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Philipp Gropper's Philm: Consequences
ByAt first listen the dominant sound is a pounding aggression that arises from the crashing and bellowing of Gropper and keyboard player Elias Stemeseder. However the key musician here is drummer Oliver Steidle who underpins the harsh chaos of this music with a logic and rhythm that gives it recognizable form. On "32 Cents" his crashing, irregular beats provide a sense of humanity beneath thudding group stomps, trickling piano and synthesizer lines and sour tenor fragments. On the two-part "Consequences," the slow thrash of Steidle and bassist Robert Landfermann provide forward motion as Gropper and Stemeseder bang away statically on single notes as electronic beeping also seeps into the sonic texture.
"Saturn" is the piece with the heaviest hip hop feel. A steady, off-center drum pattern is surrounded by eerie keyboard drones, simmering bass and warbling tenor, all blending for a placid, cooled-out vibe. Meanwhile "Forgiving" starts out as a genuine ballad with wandering acoustic piano and wispy high tenor notes but gradually congeals into a tighter sound as Steidle increases the tempo and the music becomes more focused and urgent. "Thinking for The Future" is the wildest track of all. Waves of synthesizer wrap around Steidle's bashing while tenor and piano create a wobbly whirlpool that eventually quiets down into a push-pull funk rhythm led by Gropper and Stemeseder. The bass and drums boisterously stomp as a wave of stuttering sax and electronics slices through and the quartet blows freely and chaotically to the end.
Mixing free jazz, electronic distortion, ambient sounds, and hip hop rhythm, this music is a bracing clash of styles. It can be intimidatingly aggressive, but it has enough familiar rhythms, particularly in the drumming, to give you a way in.
Track Listing
32 Cents; Consequences (Part 1); Consequences (Part 2); Saturn; Forgiving; Thinking from The Future (Are You Privileged?).
Personnel
Philipp Gropper
saxophone, tenorPhilippe Gropper: tenor sax, composition; Elias Stemeseder: piano, synthesizer; Robert Landfermann; bass; Oliver Steidle: drums.
Album information
Title: Consequences | Year Released: 2019 | Record Label: WhyPlayJazz
Comments
About Philipp Gropper
Instrument: Saxophone, tenor
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