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Quoida is a
US-based multimedia project led by Trey Gunn (King Crimson) and the
artist/musician Joe Mendelson. The project has, according to their blog,
been developed and evolved for 5 years. The multimedia project,
consisting of spoken word, music and video images, has been on tour to
several nations. For the ones wanting to relive the memory of a
performance, wants to check it out before seeing it live or just
basically want to know what it is all about, this CD/DVD package was
released earlier this year.
Musically this is
an off one. The spoken word is as central an "instrument" here as any
other. The stories being told here; that may or may not be connected;
are heavily influenced by ancient myths and legends. Even if you don't
pay attention to what is being said, the phrasing and tone of voice adds
that element of something old and timeless to the songs here. The
soundscapes are given details by the rest of the instruments, synths,
sound effects, rhythms and guitars used in varying degrees to create
different moods and musical textures to each song; most times resulting
in songs that wouldn't have been out of place on a Tangerine Dream
album; but also venturing close to the musical territory of King Crimson
at times. Most of the songs here are very much electronic in nature;
with synths and voice dominating the soundscape; but on some tracks the
guitar is given a central role; and it is in those tracks that the King
Crimson feel to the music is the strongest.
The above
mentioned elements results in a musical score that is highly
interesting. The music has a very timeless feel to it, and many of the
songs have a highly hypnotic quality; transfixing the listener in these
ancient sounding, primal and at times sacral moods. Although the number
of people taking an interest in this music probably are somewhat
limited; those people will get much pleasure from this release.
As this release is
a multimedia project, a DVD is a central part of this release as well.
Playing the DVD you'll get to see and hear the video images combined
with the musical score. I'd guess that there will be more people
enjoying the music alone on this release. The video image part here is
well done, with computer generated effects, computer enhanced images and
computer enhanced video clips; combined with central words from the
stories displayed in various form on top of that. The overall effect
most times is of a highly psychedelic and very "arty" nature; being much
closer to "high brow" art than it is to mainstream art. I suspect that
these images makes much more of an impact in a live setting than on your
telly; but for some this DVD will be the main reason for purchasing this
release I'd guess.
My rating here is
for the musical score alone though, and my overall conclusion is that
this is a strong release; that should appeal to fans of electronic based
music in the same vein as Tangerine Dream as well as fans of music
similar to King Crimson in style and mood.
Rating: 8 (out of
10)
Reviewer: Olav
Björnsen
Visit the Artist’s
Website
Discography
The Arrow [CD/DVD] (2007) |
