Thuluth
One Third of the Sun
LEBANON AL MASLAKH RECORDS MSLKH028 C.D. (2024)
My first encounter with the ‘Al Maslakh’ imprint reveals a compact and industrious Beirut-based concern whose main aim has been to be a platform for Lebanese experimental musics “…and beyond.” The members of Thuluth have played together in different circumstances for a considerable time before their debut at Beirut’s ‘Irtijal Festival’ in 2016. During this time, this Berlin-based acoustic three-piece; featuring the experienced pianistic nous of Magda Mayas (40 c.d.s to her name and rising), Lebanese double bassist Raed Yassin and ‘voice artist’ Ute Wassermann felt that they were of one mind and thought that they should continue to collaborate, with group pre-cog and a particular daredevil ethos coming well to the fore.
As Thuluth translates from the Arabic as ‘one third’, ‘the law of threes’ seems to be a recurring theme as this limited edition of three hundred finds the trio showcasing three pieces (though they missed a trick by not releasing this in l.p. Format). The title track and opener sees Ute’s bewildering array of voicings forcing their way through mysterious piano clangs/creaks and the dry, irritable rasp of the bowed bass. At 4.30 minutes in, I still can’t believe that those ominous, derailed blatherings all belong to Ute…SANS F.X.?? A double-jointed larynx might explain things (see also Maggie Nicols, Diamanda Galas…), but more realistically, it could be that Ute’s close proximity to Phil Minton in SpeakEasy spurred her on to these unchartered territories.
All of the threesome are also credited with ‘objects’ and it seems that these vague whatevers are more in evidence with the remaining “Radiant Geometry” and “Pluto’s Heart”. The former’s cat-gut scrape framing a piece that’s more of a ritualistic stripe; echoing perhaps Poland’s Hati or U.K.’s O Yuki Conjugate at their most secretive and guarded. The latter cut puts the spot on Ute’s rapid-fire chittering, tics, groans and sighs, while in a dark, secluded corner Magda’s piano is undergoing all manner of devilish manipulations that would certainly cement a cheshire cat grin onto the face of St. John of Cage. Almost from minute one to the finish, sparks really fly, which makes me realise that Thuluth have that rare ability of being able to generate crackling electricity from a totally acoustic setting. File under Jaw-Dropper.