| CD REVIEW Aidan Baker |
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Band : Aidan Baker This truly prolific Canadian multi-instrumentalist and poet is not exactly an unknown entity in the Doom/ Drone/ Ambient scene, and his contributions to genre greats Mnemosyne (two cd-Rs), ARC (7 cd-R releases, one MP3-only release, and one official album), and Nadia (he's married to bandmate Leah Buckareff, and to date the band has 21 releases to its name, 1 of which a 7-inch, 5 other are split releases) are but a fraction of what the man released under his own name. Would you believe: a total of 75 releases since 2000 on his own, 3 splits, and 7 collaborations (the latter 10 all official releases). Of Aidan's solo stuff most was released on cd-R...but 11 were MP3-only releases, one a 7-inch single, and no less than 16 albums were official releases. On top, 8 of his cd-Rs were later issued on CD and/or LP! Quite prolific indeed, and I know of only one artist in the genre whom could match that: Peter Kuhlmann aka Pete Namlook, whom was clever enough to start his own label in the early '90s, through which he released 2 full-length CDs (on a rotation which started from 1,000 copies but grew to 2,000 by popular demand) every two months. In fact, I kinda followed Pete for several years, and have over 100 of his releases in my collection! But that aside...we wanna go back to Mr. Baker here, don't we? As mentioned above, Baker is also a poet, and has released 6 books to date, 2 of which (if I ain't mistaken) he's put to music. His music, both in the studio and on stage, are usually improvised longer tracks. Of course, when recording things you don't always know where a certain mood might end and another start, and sometimes a recording may indeed flow from one mood into another. The advantage with studio recordings is that you can split such moments up without having to actually cut loose the pieces/ moods from each other. You just insert a new track's beginning on the counter, and only those listening to MP3 versions of the album will know (because you always get a mute passage between “tracks”). Also, if a certain session is not long enough to fill up a CD decently, you can always add another track! Oh well, according to his Wikipedia page, Baker “...uses a very experimental style of playing guitar, influenced by artists such as Caspar Brötzmann, James Plotkin, Kevin Shields, and Justin Broadrick...influences on his musical structures and sounds include Sonic Youth, Swans, Sunn O))), Red House Painters, Godflesh, Codeine, and PJ Harvey...” and according to the info sheet we got with out download promo copy of the album, with this new album “...Aidan Baker produces an unconventional album – even to Baker standards. Having been known for his extensive Ambient soundscapes, Baker chose a different approach to his sound weaving – albeit true to the “Bakersound”. In stead of a densely layered and broad sound palette, Baker has almost embraced a “Post-Rockish” method of composing. More compact, pointed and clear progressions can be discovered, together with a diverse array of instruments, sounds and techniques...”. Still, that same info tells us to expect the classic Aidan Baker, captivating, fascinating and repetitive mesmerizing sounds – but with a different twist to it! Who cares, as long as the session is released officially? Because that enables more people to getting their hands on his music, isn't that right? And góód music it is too, I tell you: I've listened to this album throughout the whole of yesterday (and that until into the wee hours too), and I still don't get an inkling of a bored feeling! Besides the guitar, Baker also makes use of piano and keyboards, and there's the use of a drum machine set at low volume, to make for a background sound, but also as the foundation for the more structured tracks (some of the drum play being rather “frantic”, it's a good thing that the drumming is indeed most probably digital, because it would be hard to set the volume on a live drum to the intended level). Also, quite a few of the tracks become songs by the addition of whispers/ whispered chants, and the fact that you can barely make out what he's on about (except for one brisk question during “Corridors Of Funk”) brings a bit of enticing mystery to the whole. For samples of the man's past music (no material off the new album is posted), check (www.) myspace.com/aidanbakermusic. I love this to the point that I'll be checking at my local record store whether I can still purchase some of this Canadian artist's albums, no matter whether as a solo artist, or in his other bands/ collaborations! Top year-list material, period!!! 98/100 Tony. |