psych-folkish / free-jazz / improvised music presents

Scatter

CD (2005), CD (2006)

-> Nalle

-> Family Elan

->Stephanie Hladowski

Pickled Egg Rec.   Scatter : Surprising Sing Stupendous Love (UK,2004, re.2005)***°'

I was lucky to still find both Scatter releases, of which this first one is less folk-acoustic psych than I expected. It starts pretty much with post ethno-folk alike improvisations, warmed up with a sort of communal semi-spiritual-celebrative folk improvisation, with ritualist harmonium and group singing, Balkan sax, this evolves throughout the album to real good jazz improvisations comparable to the period of spiritual jazz, with inspirations from the areas of Pharoah Sanders and Sun Ra, with the specific aspect of the spirit of ritual-alike spiritual jazz music. They even adapted Sun Ra’s “Equation” into their scores. This is very good, but unfortunately its cover art gives a misleading impression. (Spiritual) jazz lovers should also check this out !!

Audio: "Urban Conurban", "National Magick", "Alternations Of Pasture And Urban Conurban"

Label info : http://www.pickled-egg.co.uk/scatter.htm

& (with audio) : http://www.cenotaph.org/?page_id=8

Intro on Scatter :http://www.cargorecords.co.uk/artist/1002

& http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scatter_(band)

& http://drownedinsound.com/directory/artists/Scatter

Blank Tapes     Scatter : The Mountain Announces (UK,2006)**°

Where Scatter’s first album captured something of the spiritual ritual of spiritual jazz with improvisation, here a different spirit is improvised upon. For most of the album (just the last track is an improvisation on a more middle eastern sounding tune becoming freer jazz, with spoken word in voice horn), focuses more on Scottish folk music. They play this either with a rather repetitive minimal or simplified improvisation following a slowed down folk melody, at times like a marching folkrock brassband, or funeral marching band, or as if improvised like with a drone folk effect. This sounds for me all a bit too improvised so that it becomes more like a great live performance than a better worked out studio album. From this album on we have the appearance of the singer with the shrill voice, Hanna Tuulikki. In general, together with the middle eastern or is it Balkan sounding tune in the end it predates more the style of the later band Nalle, a group which evolved out of this band.

Audio:"O Death","She Moves Through The Fayre", "The Mountain Announces"

Review with audio : http://www.boomkat.com/item.cfm?id=21537

& http://www.inertia-music.com/catalogue/38972/Scatter/The_Mountain_Announces/

Other reviews : http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3160

& http://www.dwacres.com/node/531 & http://www.tastyfanzine.org.uk/albums50%20may06.htm

& http://www.dotshop.se/ds/release.php?code=BLANK001CD&search=scatter

3 releases of Nalle reviewed on http://www.psychedelicfolk.com/acidfolkreview23.html

The Family Elan is reviewed on http://psychedelicfolk.homestead.com/post-asiatic.html

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