"Labels – what would we do without them? Probably enjoy the music more and
not get sidetracked into pointless and elitist debates about what does or
does not constitute “bison-prog” or somesuch. On the other hand there are
times when labels are useful, and as Amplifier’s Neil Mahony says:
“I do….find some musical labels helpful – if something is described as
Brainfuck Noisecore then I am usually pretty sure what to expect.”
With that in mind, may I describe the scary and sometimes surreal noise
made by ByZero as avant-punk-jazz-metal-rio-prog? No? well in that case I
don’t know where to start! Seriously though, this is one helluva CD and if
you like your music challenging, unpredictable, HEAVY, and
trance-inducing, then this muvva is for you
Hailing from Moscow, ByZero have been going since 2009 and their core
line-up consists of drums/bass/guitar/synths. On most pieces on this album
they are joined by a saxophone or two, three or even four, whether or not
all at once who knows, it’s hard to tell. There are fourteen pieces
(calling them “songs” would be well wide of the mark) on Zencore, their
debut album, ranging from forty five seconds to nine minutes in length. I
can only describe their influences from my own experience as I know little
of the Russian avant-jazz scene. In this stew of fantastic noise I can
hear Faust (quite a lot actually), King Crimson (imagine the heaviest
thing on Red then multiply until the calculator breaks – that’s the
opening track PM), Don Ellis, Moondog (not in sound, more in feel),
Acoustic Ladyland (speeding, with stacks of Marshalls and guitars),
Anekdoten at their noisiest, Suicide, Fuck Buttons, Lol Coxhill, Acid
Mothers Temple….I could go on. What this actually is is unique, something
one rarely comes across these days.
The bass guitar is often used as a lead instrument, but still thumping out
the rhythm with the drummer, who somehow manages to hold it all together,
while the guitar and synths swarm around like angry bees, often in the
company of one or more saxes. Lunnyi Beg Poreirya Ivanova includes an
almost and atypically lovely guitar break that sounds like agitated
raindrops falling from a roof, and following track AM goes all space-rock,
before the swarm descends again. There are many brief interludes from the
brutality throughout which gives the otherwise relentless nature of the
album some much needed light and shade.
Noise of Zero Pt1 sees Faustian space spiders scratching at the hull while
inside the saxes squawk and wail, arhythmic and ambient, but not in a
chilled way. Twist Ling AM with Nick Rubanov takes the template of the
version from earlier on and features added sax madness over an
Anekdoten-like bass riff and syncopation. Storming stuff!
After an hour we arrive at fourteenth and last track Vibration of Zero, or
the Four Impro (sic), and it feels like we have just gone through twelve
rounds with the Klitschko brothers. We are battered, bruised, but also
exhilarated, knowing we will return for more. Probably the most
frightening and compelling record I’ve listened to in a long time, and all
the better for it. Do not listen to this if you have a hangover!"
Así las cosas, muchachos...
ByZero - Zencore (2011)
Tracks:
1. PM 2:35
2. Twist Ling AM 3:17
3. Lunnyi Beg Poreirya Ivanova 4:49
4. AM 3:32
5. Volosatyi Studen 5:20
6. Noise Of Zero Pt1 5:37
7. Minimal 0:45
8. Confusion 4:00
9. Etu Pesniu Pel Gagagarin V Kosmose 4:31
10. No One Light 8:09
11. Noise Of Zero Pt2 9:34
12. Twist Ling AM With Nick Rubanov 3:35
13. Minimal Remix 5:21
14. Vibration Of Zero, Or The Four Impro 6:04
Line up:
- Anton Kolosov - Bass Guitar
- Alexey Bobrovsky - Drums
- Fyodor Fokin - Guitar
- Ilya Belorukov - Saxophone
- Anton Ponamorev - Saxophone
- Ilya Simakov - Saxophone
- Nikolai Rubanov - Saxophone
- Katya Rekk - Synthesizer
zero
