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Nth Entities
Nth Entities
Review by Gary Hill
This disc features the talents of Phil Manzanera and Anna Ledoes. He creates the music and she recites her poetry. The blend of sounds is quite proggy, and really that concept makes it progressive rock, even if not all the music fits. Whatever you want to call this, though, it’s a classy project and the cool packaging – it’s like a book, but also fits into the size of a DVD package – adds to that effect.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2012 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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| Track by Track Review
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All The While
Mellow, world music based sounds serve as the backdrop for the poetry recitation here. It builds out from there with some increased layers of sound added to the mix. The instrumental section later centers on some melodic guitar soloing but also includes lots of proggy layers of sound.
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Cali's Cautionary Tale
There’s a real electronic groove to this and it has an almost hip hip kind of texture to it. While the guitar solo section features a more rocking sound on the instrument, the music is still quite melodic. This thing works really well and moves out into some definitely more typical (if spacey) progressive rock territory as it continues.
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My Nth Entities
Rhythmic, stripped down and quite percussive, this is another intriguing cut.
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Jimi
Distorted guitar swirls around a rhythmic backdrop on this space rock styled cut. Of course, since the Jimi for whom the poem is named is Jimi Hendrix. Somehow, at times it makes me think a bit of King Crimson. The guitar gets a cool solo mid-track. |
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Jimi
Distorted guitar swirls around a rhythmic backdrop on this space rock styled cut. Of course, since the Jimi for whom the poem is named is Jimi Hendrix. Somehow, at times it makes me think a bit of King Crimson. The guitar gets a cool solo mid-track. |
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Lego Limbs
The harmonica and acoustic guitar beg comparisons to Bob Dylan, but this has more of an experimental texture to it.
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The American/British Dream
Driven by noisy guitar, this rocker has a real King Crimson turned electronic feeling to it. The poetry is decidedly political and we get some sound clips at the end to bolster that fact. |
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Mountain Top Dreams
Here we have a mellower tune that’s got definite folk, reggae and jazz in the mix. This is a cool one. It has a real smooth groove and is one of the most accessible. I love the way it drifts into space at the end.
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Scratch
There’s a lot of reggae as this cut opens. As it continues that mixes with space rock. It gets weirder later in the piece as electronic sounds are merged with the concept. The ending section consists of echoey vocals and bass sound. That eventually takes us to just processed vocals that serve to close it. |
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Vowel Play
There is an extended instrumental on this. It is based heavily on acoustic guitar, but is decidedly melodic progressive rock. The arrangement gets more involved as the vocals join. It’s a short little poem with bouncy, pretty music. |
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S.O.S.
Another poem that’s quite political, this one is delivered with no music at all.
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Jimi Reprise
The instrumental section that opens this is decidedly hard rocking and the guitar solo in a great space rock meets Hendrix style. The only vocals on this are sampled looped ones. |
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The Wonder of Wonder
About Stevie Wonder, this is a great, rhythmically based groove. There’s jazz and electronic music in the mix and this really works well. |
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All The While Music
This instrumental is pretty, melodic and very much a slow moving progressive rock ballad-type piece. |
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