Bite!

MARK ALBAN LOTZ & LOTZ OF MUSIC: Bite!
LopLop, 2009

MODERN JAZZ – Oh, how awesome is this… music composed for a Dutch multimedia project about fish. It’s fun, unpredictable, and loaded with unique sounds including prepared piano, PVC flute, and a rubber-band thingy they call a “brim-bram.” The longer tracks are more melodic/jazzy, the short tracks have an avant/improv feel. Very cool.

* * * * | All tracks good. Fo’s Picks: 1, 2, 7, 12, 13, 15

1. 2:39 – splashy/perky… then cool stroll with big bassline & funny squeaks
2. 4:50 – laid-back groove & percolating flute riff, relaxed round of jazzy solos
3. 0:20 – circus-like interlude
4. 0:42 – low and bubbly, with murmuring vocal sounds
5. 5:23 – upbeat 5/4 tune: happy flute goes to town over catchy rhythm
6. 0:50 – prepared piano and liquid deep-sea atmosphere
7. 2:17 – exotic: dual flutes weave gently over a deep reverberating rhythm
8. 0:51 – the sharks are circling… creepy!
9. 6:10 – floating, bittersweet; burbling percussion, crescendo in the middle
10. 1:08 – weird organic gurgles alternate with sedate piano
11. 1:30 – strange metallic wobbles, steady flute floats thru, unperturbed
12. 4:51 – pvc pipe “flute,” tick-tock rhythm, mysterious with mounting tension
13. 3:34 – scattered rhythm, comic sounds come together in a prideful way
14. 1:23 – slow chamber melody over wet clattery sounds & ululations
15. 4:24 – splashing & gongs, then flowing cello & flute melody… really nice.
16. 3:28 – slow-motion flute & cello pas de deux, well done
17. 2:10 – slow, careful melody with many exotic sounds around the edges
18. 0:45 – an amorphous blob
19. 4:43 – calm, lyrical, dignified with just a hint of mystery

[ Fo ] 05/03/09