Two new releases from ESP-Disk' present two different kinds of collaborations. One is a first-time meeting of minds, the second a follow-up on a combination that shows the players from vastly different backgrounds coming together to blend cohesively.
Joe Morris/Elliot Sharp
Realism
(ESP-Disk') joemorriselliottsharp.bandcamp.com/album/realism
Putting two free-thinking guitarists together in a studio can present a risk. Things could get cluttered quickly, with scads of ideas shooting out at once. But Joe Morris and Elliot Sharp both play with intense focus to the extent that, even if things seem to go off the rails, they always have control and vision to know where things will proceed in tandem.
The incredible thing about Realism is the way both players seem to maintain a deep concentration on the sounds they produce while using their playing to complement and respond. Each guitarist is panned hard to their own speaker (Morris on the left, Sharp on the right). Sharp creates sustained electric washes that flow around Morris's plucking in "Shapes Maintained," never getting in his way. When Morris utilizes effects, his attack seems to move backwards, with Sharp becoming the player who works without sustain. Both of them plink away in "Neither Odd Nor Even" each in a different register with a different approach. Sharp's harmonics add a rich texture and later in the piece this sound takes on the guise of an organ.
The metallic clatter at the start of "Light Asking" evokes the idea of Morris and Sharp literally building something. Morris ends up exploring the harmonic universe with a fast array of technique that may or may not be picking or hammering but sounds beautiful, regardless. This track ends with Sharp sounding like a blend of claves and dead wax record static. Even a track title "Soft Version" manages to combine a plucked melody that is soft while the dialogue still manages to keep it rough around the edges.
There are moments on Realism where it's easy to imagine Morris and Sharp exchanging glances of excitment about what they are creating. Yet it's just as easy to imagine each player looking down at the strings, lost in thought. Figuring out when those moment are provides the rewards of the listening experience.
Wolf Eyes x Anthony Braxton
It's hard to believe that 20 years have passed since multi-reedist/composer Anthony Braxton first collaborated with noise musicians Wolf Eyes at Victoriaville, the results of which appeared on the album Black Vomit. That pairing said a lot about the wide-ranging sonic perspective of Braxton, who had seen the group a year prior in Sweden and liked them so much he bought every release on their merch table. The onstage meeting of the minds felt brutal and might not have gone too far beyond the scope of mutual appreciation. But hearing Braxton yell excitedly onstage brought back memories of his early days in Circle performances and proved he was having a good time.
Wolf Eyes x Anthony Braxton feels less like an odd pairing (though "pairing" isn't a truly appropriate description since Wolf Eyes is a duo of Johnny Olson and Nate Young) and more like a meeting of the minds where the various contributions come together in a cohesive manner. It consists of two tracks, "Side A" and "Side 1," which last 20 and 16 minutes respectively.
Things begin with electronic drones fading up and down as Braxton blows a quick sopranino fanfare before switching to alto. Electro static drops in occasionally as the saxophone lines get more aggressive. Braxton never sticks with one horn for very long but the quick changes complement the way the soundscape frequently morphs behind him. The performers are all have a good sense of how to use open space to their advantage before submitting to a haphazard pulse and extra layers of electric waves.
The opening moments of "Side 1" (the second track) include a whoop, presumably from an audience member at Pioneer Works in Red Hook, New Jersey where the performance occurred in 2023. It's tempting to conclude that the listener might be reacting to the force of the sub-bass tones coming from the stage. They sound as if they could rattle one's sternum in real life. But it's likely the person whooping was excited to hear Braxton approach the mighyt bass sax again, which delivers nearly four minutes of aggressive honks (longer than usual) before he moves to the sopranino.
Those low electronic bass notes never really go away but they do create a rather enthralling blend of sounds that often have a choral feel behind Braxton. Olson or Young's array of sounds include something that could very well be Braxton sampled and manipulated to complement the maestro. Or it could be Olson's pipes (the credits don't specify what kind of pipes) or even Young's harmonica doing the work.
Whatever adds to this swell of sound is not the main thing. The final result, a real confluence of sound that feels like a difference type of Ghost Trance music, brings these two no longer disparate forces together in a wild manner that fits with the ESP tradition.
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