William HOOKER "Complexity #2"
KOS Recordings | CD

First, a question "What the hell is a co-partner of jazz/avant rock star Zeena Parkins and noise guitar rocker Thurston Moore, doing in my pile of records to review? Would it be another mistake in promotional actions?" falls as fast as it arose. Imagine a beginning of a record like this - sounds of a wind storm and beach-combers mixed with a noise of a jet plane. In a moment you can hardly notice, this grinding wall is replaced with likewise blasting electronics, and it is then that William Hooker's drumming comes in for the first time. These opening minutes are attempts to mimic nature, but it quickly turns into a group jamming - real instruments (W. Hooker - drums, Eyvind Kang - electric violin) vs electronics (D.J. Olive - turntables, Doug Walker - synthesizer) that took place at famous Knitting Factory on 20.09.2003. "Twelve Windows" is the first, over 40-minute long, cut from that evening when the musicians struggled with the difficult, and totally contrastive natures of free jazz and turntablism/noise electronics. There's a helluva of noises, blasts, charming disorder and passion! The group improvisation is rich with many turning points - the things are mixed: one time electronics are in the fore-front, another time they serve as a background for the drums, and violin. Sometimes they play some parts collectively and it sounds like a planned music, and next they play against themselves - we've got fighting (there are virtually moments when you can hear a whiz of a bullet!), and symbiosis. No peace on the borderline! The second cut, "Emergence" continues the extreme meshes from the previous session to skip smoothly into the final track which is mostly a display of William's stampede drumming. It's clear that the two tracks form a whole. The sound of "Complexity #2" is raw yet but very spatial. An extremely listenable record! Great!

[krzysztof sadza]