HYDROGEN BAND

Given it is from the source, it is no surprise that this is a logical follow-on from the other two EPs in this series, with all three musicians heavily into experimental improvisation, going where the mood takes them. The different multi- instrumentalists switch between what they are playing with an almost hypnotic repetition on keyboards at times and is definitely one of those when if the listener is prepared to spend the time then they will be richly rewarded. It is not as immediate as the others, but Dave and Ian have worked hard on the tapes to create something which is cogent and with direction, as opposed to senseless meanderings ? working through music in this way reminds me a great deal of Robin Taylor and some of his works with Taylor's Free Universe (if you enjoy either act then I highly suggest you check out the other), although the output is quite different. I do not know how much more material is available from these sessions but let us hope there is still more to come as this is both experimental and essential.

Dave is these days often asked to provide his wonderful woodwind playing on multiple albums, but he has always been a keyboard player as well, but I think this is the first work of his I have come across where he is only playing keys, apart from possibly some live recordings in The Muffins. Consequently it seems quite strange, but there is never any doubt that he is in a room with kindred spirits as he and Bev combine to create some wonderful sounds while Barney carefully pays attention and adds nuances, or sits out of a section, or rides roughshod with distortion over the top. As well as being a fine musician in his own right, Ian Beabout is doing some wonderful work these days and he has managed to provide a clarity here which makes it sound as if this was recorded in the finest digital studio only a few days ago, as opposed to in a basement more than 40. This is wonderful improvised electronic jazz which has nods to ambient as well as Canterbury and I look forward to the next two with great interest.

I generally think of Dave as being primarily a woodwind player, but of course he did also play keyboards in The Muffins, and here he is combining with Bev to create layers and ideas while Barney can often be found moving in a quite different direction, yet somehow, they all combine together to make musical sense of what is taking place. In many ways this is a logical progression from what Dave had already been doing with The Muffins, while Barney was heavily into experimentation with Mars Everywhere (they released 'Industrial Sabotage' the same year this was recorded). Together the trio created music which is still exciting and taking us in new directions in 2024, some 44 years after they created it out of the thin air.