Contraphonic Rec.
Bevel : Phoenician Terrane (US,2007)****
Bevel is a solo project of Via Nuon, a Chicago based artist who was active before with the groups Drunk and Manishevitz (besides he also participated with Tanakh, Boxhead Ensemble, Edith Frost, and Shannon Wright). Since 2000 he released three solo albums on Jagjaguwar. This well arranged album is his fourth release.
Sometimes some voices give a strange feeling that they almost use a “wrong” tonal and melodic harmony approach compared to the obvious and usual singing style, perhaps because once they started from not being able to sing that well, and then exploited and developed it into a different but convincing technique, or use their voice in a weird theatre-like way (like Dead Western) or deformed way (just like Tom Waits and Bob Dylan). Via Nuon sings with strang moving up and downs oscilations like a snake on a rock, then climbing up and down with curiosity, while the arrangements themselves are more solid as a rock, more directly recognisable. These arrangements are very chamber-like, with violin orchestrations (by Karl Runge and Laraine Krassner), combined with all kinds of keyboards (with interesting overtones), and different guitars (additionally by Michael Krassner and Tim Rutilli) some electric and upright bass (Ryan Kennedy) sparse percussion (Gerald Dowd), with bits of flute, clarinet or sax (Nat Lepine), or vibraphone (Jason Adasciewicz). On a track like “A Forest Ends the special colours of Via’s voice could slightly be compared to Ian Curtis voice from Joy Division (especially on this track). With each listen the whole thing captures more attention from me, so that a voice like “Balustrada” becomes almost like a favourite for this strangeness. The sweetest and most classically-melodically driven arrangements I think can be found on the last track, “Quiet Resort II” (orchestrations, acoustic guitars, flute).
A special album, beautifully worked out to perfection.
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