P'TAAH
"STARING AT THE SUN"
"Ideally the music can be a source of transformation that
can convert the mundane to the spiritual." - Chris Brann
Ubiquity Recordings is proud to release 'Staring at The Sun' -
the sophomore release from Chris Brann's P'taah collective which
follows the critically acclaimed debut 'Compressed Light' and
remix set 'Decompressed Light'.
Featuring the appropriately dazzling breakout single (and title
track) 'Staring At The Sun,' P'Taah's sophomore release soars
beyond the densely theoretical convolutions of 'Compressed Light',
creating delicious soundscapes at once deceptively easy on the
ear and truly, radically progressive. For those who have followed
Chris Brann's musical journey through his other projects (Ananda
Project, Wamdue) this is the logical and essential next step;
for those new to his world(s) it is an introduction of shocking,
intoxicating brilliance.
"The thing about 'Compressed Light' was that I was intellectually
charged to see if I could do it," Brann explains. "To
break all the rules that I had set for myself doing more house-related
projects. It was, in a way, a reaction to [those] limitations.
I think with 'Staring At The Sun' I've reached a different paradigm
in that I've turned off that action/reaction mechanism and am
now able to cultivate things in a more honest way."
You could call this music fusion, or future jazz, or avant-something
or abstract-something else; whatever you call it seems to rein
in its limitless possibilities. Just as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock,
Airto Moreira, Flora Purim and Stanley Clarke (all acknowledged
Brann influences) aimed to further fan the flames of Miles Davis'
rock/jazz explorations, and to bring visionary jazz to the receptive
ears of progressive rock audiences, Brann's P'taah project folds
clubbier textures into jazz abstractions (with Brazilian influences),
classical composition and cosmic soul, allowing a multi-layered
hybrid of ideas. This is reflected in cuts like 'Become Who You
Are', 'Nobody Knows', 'Hold You Close' (previously featured on
Naked Music's 'Carte Blanche 3' and Ubiquity's 'No Categories
5') and 'Staring at the Sun' itself.
Brann: "I think the album covers some different angles of
my influences. The Chick Corea, Herbie [Hancock] vibe, [is there]
especially in the Rhodes sounds. I'm fascinated with early Return
To Forever, with Airto [Moreira] and Flora Purim... this really
sums up so much of my emotional influence and it truly represents
'fusion' music. There is also the more esoteric ECM overlay that
creeps up as the album progresses away from the more club-oriented
sound; Keith Jarrett, Steve Tibbetts and Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays
are definite influences."
Perhaps surprisingly (then again, the joy of Brann's muse is its
ability to surprise) Brann will happily admit he's not a natural
clubber. "I relate to the club experience in more of a 'macro'
level. But no matter how much I say I can't deal with hanging
out in clubs or bars, it's still a part of my cultural upbringing.
I feel I must approach it on my own terms. Sometimes when I'm
working on a track I'll just be thinking about a real high moment
I've had DJing or throwing a party or whatever; ultimately trying
to uncover that primal feeling that all of this music is based
on. Ideally the music can be a source of transformation that can
convert the mundane to the spiritual. It's all about fine-tuning
the right elements into the right space and time."
With him on that spiritual quest are vocalists Terrance Downs
(who contributed to 'Compressed Light'), Marta Gazman, rhodes
and moog virtuoso Julius Speed and new star Sylvia Gordon, from
the NY-based group Kudu, who along with [drummer] Dee Parks is
also part of the P'taah live outfit. "She has a real focused,
precise character to her voice," Brann enthuses, "her
writing and her presentation. I have a high regard for the level
of clarity that she brings to her work...she has a lot of fluidity,
yet it's real earthy too... and she's an incredible bass player."
"It's taken along time to cultivate the songs for this new
album," Brann explains. "I basically take a pool of
ideas and then look for a thread to follow. Once I find the connecting
line it's easy to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle. On
'Staring At The Sun' I was going through a lot mental 'self-trickery,'
thinking to myself that none of the songs I had could relate to
each other... but then something clicked and it came to together
quickly and in an unconscious/intuitive sort of way."
Intuition is the key. Brann's inspirations - the lushly melancholic
sound worlds of David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stanley Clarke's
bass odyssey, Eumir Deodata's sensual, sensurround fusion - aren't
obvious bedfellows. And who would have thought that Norwegian
contemporary jazz pioneer Bugge Wesseltoft would turn up in a
DJ booth? (Remember though, Sylvian worked with jazz guitarist
Steve Tibbetts; the clues are there.)
Also threaded throughout 'Staring At The Sun' are Kima Moore's
'Meditation' pieces, which add Enoesque ambient/world textures.
The spiritual, visionary fusion going on here is one that's central
to all forward-looking music. Just as Ray Charles invented soul
by taking gospel out of the churches, so (in reverse) Brann's
explorations recast the dancefloor as a sacred space.
'Staring At The Sun' will move you. It will also make you move.
It's a ticket to the future that feels natural and true. And as
we all know, of course, the truth will set you free. |
