The past few weeks have seen the core band return to Sound Gallery studios for a few days of improvising and recording and to work further on some new tracks that have emerged for the live set, (btw we will be airing some new material at Acoustica Festival 12 September and as part of a live session for Phonic FM which will be broadcast on-line on 30 September) some of these tracks have become contenders for the next album Alexandrine - possibly a pre album single release is on the cards.
12 Syllables (sketches for Alexandrine) - preview
12 Syllables is a track that falls very much into new sonic territory as this track was conceived from core band improvisation with the cool signature rhythm section provided by 05Ric (Drums) and Al Swainger (Bass) alongside layers of guitar-scapes and vocal treatments (provided by Grice). The track was then worked on collectively by the über Talented Richard Barbieri (mentioned in my earlier 'Frozen Water' post) who created some incredible movement with vintage sample and hold technology and presented a collection of rare audio gems to compliment the Tablas, Riqs and Duffs of master Egyptian percussionist Hossam Ramzy.
Richard and myself are now working on the production and arrangement for 12 Syllables. The result is unlike anything that we have recorded before for the album and feels like the evolution of the signature [Alexandrine] sound…. glitchy rhythms combined with an ethnic soundtrack from a distant future.
In the next post I will be focussing on the core band and their unique contributions, in this post I would like to talk more about Hossam Ramzy and what he brings to this album.
Hossam contacted me following the release of Propeller, he was inspired and very positive about the last album and we arranged some meetings to share music and vision for some future work together.
We quickly discovered a unique link that we shared over this next project. Propeller was dedicated to my late Father (CJP DFM) and was conceptual in as much as it was designed to work as one piece (though also cool to be administered individually in measured doses). It had a distinctly British feel (my father born in Kent and a distinguished member of RAF) but with some world elements.
Alexandrine is the second part of the journey as it is dedicated to my Mother who although European, was born in Alexandria in Egypt and lived on the banks of the Nile.
Hossam Ramzy was born in Cairo and is a world master Egyptian percussionist, he is also a gifted arranger of strings and works with his own unique stable of Arabian artists. He has worked with Peter Gabriel on a number of albums including 'Passion' and the sound track to 'The Last Temptation of Christ' (the film adaptation of the work of Greek author Kathansakis) and the album 'Us' (both are works that I admire very much). Hossam also worked with Led Zepellin forming a band of Arabian musicians to work on their reunion album 'No Quarter - Unledded'.
Hossam created a series of rhythms and facets that formed the percussive drive for a number of Alexandrine tracks. Some of these contributions have been mangled and treated in the Grice production camp and some remain pure. The introduction of Richard Barbieri's innovative style of sonic programming, glitch and scaping has resulted in an abstract and unique sound - a fusion of East and West - this was the intention from the start and as the album evolves, the vision becomes clearer and the sound multi-faceted - like the gemstone that the album title refers to (with its reflections and perfect flaws).
The outro of the track features a rich tapestry of noise, the core mangled synth melody thrown purposefully down by Richard Barbieri entwined with layers of [Grice] ebow guitars.
There is some work to do on this track but what we have feels right!
I will be spending more time with Richard working on this and the other tracks for the album as his role as both friend and mentor, contributor and co-arranger/producer increases and becomes integral to Alexandrine.
More soon - GRICE
