Voice and jazz thing from France…the three vocalists Gaëlle Debra, Patrick Guionnet and Maryline Pruvost writhe like cobras on Master Of Disorder (CIRCUM DISC LX020), while drummer Peter Orins, oft-time associated with this record label, attempts to put up his cages of plexiglass in the reptile house.
It would be good to hear more voice work in the contested field of free improvisation. These particular three larynx-adapter types seem poised on a precipice between civilisation and the jungle, some of them only too ready to return to a feral state. Collectively the group has taken the name Almufaraka and press blurb confirms they take “inspiration from a mythical primitive tradition”. One fave moment is ‘Story Telling’, which overlaps gibberish-speech and talking in tongues with wild and untamed whoops and neighs from the male corner of the act.
Besides doing the recording, mix, and mastering work, Orins also did the cover art, where to convey the themes of “disorder” he simply turns photographs of ruined buildings through 180 degrees, hoping to reveal powerful forces in the unexpected shadows and planes that appear. Jointly released with Tour De Bras. (21/01/2025)