Вижу Землю / LOOKING AT THE EARTH

Going through the tons of albums I have from Turkmenistan (ha!), I think i've found a favorite! The GUNESH ENSEMBLE (sometimes found only as Гунеш (GUNESH) was a highly eclectic and energetic group led by drummer Rishard Shafi. They were masters of jazz-fusion mixed with all things Central Asian folk including haunting chants and exotic instruments. Of course they even had a Vietnamese singer! After their first album of mostly folk material they really stepped it up and created something truly unique and unbelievable.

Вижу Землю (Looking At Earth) in an unearthly amalgation of musical majesticness. The album begins with a whispering wind and some temple bells before Russian dialogue ushers in some seriously deranged funkiness and energetic percussion and horns with some strange electronic 'talking.' The jazz-fusion doesn't waste any time getting warmed up. You know you're in for a very wild ride with this one. The album continues to surprise with abrupt changes but quite capable of sustaining a beautiful melody in the form of song or chant. The interplay of 10 plus instruments may be going on at any given moment. Absent are any influences from Western bands. All sounds original and isolated like it was all created in a remote area that still hasn't made contact with the Western world. However parts do remind me of Italian avant-proggers Area and the last cut sounds like a traditional Vietnamese song meets the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

If you like eclectic world fusion then you will love this. Must hear to believe.This album had only one vinyl release in 1981 and is probably impossible to find but fear not. Rishad Shafi released the first two albums on CD titled "Rishad Shafi Presents Gunesh."

4.5 stars. GUNESH ENSEMBLE formed in Russia in 1970 as an all vocal band using "state" musicians for live shows mostly. They sang traditional folk songs for the most part. They were very much a collective, and as the seventies progressed they were adding musicians until they were a band, releasing their debut in 1980 with a Vietnamese female vocalist. "Looking At Earth" is their second and final recording from 1984 and features different singers bringing a world music vibe along with the few ethnic instruments that are in play. I do get the jazz fusion tag here with that drummer and bassist especially, and the occasional horn, not the blasting brass parts though.

There are eleven musicians plus vocalists on here. That closer "Vietnamese Frescoes" is like a visit to their previous album with those female Vietnamese vocals early on. Some powerful drumming followed by ethnic sounds. I have to say the first band that this record made me think of was ICEBERG out of Spain, and that's completely because of the drummer here, playing in that fast paced intricate style. He only knows one speed. The clavinet on here is awesome, and the violin is prominent later in the album, and is very impressive.

The album opens with the wind blowing for some time along with church bells ringing before it's like we're listening to a sample from a movie of guys talking including radio transmissions. There's an explosion too at one point before the clavinet comes out of this on fire before 2 minutes. Fast paced drums are in tow and then those five horn players lay down the law. Blasting in unity and the bass stands out too. This is all so good. Jazzy late with sax and more.

The second track "Bu Derdy" is another uptempo tune with the drums leading the way early on. An ethnic direction will follow after a gong. Some deep and I mean deep spoken words arrive at 3 minutes. It's spacey here. Ethnic male vocals follow sounding great, this is melancholic and we get some sitar too when the vocals stop. Multi-vocals are crying out late. The first two tracks along with "Rhythm Of The Caucasus" are my top three. The latter is the longest at 8 1/2 minutes. The clavinet is a great way to start as horns and more follow including violin. Guitar at 1 1/2 minutes. Ethnic vocals are crying out before 3 1/2 minutes in a powerful atmosphere. How good do those vocals sound a minute later. Drums lead around 5 1/2 minutes as the violin solos.

"Oriental Express" honestly sounds like a BRAND X track with those intricate sounds and drums leading the way. Very jazzy and we will get plenty of horns as well as guitar. A Fusion workout right there. "Wind From The Gang" and that Vietnamese closer keep me from rating this the full five stars. Still, I am into both tracks just not as much as I am the rest. This is an incredible record. Different. But a good different with some real players and singers, so much talent here. This will be high on my "best of" 1984 list.

The second album fusing East-West musical styles and sounds from this Turkmenistani band.

