de tian – Transcriptome

Discus

The de tian story is an interesting one; back in late 70’s Sheffield, Paul Shaft left new wavers 2.3, who released a record on Fast, to pursue something less structured and more adventurous. Along the way, he came into contact with Martin Archer and between them they pushed the band in a decidedly free direction, playing gigs and pushing boundaries until finally morphing into Bass Tone Trap.

The latter released an LP in 1984, and de Tian must have sat in the back of Paul’s mind over the intervening years until recently when he decided to reinstate the name and pursue those original ideas along with original percussionist Paul Hague. Joining them as a bridge between the different lineups is Martin, who takes care of all reed instruments. The wealth of instruments employed is impressive for a trio and the nine tracks here each represent a different transcriptome dataset, which unsurprisingly gives each piece a decidedly different feel.

Whether the pieces have been stewing for the last thirty-odd years, I don’t know; but whatever the circumstances, they seem to stand outside of the current times, as if the curious mix of Eastern percussive ideas, driving semi-industrial rhythms and scattered jazzy embellishments were waiting specifically to step into a world of their own. It is this odd clash of styles that opens the album with an Eastern loop operating around the soaring sax and a rhythmic synth kind of giving a grounding to things. The hypnotic core groove is scattered with subtle sparks that don’t really prepare you for things turning wild and jazzy.

There is a lightness to the opening track (“Transcriptome 1”) that gives way to a certain industrial oppression as the second track arrives. The sax oozes sinister and there is a grinding kind of soundtrack vibe to it which doesn’t let up as the mournful foreboding of track three replaces it. Things have settled into an awkward sense of foreboding and the out of phase industrial jackboot rhythm of track four doesn’t help. The random elements that sit at odds with this already odd rhythmic coupling become unsettling. It feels as though the players have their own agendas and are subtly trying a little subterfuge.

The whisper of conversations in metal bunkers of track five, or the gasping, random flute that lurks in the shadows of an insistent robotic beat on track six, are features of a dystopian vision, an underground world that seems to blur before your eyes. It doesn’t sit still though, it doesn’t allow you to settle or to assume that you know what is coming next, and the simple six-note sax shuffle that illuminates track seven is unexpected. The ethnicity returns to the rhythm and you feel you are entering another atmosphere. The sax is almost out of place and at times is haunted by a restless recorder, keening listlessly.

Apparently, each transcriptome dataset of which these nine pieces are aural representations are made up of some 5,000 cells, and if anything, this album manages to imbue a sense of utter disparity between each track — yet due to their nature and birth, they clearly come from the same minds. Transcriptome is a unique and provocative suite of songs — and as a one-off forty years in the making, it couldn’t be much better.

-Mr Olivetti-