HUGH HOPPER

It's criminal how few have reviewed the works of Hugh Hopper on this site. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on him but I've owned 1984 and Tunity Box for quite some time and they are both excellent - Hugh's solo style may be an acquired taste for some, but he's obviously not copying anybody on those releases. He is aggressive like Magma in spots and Canterbury whimsy shows up in other spots. No vocals at all. I'm not usually a fan of the sound of saxaphone, but I find it fits here. Some of these songs are from Tunity Box, others I had never heard before, but ten plus listens to this comp I find nothing tedious. This is entertaining stuff for progheads and aggressive jazz fans. $1.99 used on ebay

An album of sensitive, somewhat melodic, protracted keyboard experimentation with support from jazz bass by two Canterbury artists still committed to the original spirit of Canterbury Scene artists. The problem herein is the lack of direction: each song sounds like it exists purely for study or experimentation with a certain sound, cadence, chromatic sense, rhythm, sequence, or nonmelody.

1. "Seen Through A Door" (5:54) sounds an awful lot like some of ANTHONY PHILLIPS keyboard work from this era and later--soundtrack like in a rudimentary, almost rehearsal kind of way. (8.5/10)

2. "Morning Order" (6:32) again, sounding more like the background music to a segment of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, the keyboard work progresses nicely as the bass remains fully present and supportive. Again, more experimental in nature as there is very little melody presented for listener engagement. (8.5/10)

3. "Fishtank 1" (4:56) more keyboard "practice" as bass plays one chord every twenty seconds or so. Nice melody from the left hand of the keyboard. (8/10)

4. "Two Rainbows Daily" (4:14) piano-based with a little more lively bass support and interplay. Reminds me of Lyle Mays' work. The structured and complete-feeling song on the album so far. (9/10)

5. "Elibom" (5:04) a duet that feels quite equal in participation, though, again, the melodic sense makes it feel more like an étude or a television soundtrack. (7.5/10)

6. "Every Silver Lining" (5:23) sounds like a TERRY C. RILEY practice session or early Berlin School contrivance but certainly not a complete song. (7.5/10)

7 . "Waltz For Nobby" (9:07) slow, delicate pace--could almost be a soundtrack for a children's story or an episode of Mr. Rogers. Very pretty melodies throughout and I love spaciousness. (9/10)

Bonus tracks on 1995 CD remaster: While the seven songs selected for the original release are void of any percussion/drums, these have percussion support but are much more demo-sounding in sound quality and, thus, more even more sparse, incomplete, and practice-like in their form. Nothing so very extraordinary here.

8. Chunka's Troll (4:03) experimental jazz 9. Little Dream (5:16) trio sublteties 10. Soon to Fly (4:03) classical piano bar 11. Bracknell Ballad (4:10) warm up of all instruments 12. Stopes Change (3:25) drums plus

In my opinion, this collection of songs, both the original and the 1995 re-issue, are only worthy of recommending to Canterbury Scene completionists or fans of either of the two musicians on the billing.

1984 finds a solo Hugh Hopper presenting all-instrumental Orwellian Canterbury that will tickle the fancy of anyone who liked his contributions to Soft Machine's Third. Representing a somewhat more serious and experimental musical direction than was typical in early Soft Machine (though it flowered on Third if you discount Moon In June), whilst at the same time steering further away from more typical jazz-rock territories than Soft Machine were ploughing at the time, this album was long in conception and reveals that even as the Softs were becoming steadily more conventional, Hugh at least had the spirit of their glory days still strong in him. One can imagine the early RIO crowd listening very carefully and taking detailed notes.

Well, not quite

Hugh Hopper's 2004 multimedia collaboration with graphic artist Matt Howard The Stolen Hour is a groovy full on acid-jazz record, so some of its appeal to progheads might be lost. It is mostly instrumental, with bass grooves and saxophone leads almost exclusively carrying it through. The occasional famous guest (*cough cough* Robert Wyatt *cough cough* Didier Malherbe) drops by but remains largely unnoticed, as musically there is really nothing that memorable here.

