BASS COMMUNION / FREIBAND

This limited edition release is a recording of a short live set Steven Wilson and Frans de Waard played together in their respective guises of Bass Communion and Freiband in 2014. Wilson was invited by de Waard, who he had previously collaborated with on "Haze Shrapnel" and "Headwind/Tailwind" remixing each other's work, to participate in de Waard's Brombron project, wherein Wilson would hole up for a week in Nijmegen with another ambient/drone artist, Thomas Kroner, to work together and play a live set. In the middle of this, Kroner had to take a short leave of absence, so Wilson and de Waard quickly cooked up a couple of compositions that they then played live to a small number of invited friends and colleagues at Extrapool, and which was recorded to stereo for us by Raymond Steeg.

Side one is "Courage", a piece done much in the vein of their previous collabs. It is based off of de Waard's then embryonic track "Courriere", and is a drone and light noise piece. It starts with a few percussive-esque tones, and picks up with a deep drone that carries the piece through some static and other calming sounds. It outdoes their previous work, and is a deeply relaxing track.

Side two is "Cowardice", an original composition by the two and an unexpected surprise. Noise returns to drive the piece, a little harsher and very erratic. The centrepoint of the track is a guitar that drones, shreds, and squeals not unlike something you might hear on an industrial album. Various other industrial style tones, noises, and samples close out the piece. Having come to think of it as essentially an industrial track, I find it pretty strong, not the most unique but done well and as a fan of the genre I find it very enjoyable.

All in all, this is some smashing work, giving me new hope for Bass Communion and the project's collaborations with Freiband. His solo work may be atrophying, but Wilson still has some great ideas left in him. Try and snatch up a copy of this before it's too late.