SOME SOUNDS TO RATTLE YOU (2025): And other sonic delights

Once again while our attention was elsewhere, Auckland's Rattle released a few albums in quick succession.

This year for Rattle started with a drought but then came the flood and we managed to pick up some of the first deluge. Now we take a big breath and dive in again to work by musicians who have appeared at Elsewhere before, in some instances many times.

Rattle's output being the kind of music it is with a long shelf-life, the albums dosn't need to ride that wave of immediate publicity on release the way pop artists have to.

These musicians have been, and are in, for the long haul.

So, on with the countdown.

We start with . . .

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Darren Pickering Small Worlds: Three

Pickering's previous two volumes of Small Worlds (a small group with a changing line-up) won us for their attention to detail in the range of music from almost ambient atmospherics to more fully muscled jazz of a smooth fusion inclination.

The music could also swing at times and the blend of keyboards by the leader (piano, synths) with bass, electric guitar and drums was warm and assured.

Inevitably – and sensibly – this new iteration of the group (bassist Pete Fleming still there alongside guitarist Heather Webb and drummer Jono Blackie) continues on this enticing path, Webb's fluidity impressing every time she moves to the foreground (What If, Tauhou Waltz).

If you've been there for the first two volumes you'll need no further encouragement to buy into this one.

Check out the lovely Folly.

Tauhou Waltz, by Darren Pickering Small Worlds

 

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Ron Samsom: Session 23

In which a Rattle band goes hog wild?

From the opener Wrong Shit with Keith Price's abrasive guitar diving headlong into James Blood Ulmer and Sonny Sharrock's territory, with Callum Passells bringing shredding to his alto, this album announces some seriously provocative sounds.

It's not all quite so heart-stopping (Vibi) but leader/drummer Ron Samsom keeps the bottom end muscular and assertive (Wrack) with bassist Cameron McArthur providing as much rhythmic structure as melody (Tug, a standout which has a mysterious quality, always alluding but never stating).

There is a remarkable and refreshing freedom being explored on these seven pieces (Bridger Ripple with its percussion breakdown and Price's weightless guitar is full of surprises). It's quite unlike some of the music these players have been associated with previously.

Macombs at the end has a propulsive chug from Samsom and McArthur which is a terrific and fun groove beneath the taut soloing from Price then Passells. Ripe for remixes I would think.

An impressive album all round for its assured diversity and classy playing.

Grab your anti-jazz but rock-loving friends and tie them to a chair for the arresting Wrong Shit, they won't struggle to escape.

One for that “best of the year” list.

Tug, from Session 23

 

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Justin DeHart: Pasada

American percussion player Justin DeHart – resident in New Zealand – really pushes the envelope in contemporary music, commissioning pieces by out-there and cutting edge local and international artists alike.

That he gets a response is testament to the high regard in which he is held.

We have written about a number of his albums previously.

For this one he performs/interprets works by Pauline Oliveros, John Luther Adams, John Bergamo and others, names which should be familiar to many.

The 11 minute opener Apple Blossom by American Peter Garland is one of those barely-there percussion pieces which can be as engaging as it can be ignored (very much Brian Eno's definition of ambient music). No disrespect intended.

As expected the Oliveros (Rolling Meditation, 23 minutes) is more energetic and vibrant although again broadcasts on a narrow range of sound for the casual listener (and at times disappears into almost inaudibility).

But these are pieces which do reward careful attention, a kind of soft mantra of percussive sound to let the mind be taken adrift.

The Adams (Always Very Soft, nine minutes) is like the Oliveros on meth and more strident, the challenging 11 minute Eleanor Hovda piece Cymbalmusic Series #4 – Ecce for bowed cymbals is exceptional, but its metallic assault not for the faint-hearted.

Faropace by John Bergamo (who performed with Frank Zappa and was part of the jazz avant-grade with Ornette Coleman) is terrific and perhaps the most familiar style here.

He'd studied Indian percussion with the likes of Ustad Alla Rakha and Ali Akbar Khan, and Faropace is in the tradition of tabla playing.

Although there is a clear and unifying thread through all of these pieces, Pasana is an album for percussion players, academics and the knowledgeable rather than general listeners.

That said, it is quite something – especially the Hovda and Bergamo – and you certainly admire DeHart's stamina and precision.

Always Very Soft, by Justin DeHart

 

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These albums are available at Spotify but you can also hear and buy them from Rattle's extensive bandcamp site here