Dismantlists – Evidence
This work is more ambient, with a post-Robert Fripp & Eno feel mixed liberally with modern classical influences. It creates an aural atmosphere that may go into the ears but will prickle the senses. It’s indulgent, benevolent, & ambitious, with the ability to stimulate the imagination if you allow it.
This 7-track 3rd album Evidence (Dropped Nov 13/Workshirt/39:07) was performed & produced by Minneapolis musician Steve Seel (guitar/manipulations), whose performance moniker is Dismantlists. The music was recorded in Minneapolis’ Blue Room. While listening, I was reminded of similar musical landscapes of the past. Some even with vocals (there are no vocals on this LP). But musicians like Julie Driscoll explored such ambient variants.
There’s evidence of ingredients culled from Julie’s second husband’s ambitious double album Septober Energy. Other Keith Tippett variants, as well as Michael Hoenig’s “Departure From the Northern Wasteland” (1978) & some work by the late Michael Hedges. You could probably throw Mike Oldfield in since some of his soundscapes touch upon this style with less intensity than his “Tubular Bells.”
Seel’s exceptional touch is in his dreamy, ethereal, atmospheric playing. While repetitive in spots, it’s held together by the melodic swipes that drip like summer raindrops off leaves. “When You Run Away But Can Still See the House” & “So Long, Tomorrowland” are factors in this performance swirl. What Seel effectively does is not go deep into the avant-garde of Philip Glass (“Einstein on the Beach”) & John Cage or scrape along the edges of progressive jazz electronica’s eccentric modalities. The music can help narrate sped-up frames of sprouts growing in a bed of soil, hummingbirds in flight & any nature shots: clouds, storms & light.
“Under the River” is actually more of a whirlpool of sound luxuriantly played to penetrate the senses. Instead of attracting the tapping of dance feet, it appeals to the mind as a synthesis. Creates visions. Moods through sound. Seel’s approach doesn’t accentuate the cold sound of synthesizers, but the warmer blend of its ability to create curves through musical notes.
It’s not for everyone. Its appeal is to a select audience. Some will dismiss it as weird, not as intense as Fripp, Eno or Paul Winter Consort, who cultivate such environments. But the earliest informer of such music may have been Moondog (“Bird’s Lament”) before synths & electric guitars were applied as Seel does here. “A Shifting Band of Rain” plays with the suggestion of an initiated, inspiring ballet/dance. Eloquent swirls braided together to envision a dancer as she moves through calm water, arms akimbo & hair drifting behind her with an acute gentleness. Let your mind wander in its warmth. With headphones. Eyes closed.
Highlights – “When You Run Away But Can Still See the House,” “So Long, Tomorrowland,” “Under the River” & “A Shifting Band of Rain.”
Color image by Jessica Brown. CD @ Bandcamp & https://www.dismantlists.com/