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Looper's Delight
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I had an amazing musical week.................taking in Goth night with new DJs; seeing Nine Inch Nails rip it up at the Santa Cruz Civic; performing live looping with video accompaniement at Gavilan College's New Digital Media Center; playing acoustic traditional jazz with really good musicians in Pebble Beach. The week was full of a huge variety of really excellent music and I rented a car with a fantastic stereo to get to everything. My constant companion on those long drives to and from the gigs was the brilliant new CD by Bernhard Wagner, the talented guitarist from Zurich, Switzerland. After listening to all that music....................going out clubbing............seeing NIN rage at the Civic, I cannot get the title track to "The Fourth Night" out of my head. It's as compelling a piece of music as I've heard in a good long while and it really attests to the excellence of this first output by Bernhard that it sticks in my head so much. I've seen Bernhard play a few times now and so it was a pleasant surprise to hear him sing on (only ) the title track. He has a really nice voice and I truly hope he continues to sing on subsequent outings. I can't say enough good things about this1st track. I simply love it. "The Fourth Night" is also a perfect late night driving home CD...................and by the time you are completely lulled by the minor scales and the polyrhythmic interplay of long fading delay lines that make the record so trippy and delicious Bernhard will suddenly change up and bring really fascinating and challenging new music timbres into the mix. This is my kind of late night listening.................there are definite ambient qualities to the music but it is constantly morphing into new and unheard territory. In the center suite of tunes that run from track 3 through 6.............it is not until several minutes into the fifth track that the guitar tones suddenly add distortions and then takes a sudden left turn with glitchy replacements of the original piece. The tracks have individual names here but these three piece really read as one long piece. Track 7, "Le Menhir" takes the most chances on the record and is one of my favorite pieces. Bernhard's use of the replacement functions in the Gibson EDP is really exquisite on this piece. Challenging the ear of the listener but never completely alienating nor losing site of the melody and mood of the piece. It's really a great track. Track 8, "La Lueur" hits a loop at around 8 minutes that is what Peter Gabriel should be including in his most recent outputs (instead of what he is).................This loop would make a fantastic pop song if developed along those lines.................or maybe Gabriel should just hire Bernhard Wagner to play in his band. It would be a fitting place for this expansive and talented guitarist. That's another thing I love about this recording: There are constantly times where I could hear really good pop songs coming from loops or passages that he plays and yet the CD is not a pop record in the slightest. Right at the end of the record on Track 9, "Math Town" it suddenly changes up and gets the most funky and almost dance oriented that the whole record has to offer. It's cool piece and as a drummer, I was itching to lay down some fat groove over it. Bernhard finishes off the CD with a brief reprise of the wonderful title track....................playing the CD on continuous play I went through the whole thing twice a couple of times and it just all flowed perfectly. What's wonderful about this record is that at several points it hints at being a different project.................ambient, experimental, pop, funk............and yet, it all remains a cohesive whole. It is really rhythmic and yet, there isn't a drum set to be heard on the whole thing. It's really an impressive first outing and I can't wait to hear what Bernhard Wagner has up his sleeve for his next CD. Go out and buy this CD for yourself or a loved one for Christmas. You'll be glad you did. Rick Walker loop.pool