The graphic side of the project is perhaps the most interesting. Included on the CD is a PDF file containing a 22-page comic strip by Matt Howard to which the music serves as a soundtrack (each track on the album can easily be attributed to a specific section in the comic strip). Listening to album combined with the comic seems indeed the best way to approach both, as each individually might fall a bit flat.

While the title The Stolen Hour refers to the plot of the comic strip, one can hardly resist using it as a cheap pun to describe the listening experience (the album clocks at just over 61 minutes). However, this isn't entirely the case - while not my cup of tea, it is an interesting project worthy of more than a couple of listens/reads, or even just as snazzy background music.

Existing at the harder end of the Canterbury-ish fusion spectrum, Hopper Tunity Box is an album which makes the case for Hugh Hopper, along with Robert Wyatt, being one of the key personalities in Soft Machine. Though he wasn't a founder member of the group, he was in the predecessor band The Wilde Flowers and joined the Softs very early on, and arguably his raw and dirty bass sound was a key element in Volume 2 and Third. High-quality Hopper solo albums like this one underscore the point that it was his bass work which gave classic-period Soft Machine its crucial edge - an edge which I feel was sidelined a little in the albums leading up to Hopper's departure and entirely absent from the group's sound after Hopper jumped ship, a process remarkably reminiscent of the silencing of Robert Wyatt's vocals.

So, if you're a Soft Machine fan who felt that the Softs lost a little something each time they jettisoned one of their key members, it'll be of interest - and fans of the less twee and more jagged sort of Canterbury may find themselves charmed by this one too. Guest spots from fellow Softie Elton Dean and from National Health's Dave Stewart are also notable.

HUMI were a "short-lived" (very sadly for all fans ... the reason is well-known though) two-piece experimental music project, formed by Hugh HOPPER (bass, loops, electronics; ex-Soft Machine) and Yumi HARA CAWKWELL (voices, keyboards, percussion) in 2007. They released one (and only) album "Dune" in 2008 via Moonjune Records, that could be crystallized with two tremendous talents for uncivilized strange experimental music scene. They could have gone on a tour all around the world along with this fascinating album, but very sadly this (dreamy dream) tour could not complete because of Hugh's illness (leukemia), and this "Dune" had got to be his last studio creation. We can feel his magnificent scale via this work obviously.

Amazingly, this is HUMI's creation, not Hugh & Yumi's one. That is, in all songs of this album, not that one player plays with supporting another, but with stimulating another like an actress / actor upon a theatre stage or in a movie screen, let me say. Yumi's terrific keyboard play and mysterious, unexampled voices, Hugh's deep bass and refined electronic sounds throughout the whole production can be approved by almost all reviewers, and furthermore, this album notifies me how important an actress / actor can show and tell her / his play depending on the situation or atmosphere.

Taking the second track "Shiranui" for example ... Shiranui is a Japanese monster or illusory phenomenon (Sea Fire ... the subtitle of this song) that may be brought by the monster everyone says, and we can easily feel such an eerie air via Hugh's weird synthesizer shots and Yumi's scattered but graceful piano touches. But at least for me, in this song Yumi's piano sounds like a pretty girl playing with pleasure upon an extensive and ruined dune produced by Hugh's magnificence. Extremely more obvious in the three-piece "Dune" suite - Hugh's heavy, deep bass kicks can be compared to the huge desert, his weird elektronika to sand stirred up by a wind, and Yumi's keyboard sounds to stardust, and her voices to hot, dry, but mysteriously comfortable air over the dune ... in my mind.

Let me emphasize, Yumi's play is very eclectic and colourful ... wearing a sensual expression in "Hopeful Impressions Of Happiness", a serious and solemn one like a shrine maiden in "Seki No Gohonmatsu" (in Izumo, Japan ... anyway), dark green wind-blowing (very tough and painful) in "Scattered Forest", large drops of snow falling onto Hugh's eccentric rocky tract "Awayuki". And yeah, I love especially the last track "Futa", where all (both Hugh's and Yumi's plays) should be well-broken and scattered into piece ... addictive psychedelia beyond expression. Always stimulating each other aggressively ... this is the most important and impressive point on HUMI.

Kudos for them, and the late Hugh.

