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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

So Percussion, Grey McMurray, Where [we] Live

Where [we] Live (Cantaloupe 21087) is all about home, and it's also all about genre bending. Guitarist-vocalist Grey McMurray joins So Percussion in an adventure that combines song forms, narrative, a bit of post-prog avant rock, new music, world music, post-minimalism and other channels of musical expression in a tightly sequenced program of music that shines forth in ways that stick in the mind.

The narrative recalls memories of home--the home of childhood, the homes after youth has flown. The McMurray (well sung) vocals center around personal images and reflected emotions about those homes, memory, and life.

Musically there are rather uncanny combinations of percussion ensemble music and rock, with synthesizers/keys and McMurray's forward leaning guitar work forming an important part of the mix.

So Percussion and McMurray collaborate on the music and lyrics. The result is a very new form of extended art song that has people like Mike Mantler, Robert Wyatt, Carla Bley and Jack Bruce as predecessors, but goes in a collectively personal direction that offshots from there.

The various combinations and interweavings of percussion, vocals, and guitar-synth ensemble provide the listener with an unforgettably memorable tapestry of music. If you abandon the categorical imperatives of genre and just sit back and listen, you will be rewarded with something most unusual, and most excellent.

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