Barcelona’s Aalbers have done this before. See, back in November 2018,
the trio worked up a routine for musical accompaniment at a contemporary dance
event – well, “worked up a routine” in that they did that on the spot, considering
the “routine” was actually improvised. But sometimes the best things in life
are left to chance, and the result was apparently such a success that Aalbers
figured they had no choice but to come back to it. And so they did, here, on F.
These new recordings are reimaginings, if you will, of the original
improvisations, because, c’mon: you can’t improv two of the same thing! The
second thing wouldn’t be improv anymore. What you can do is take the idea – the
spirit – of the original and try to
recreate it with similar effect or success. And since I haven’t heard the
original improvisations for the event (thanks a LOT, universe), I have nothing
to compare them to. What I can do is
rate them against my own personal taste, and that’s the direction I’m heading
in right now.
I won’t drag this out – F is
really good. Consisting of three tracks – “efe,” “efeefe,” and “efeefeefe,”
according to Bandcamp (no track names on the J-card) – F takes a minimal approach like Fripp and Eno, or Harmonia & Eno 76 (scaled even
further back), or, uh, Eno. Utilizing guitar, modular synthesizer, computer,
sampler, and contact mic, the trio brews up some post-kraut ambience, a
delicate, precise soundtrack that splits the difference between synthetic
production and tactile playing. I have no idea what kind of dance Aalbers was
backing, but I imagine it was “interpretive.” It certainly wasn’t the
Charleston.
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