Leo Records
Triangulation : Whirligigs (CH/F,2010)**°'
Triangulation is an improvisational group with and mostly led by a living encyclopaedia of vocal expressions, vocalist Bruno Amstad. Then he sings Indian style, Pakistani style, as a living beatbox, with a low voice, and softly, like an instrument, imitates certain jazz and free jazz experimentalists (Phil Milton,..). Like a human parrot it seems like he remembers a lot and is capable of repeating lots of impressions of things he heard. The band mostly accompanies this in a minimal way to leave the opening for new ideas. Their approach can be loop-like, repetitive and a rhythmic mainstream version of improvised jazz music. Often it seems like the group is falling asleep with the voice lead, remaining rather steady and easy and smoothly. But then, occasionally and finally the band themselves lead more and then you can hear they are capable of much more. Interesting rhythms suddenly are explored or beautiful jazz guitar. On “Magic Carpet Ride” and the track after that the band suddenly shows off with a jazzfusion-rock style with brilliant guitar, and leaving the voice as a secondary instrument, which suits them in fact better, finally coming to something, like the label says “what Weather Report could have become but never did”. The band could have been such a jazz-rock band but then loses itself again in its quietness moments further on, returning them into an instant live improvisational band with different interesting elements that appear but rarely too many together to come to a bundled compositional thing to remember.
This is the second Triangulation album (the first was also on Leo records). John Wolf Brennan appeared on many more albums from the label.
Triangulation is with Bruno Amstad on vocals, subcontrabass and loops ; Christy Doran on guitars, loops and FX ; John Wolf Brennan (who came from 70s rock-jazz band Om ; more recently with New Bag) on piano, organ, e-piano, clavinet, melodic, accordion and Indian harmonium ; and Frenchman Patrice Heral on percussion, loops and voice.
