As the release notes say, strange meets beautiful in this wonderfully different debut album from Canadian musicians Songs Of Tales. Songs and stories told through the power of simple themes, blended with sonic experimentation and complex rhythms is perhaps the best summary of what is on offer.
A dizzy blend of ideas inspired by the likes of Charles Mingus and Ornette Coleman through to brooding film music, eastern and folk influences, Life Is A Gong Show is certainly never a dull listen. The broad range of instruments, including violin, electronics and oud, is matched with broad musical tastes and experiences from the performers.
Jesse Zubot spans multiple genres. He’s known mainly as a violinist and exponent of electronics, whilst Petr Cancura covers styles as wide as bluegrass, free-jazz and Brazilian, Balkan and African inspired projects.
With this range of styles from such individualists, coming together was a leap into the unknown, which pretty much sums up the experience for the listener as well. Raw, exciting, adventurous stuff.
Discography
Traure; Burning Bright; Awake; Cinema; Jojis; Cluster; Non-Fiction; Sun Sets In The West; Moanin’; Sideways; Mary Go Round (48.58)
Gordon Grdina (g,b,oud); Petr Cancura (ts, kyb); Jesse Zubot (vn, b, syn, cga); Jean Martin (d, elec, vib). Vancouver, 20-22 November 2019.
Roots2Boot Recordings 20-02