Side 1 1. "Байконур / Baikonur" (5:02) fast-moving funk-clavinet opens this one, alone, before flanged dynamic fretless electric bass and the rest of the band join in. The motif is fast and repetitive, with stop and go restarts almost every six or seven seconds over the song's first two minutes, and some cutesie percussion noises topping things off from time to time. Early in the third minute the funk motif shuts down and we're left with a spacey synth and electric piano sound over which percussives, rhythm guitar, and native traditional accordion-sounding instrument play a slow and frozen theme before horn section, bass, and the rest of the full band rejoin to celebrate a kind of mariachi-sounding ethnic jazz theme. Interesting! These musicians are definitely competent and dialed in! (9/10)

2. "Бу Дерды / Bu Derdy" (7:44) drums and percussive synth sound duet for the speedy, demanding opening half minute of this one. Then we interlude with some long "distant" sax notes over spaced-out chord hits following an unpredictable progression. It's like we're on a journey: first speeding down the road, then climbing up the arduous mountain, then enjoying the sights from the lofty, even above clouds heights--this latter performed by pixie dust synth flourishes over angelic synth washes. A god-like voice enters to make some announcement or proclamation (in a language I have no experience with) before backing off for an ensuing conversation between pixies and vocoder-fed voice. Then we transition into a synth- and electric piano-supported hand drum motif over which male vocalist sings in an style that sounds more akin to Islamic religious or Arabian dance music (sometimes I cannot distinguish between the two: both seem so celebratory, even religiously-charged). The melodies of the synth tracks are cleverly integrated into a weave with the vocalist's melody--which is later picked up by what sounds like a sarod or swarmandal before yielding back to the vocalist for the finish. Another very interesting song whose compositional construction leaves me a bit baffled--especially since I don't know the translations of the song title; they sound as if they're trying to compose something that conveys a variety of scenes from a journey. It is a very intriguing, entertaining, and even enjoyable song if a bit poorly recorded. (13.375/15)

3. "Восточный Экспресс / Oriental Express" (3:32) How would citizens of Turkmenistan know of the Oriental Express? Drums and flanged keyboard bass open this before horn section joins in to set up the next motif--which includes a flanged electric bass with all of the horns and big band. Halfway through there is a stoppage after which the band launches into a speedy funky space tune that sounds somewhat imitative of both Jean-Luc Ponty and German bands like ELOY. The bass lines are great, western-style kit drumming tight, and the native guitar playing quite melodic. (8.75/10)

Side 2 4. "Ритмы Кавказа / Rhythms Of The Caucasus" (8:25) another thickly grounded funk bass and drum tune over which violin, electrified guitars and native guitars take turns playing the rapid-fire riffs that make up the traditional-sounding folk-melodies. In the third or fourth minute things stop and a more faith-based tune is set in motion: with violin and male voice picking up the plaintive dirge while a subtly shifting chord of synth-male choir "aah/oohs" drone in the background. I really love this kind of music: it sounds so mystical and devotional. At the 5:00 mark there is another stop and reset, this time into a motif with a fast two-step rhythmic foundation over which violin, local percussion instruments, and guitars speed through their locally popular melodies. An extended hand drum solo in the seventh minute sets up a dynamic return of all of the other folk instruments for the high speed finish. Nice stuff but, again, how/why the three totally different motifs? (17.5/20) 5. "Ветер С Берегов Ганга / Wind From The Gang" (4:32) reverbed violin plays over tabla-like drums giving the opening of this song a rather early-Shakti sound--the main difference here is that keyboard synths are the other contributing soloist instead of a John McLaughlin guitar. Then Middle Eastern synth chords back sarod-like instrument before the synth strings takeover by themselves. Nice electric piano base takes over with the tabla before Indian- or Chinese-sounding bowed string instrument takes the lead. Very pleasant, engaging, and enjoyable song. (I'm a real sucker for this kind of music.) (9.25/10)

6. "Вьетнамские Фрески / Vietnamese Frescoes" (4:20) despite the electric bass and Western drums and electric violin presence, the melodies explored here by the violin, keyboard artist, and traditional string and percussion instruments definitely succeeds in the imitation of what sounds to my uneducated ears like music and melodies that could come from Vietnam. The choppy staccato keyboard-synth sounds taking over the song's second half are interesting-- sounding more space-industrial like something from a Larry Fast SYNERGY or Patrick Moraz I album, but then full drum play rises into the mix and then the rest of the rock instruments, letting the song end strongly like something from a BRAND X or JEFF BECK Wired album. I adore the final motif, am intrigued by the middle synth one, and am impressed by the successful capture in the opening section of of Southeast Asian sounds and melodies. (8.875/10)

Total time 33:35

I do not quite like this album as well as their debut from four years before, but it is still quite and interesting and enjoyable listening experience.

B+/four stars; another excellent collection of folk and traditional music infused Jazz-Rock Fusion from these excellent Turkmenistani musicians. I love the successful blending of Eastern traditional music melodies, instruments, and styles with those of modern technologized Western innovations coming from the 1970s Jazz-Rock Fusion world.