EMNALÓC

Here is an artist that wholly deserves not only our interest but also our heartfelt admiration. Roland is a Swiss multi- instrumentalist who is now five albums deep into his career, masterfully adept on the guitar, bass and various electronic devices and keyboards. His style is quite eclectic in that his technique can go from one extreme to another, soft and pastoral guitar etchings to effusive and at times, explosive jazz-rock flicks of the wrist that would find a soft spot with fans of Robert Fripp, Mick Karn, David Torn, Markus Reuter, Allen Holdsworth, Herd of Instinct, Djam Karet, etc? Experimental, all instrumental and highly cinematographic soundscapes that conjure spectacles of aural sceneries that only the imagination can fuel. Within each expanded piece, there are brief placid ambiences, often with absolutely stunning bass playing (you got me there!), shifting into impossible guitar designs, decorated with unending exploration and passionate expression. He has enlisted once again the excellent Terl Bryant (Peter Murphy, Iona, John Paul Jones, Joanne Hogg, Rick Wakeman, among a hundred others) on drums and percussion, as well as David Cross (yeah, The Crimson guy) on violin, as well as trumpet player Luca Calabrese, Angelo Lebrato on acoustic guitar and Ondrej Glogar on the carnyx (an instrument used by the Celts of the Iron Age).

The first two tracks "Umiion" and "Assailen" are in the 7?9-minute range and really set the stage for the tone of what is to follow, or so one is led to believe! The first one swoons then rumbles, with constant variation and artistic meandering, Terl can do a mean Bruford, shuffling his percussive edge wherever needed, as Roland guitar shavings do as much visceral damage as possible, sputtering one moment, shimmering the next, then suddenly coiled like a hissing cobra. The bass travels nicely at the end. The second follows suit, the four-string monster still on its reptilian warpath, growling like a resolute beast, as the serpentine electric guitar begins its highwire routine, balancing with both distortion and fluidity, never veering off to far to the side. Terl keeps the relentless pace while the bass and the guitar never vacillate from the purpose of blowing your mind. Phew! What a talent!

Then, when you least expect it, the listener is transported to the hot Carioca beach, as the bossa nova infused "Sevamcao' takes hold, a refreshing tropical interlude from all the previous exaltations. Dancing Bikinis, swaying sand, tanned skin, and a football to boot around, only Luca's smooth trumpet caress to seduce you further.

The opposite atmosphere is offered on the rather more Nordic "Rithnal", a ten minute + megalodon of sound with a riveting Frippian guitar foray of sustained power notes, thunderous percussive blasts, and a sombre, darker, very icy cold feel. The ripping guitar really sounds more like a grinding axe (with an axe to grind, LOL), voluble, vigorous, and verbose. Roland even dares to momentarily slap down some simpler riffs, making them even more glamorous by the sheer audacity of including it in the maelstrom! I am pretty sure this will knock a few unprepared listeners to the canvas, searching for their dislocated jaw (yet strangely, still smiling!). A ridiculous track!

The next four tracks veer towards more subtle and contemplative musical explorations, certainly even more experimental and introspective. "Yndrun" is a towering manifesto of ambient shimmer, an ideal set up for an overt Asian mood with Luca's sensuous trumpet, a clicking cubic percussive backdrop, and some slippery bass lines. Think Mark Isham or David Sylvian as a possible influence, before Roland slices through the misty sonic fog and delivers a muted yet complex guitar incursion that soars, swerves and simmers. Relaxingly adventuresome. The three-part within one track "Letarladoth" remains well anchored within the contemplative mood for most of the time, a glimmering tapestry of smooth sounds that set once again the stage for an electric guitar surge of the highest quality, all restraint and feeling. The third part has the bass, drums and the fretboard coalescing into one final 'Uf Widerluege' (goodbye in Swiss German). On the quirkier "Berithlan", the undulating guitar phrasings would make the Crimson madman quite proud, as Roland massages, caresses, twists and occasionally even tortures his strings with seemingly little effort. The acoustic guitar acts as a perfect foil for the quixotic sounds emanating from the speakers, a truly humbling listening experience.

And now, we have arrived at the 'letzte haltestelle' (final station) , the enigmatic title track "Emnaloc" , which truly serves to embody within one 12 minute composition, all the rudiments that make this a seminal, I daresay , monumental work of art. Gleaming sounds and effects, dissonant percussion, savagely untamed electric guitar lines and that monstrously vacillating bass that keeps it all in check. The lead instrument is once again the much- maligned trumpet, that sunshiny brass apparatus that suggests both masculine grit and feminine seduction within one breath. The final axe exploration is the proverbial arrow going through the apple, that was firmly resting on the head of William Tell's son. 'Apfelsosse' anyone?

This should be on very prog fans, to-buy list, a tremendous listening experience for the discerning instrumental prog fanatic. I looked up all the song titles for some clues and it seems that these are all Kobaian-like fictional words that proffer a specific mood or feel. Roland is also a pinhole photographer, and his work is quite the original and active artform. The artist most really need to hear immediately.

5 constellations