The third and final instalment of productions released by multinational project Humi, consisting of bassist Hugh Hopper and keyboardist/vocalist Yumi Hara Cawkwell, was a limited edition live DVD-R, presumably planned sold at a tour in Japan that never came to be due to Hopper's health failing him in 2008. It is now available through Yumi Hara Cawkwell's website.

It is a relatively brief affair, clocking in at 53 minutes, covering material issued on the studio album "Dune" and the live CD-R "Parallel Dune". As such one doesn't get to hear any additional material from this duo if purchasing one of the 99 copies that were made of this DVD. What you get is footage from two concerts, one from 2007 and one from 2008, the two sets rather different in quality.

The older footage suffers from poor video quality, with grainy picture quality, relatively poor resolution and low quality colour reproduction. Captured by a decent quality video recorder presumably, but without the bells and whistles that enables high quality footage from challenging surroundings. Some simple effects have been applied for variety, superimposed images and black and white effects most notably. Hopper and Cawkwell both gets a fair amount of standalone footage, and I would guess some will find the most interesting parts of the material the shots that focus on Hopper's instrument skills.

The footage from 2008 is better in general quality, and while sharpness is still somewhat of an issue visible grains in the images are non-existent and colour reproduction as well as sharpness is of a fairly decent quality. Some form of collage effects is used extensively, especially on the first of the two tracks from this concert, presumably due to several cameras being in action. Most of the shots taken from different angles are of relatively poor quality however, the main camera heaps and bounds better in quality.

Audio quality is of generally good quality from both concerts, and if it is due to the lower quality speakers in my TV-set or due to the images enhancing the audio experience, my experience with the audio footage was that it was sharper and less dampened in nature than on the live CD issued at the same time.

The music as such is better described by me and others elsewhere, for me that part of a live DVD is actually of lesser importance when describing it to others. I presume that any buyer of a live DVD will be familiar with the music on it already, but in the case of this being otherwise my brief summary of these excursions are that they are of a minimalistic nature, performed with an improvisational and avantgarde approach, residing somewhere within the jazz universe. Bass and piano or bass and vocals are the main ingredients, and the performances explore the dynamics between these in a minimalistic and often repetitive manner.

But it is the image and audio quality combined I emphasize on when summarizing towards a recommendation for this production, and my overall one is that this is a DVD for the specially interested. Existing fans of this duo who know and love their music have this as their sole opportunity to see them performing live, and as long as that is a matter of interest this DVD is the proverbial it. Some bassists may have an interest in seeing Hooper perform too I gather, but other than that I suspect most others will have a stronger interest in assessing Humi's CD's before contemplating purchasing this DVD.

HUMI was a collaboration between the late bassist Hugh Hopper and Japanese vocalist and keyboardist Yumi Hara Cawkwell, who in one year recorded and released one official studio album, a limited edition live album and a live DVD also issued for a select audience only. "Parallel Dune" is the limited edition live album, and was released in June 2008.

And 2008 was probably planned to be some year for this creative duo. I surmise that this limited edition CD-R had been planned in conjunction with the Japanese tour Humi had planned, a tour that was cancelled due to Hopper's medical condition. It is still available however, but now from Yumi Hara Cawkwell's website.

Musically we're dealing with a sister production of the studio album "Dune", rather unsurprisingly. The CD consist of three unedited studio takes, two from a live performance held in London in 2007 and four excerpts from Humi's MySpace page. The latter actually the most intriguing for me, as the shortened length means that the ideas explored on these excerpts never becomes repetitive.

And the latter word is one that very much describes this disc, alongside words like minimalistic, avantgarde and jazz. Hopper's bass guitar accompanied by Cawkwell's powerful vocals, the piano and on some instances an organ. With a few effects and percussion details thrown in for good measure.

All of it excellently performed as far as I can tell, their skills as instrumentalists and vocalist never one to be questioned by me nor others presumably. But the context and compositional framework they utilize does end up with a final result that is for the specially interested.

