure tradition
d’ouverture du « Jazz », avec des thèmes de base ne
servant en fait que de pivots autour desquels les
talents d’improvisations des instrumentistes s’expriment
sans limite. Dans cet esprit, les invités apportent à
chaque fois leur dynamique personnelle et leurs propres
perceptions. Sur ce CD, la lubrification de tous les
rouages complexes de cette mécanique s'avère parfaite.
Le résultat est donc généralement passionnant.Avec son
piano électrique, le luxembourgeois Marc Mangen apporte
une agréable « rondeur » ... L’équilibre entre les
instruments s’en trouve encore renforcé et les solos se
succèdent avec un égal bonheur. La rythmique est
idéale.En résumé, un groupe passionnant avec des
instrumentistes passionnés, baignés dans le « Jazz »,
aux frontières du « Rock ». A découvrir sans tarder!
- Music in Belgium
Cote : 9/10. Si certains
regrettent que le monde du jazz demeure si fermé, il
faut bien avouer que certains grands noms d'une époque
pas si ancienne que ça permettent de faire de splendides
découvertes. Elton Dean, ancien pilier de Soft Machine
pour ceux qui ont du mal à suivre, s'associe à des
belges pour nous proposer une prestation live de grande
qualité qui en assiéra plus d'un.
The Wrong Object, puisqu'il s'agit
des belges en question, est un groupe qui se fait
plaisir en reprenant du Frank Zappa, ce qui donne tout
de suite une idée de leur niveau, et en invitant ici
l'un des saxophonistes les plus prestigieux qui soient.
Musicalement, la recette est on ne
peut plus classique, si j'ose dire, pour des jazz-men :
on monte sur scène (il semblerait, à voir sa
discographie, que The Wrong Objects ne considère pas
l'exercice de l'enregistrement studio comme spécialement
intéressant), on décide d'une set-list et c'est parti
pour de longs chorus et de longues digressions
harmoniques. On est donc
clairement dans l'exercice ultra-technique, instrumental
et totalement désagréable pour des oreilles non
averties.
Les thèmes, déjà assez alambiqués
et pas directement mémorisables, sont en plus un simple
prétexte à des exercices dissonants et à des
expérimentations sonores essentiellement axées sur le
saxophone (logique !) et la trompette.
Comme si cela ne suffisait pas,
c'est long... extrêmement long, même. Et l'on est donc
dans une logique de quitte ou double : l'auditeur déjà
peu sensible au style ne comprendra pas mieux avec cet
objet l'intérêt de ce style musical et criera peut-être
au scandale cacophonique. Au mieux, il s'autopersuadera
que c'est définitivement trop hermétique pour lui. A
l'inverse, le fan du style applaudira sans réserve l'un
des derniers témoignages en live du grand Elton Dean
(décédé en 2006) et la découverte d'un groupe trop
injustement méconnu et peut-être même trop en retrait
face au maître, même si l'on remarquera la guitare
incisive et bien présente de "The Unbelievable Truth",
morceau éponyme d |
