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SML consists of five Los Angeles-based musicians who are all accomplished artists in their own right: bassist Anna Butterss, electronic musician Jeremiah Chiu, saxophonist Josh Johnson, drummer/percussionist Booker Stardrum, and guitarist Gregory Uhlmann. Their first album was assembled from live improvisations recorded at the now-shuttered venue ETA, as well as additional recordings made at the musicians homes. The record has a loose, fluid energy that appropriately feels like its being captured in real time, yet theres a sort of surreal, supernatural element to it as well. Its hard to really narrow down what kind of music SML plays -- there are grooves, theres ambience, there are solos, and theres group interplay, but it feels limiting to refer to it as funk, jazz, or electronic music. Opener "Rubber Tree Dance" has an elastic rhythm -- along with whirring saxophones and electronic interruptions -- set in motion but feeling detached rather than grounded. "Industry" combines a heavier Afrobeat rhythm with ticking drum machines and buzzing distortion which give it more of a noisy post-punk feel. "Search Bar Hi Hat" starts out with Manuel Gottsching-like cosmic textures, but becomes playful and joyous. "Switchboard Operations," one of several shorter pieces, suspends ringing percussive notes in mid-air and spikes them with rapidly zipping saxophone lines. Another brief track, "Chasing Brain," has more insect-like electronics with a restless boing to them. "Three Over Steel" has dizzying polyrhythms and jagged riffs, but its ambient gloss helps it go down easy. "Feed the Birds," another free-funk Afrobeat jam, continues the weird but friendly vibe. SML lay down some heavy grooves, but their music is less about making people dance than it is about exploring space through communal joy. ~ Paul Simpson

アンビエント・ジャズ。歴史や探求など多様なレイヤーが織り成すシカゴ・ジャズ先鋭"インターナショナル・アンセム"よりグラミー賞受賞作プロデューサー/サックス奏者:ジョシュ・ジョンソンの新プロジェクト作品。他、ギター/ベース/ドラムに加え、アンビエント界注目のシンセサイザー奏者:ジェレマイア・チュウによるクインテット名義。世界的注目を浴びるUKジャズの深化とは傾度の異なるゾーン系の音世界。テクノ、アフロ、民族音楽など連想されるアプローチは勿論だが、各楽器のフィルやアンサンブルがアンビエントにジャズる傑作。ええやんええやん。
intoxicate (C)黒田"ハイプ"朋規