Innovative bass lines and piano wanderings, improvisational in nature with free form tendencies, and music that relies on the simple contrast between bass and piano, bass and vocals or bass and organ. All along dampened in intensity, even when they hit off on the occasional pacier filled run. Dissonant more than melodic, emphasizing mood and atmospheres throughout.

In the same manner as I concluded with "Dune": Opinions will be divided on this production. If ambient, freeform tinged music of a jazz orientation sounds like an enticing description to you, this is a CD you probably should investigate further. If not, this is a production that most likely won't make a grand impression.

HUMI was a collaboration between the late bassist Hugh Hopper and Japanese vocalist and keyboardist Yumi Hara Cawkwell, who in one year recorded and released one official studio album, a limited edition live album and a live DVD also issued for a select audience only. "Dune" is the first of these collaborative efforts, and was released by US label Moonjune Records in 2008.

And it is an album that quite clearly will have a limited appeal to a niche audience, despite Hopper's involvement and that this is one of the latest recordings he appeared on prior to his illness and subsequent passing away. This due to the nature of the music explored, which combines several stylistic expressions that each on their own generally appeals to a limited audience.

The foundation for these proceedings may arguably be described as jazz. Hopper's bass, loops and electronics and Cawkwell's vocals, keyboards and percussion tend to be improvisational in nature, and while subtle and careful we're dealing with a free form variety of this style here. Not that any of these compositions ever comes across as traditional jazz in any manner whatsoever, but in terms of style and expression the 10 pieces explored have a closer relationship to jazz than to any other genre I'm currently aware of.

But rather than being dramatic, flamboyant instrument performances Hopper and Cawkwell both opts for a dampened, careful approach. If there is anything such as new age or ambient freeform jazz, this CD is a very good example of just that. The performances emphasize moods and atmospheres, and the developments are careful and frequently in slowly developing circulating patterns. And as an additional flavour is the use of electronic sounds and effects, more often than not in the shape of dissonant sounds, noises and drones. Adding a distinct experimental electronic tinge to the proceedings, and in transporting the totality of this production into some sort of avantgarde musical universe. Albeit one of a minimalistic rather than truly challenging nature.

What strikes me most when getting familiar with this production is that many of these pieces would work fairly well as soundtracks. Haunting, ghostly sounds are frequently employed, in particular in the sequences featuring bass and piano alone. But there's some kind of otherworldly, alien atmosphere throughout. Not of a kind and character that will interest any audience to speak of I suspect, but for a select few this production will undoubtedly be regarded as an effort bordering the brilliant. Personally I'll readily admit to not being that charmed by this disc as a standalone musical experience. Circular Dune is a strong atmospheric creation however, and Long Dune another effort that works fairly well, but the remaining tracks is, in my opinion, much better suited to be atmospheric background music in a movie of some kind. With an old fashioned ghost movie or a dystopian exploration as the type of film production I believe this material would be best suited for.

Opinions will be divided on this production, of that there is no doubt. If ambient, freeform noisescape flavoured music of a jazz orientation sounds like an enticing description to you, this is a CD you probably should investigate further. If not, this is a production that most likely won't make a grand impression.

Two rainbows daily released in June 1980 gather together two of the best musicians in canterbury realm - Hugh Hopper and Alan Gowen. They are well known muscicians from bands that made history in this field like Soft Machine, Soft Heap, National Health or Gilgamesh. Well this album is quite diffrent, musicaly speaking from what I've heared on bands mentioned above, this is only bass and keyboards and has a very mellow atmosphere overall. Is definetly a grower, and only after more then 4-5 listnings I become to appreciate this release. Definetly is a complex work where the bass of Hopper is in places excellent and is very well combined with that specific 70s feel of the keyboards of Gowen. Is not a typicaly prog album for the listner, but some pieces are truly great like the opening track Seen through a door, Every silver lining or Soon to fly. For me was a great discover this release, because I was abale to listen to something diffrent in canterbury style and in prog in genersl, with all that I can't say that this is a groundbreaking realse maybe due to the fact that is to mellow for my taste. Anyway I can respect the potential of the musicians involved here and the ideas gathered for this album, still remains a little classic in this field. 3 stars from me, intresting in parts but aswell boring in others, maybe I still didn't grow up enough to really understands this.