HUGH HOPPER |
| The musicians are : Hugh Hopper : Bass, Percussion, Mellophone, Loops, Comb, Paper, Piano, Bells, Voice, Soprano Sax John Marshall : Drums, Percussion Pye Hastings : Guitar Lol Coxhill : Soprano Sax Gary Windo : Tenor Sax, Bass Clarinet Malcolm Griffiths : Trombones, Backwards Trombones, Speeded Up Trombones Nick Evans : Trombones, Backwards Trombones, Speeded Up Trombones The tracks are : 1. Miniluv (14:38) 2. Minpax I (3:17) 3. Minipax II (3:09) 4. Minitrue (1:24) 5. Miniplenty (17:03) 6. Minitrue reprise (3:08) 7. Miniluv reprise (5:02) 1984 was originally released in 1972 and was the brainchild of ex-Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper. The idea behind the record was to make pieces of music by using tape loops and whatever new eletronic gadgets they could find. I was expecting it to sound very dated, but it could have been made yesterday. The thing that dates it is the obvious acid influence. The record is inspired by George Orwell's ironic book '1984' about a Stalinist State established in Britain with it's four sinister ministries carrying out the egotistical whims of a cynical and callous dictator, Big Brother. The songs are all representations of one of these agencies. Track 1 - Miniluv, the ministry of love, which in Orwell's book was a government instrument of repression. By using tape loops and live overdubs with bass, percussion and mellophone Hopper creates a haunting soundscape. For the first ten minutes the piece sounds like a backdrop for something else, it's has atmosphere and no composition. Then towards the end it really finds it feet. He makes a bottle-neck slide effect by oscillating a coke can on the bass strings. There are three different versions of this, one panned hard left, one hard right and one central. The loops speed up and bring the piece to a climax. It's hard to explain how it sounds because I have never heard anything similar. Unusual but very powerful. Track 2 - Minipax 1, the ministry of war. After listening to 15 minutes of disturbing sound pictures I was glad to hear a full band kick in with a fat funk tune. The piece is still pretty avante garde but much more listenable than the last. Horns play the non linear melody in unison before a great soprano sax solo from Lol Coxhill. In the middle part of the yune, the rhythm section cooks while all the horns get down to some serious collective improvisation. It ends after statement of the melody with what sounds like the tape machine breaking. Track 3 - Minipax 2, is an extremely unusual bit of music. Written for two forward and two backwards trombones. At first it seems pretty random, but after a few listens you can see how structured and complex it really is. The track ended so abruptly, that I had to check my CD player to see if it was broken. Track 4 - Minitrue, the ministry of lies and misinformation This is a short piece lasting only 1 minute 24 seconds, but theres more music here then in the long drawn out sound journey hyped pieces. it has a definate jazz flavour to it. The trombone part is written on the sleeve, so all you trombone players out there can play along should you feel the need. Again the obscure melody is played in unison by the horns which suggests the piece has structure and order to it. Track 5 - Miniplenty, the ministry of shortages. You've guessed it, to represent the ministry of shortages Hopper goes for a minimalistic tape loop effect which lasts a whopping 17 mins 3 secs. I Imagine them recording this bit, tripping their collective nuts off and trying not to laugh out loud. Perhaps the joke is on us? Track 6, is the reprise of Minitrue. It sounds really confused. Possibly first one is the lies and this the misinformation. Avante garde in it's composition, he makes further use of the tape loops to layer the sounds and textures. The last tune is perhaps my favourite track on the album. The reprise of Miniluv is an upbeat jazz rock fusion piece, which at times sounds almost joyful. The majority of the 5 minute track is taken up by a long but worthy trombone solo. The guitarist makes some great use of a wah wah pedal and loads of volume. I wish the album had more of this type of tunes and less of the soundscape boredom of Miniplenty and Miniluv. This album I would say is a must for fans of Soft Machine or L.S.D. Happy Listening!!! This CD is released on by Cuneiform Records. P.O.Box 8427, Silver Springs, Maryland, 20907-8427. U.S.A. Tel : 301-589-8894. Fax : 301-589-1819 Cuneiform Website : http://members.aol.com/Cuneiform2/cuneiform.html Email : Cuneiform2@aol.com |