Bebo Baldan & David Torn
Earthbeat

MASO CD 90082

Materiali Sonori
Via Tre Novembre, 2
I-52027 San Giovanni Valdarno
Italy
Tel: +55-943888
Fax: +55-9120370

From the increasingly impressive Materiali Sonori label comes
_Earthbeat_, sometimes (e.g., the CD) billed as a solo effort by the
multi-instrumentalist Bebo Baldan, and sometimes (i.e., everywhere
else) billed as a collaboration between Baldan and guitar primo David
Torn.  The ambiguity is appropriate: Baldan's compositional and
performance stylings set the tone, but Torn's presence on eight of the
ten tracks is indelible and unmistakeable.

The idealistic aims for the project (the release is dedicated "to the
Earth", and is "a voyage across the planet, in the quest for a common
tongue", etc.) are not quite reached.  True, the music has a very
exotic and world-fusion feel, but not ground-breakingly so.  Perhaps
adding more (some?) non-Western musicians into the stew would have
made these aims more than just trendy ideological penumbra and ersatz
ethnicity: the digeridoo, tablas and Africa choir are note real, but
sampled.  But such tampering may have spoiled the delicate chemistry
that makes Earthbeat such a collaborative success.  No doubt the
sloganeering was pivotal in bringing about this musical union, but
with that accomplished, its role in this release is mostly finished.
What is left is the true prize: fresh landscapes of music, alternately
relaxed and insistent, lush and sparse.

Baldan's percussive array is the main argument for the album's
polyethnicity: djembe, talking drum, surdo and Tibetan bells are just
some of the elements that are tastefully interleaved with samples to
yield a hypnotic concoction.  His piano on the last track, "Ralph" is
also welcome.  Torn contributes not only his guitar and loops, but
also electronic tamboura and kotar (his modified koto).  Torn fans may
be surprised to hear that most of the distorted guitar on the album is
from Baldan, not Torn.

Recorded both in Torn's hangout of Bearsville, NY and and Materiali
Sonori's studios in Italy, the diveristy is further expanded with the
presence of Stephen James on Indian-styled violin on four tracks (and
sarod on a fifth).  Other additions that give individuality to each
track (an aspect that releases of this type often fail to include, to
their detriment) include Marco Castelli (soprano sax), Hungarians
Szabolcs Szoeke and Gabor Juhasz (gadulka and classical guitar), Paolo
Zanella ("liquid" guitar), David Boato (trumpet), and Stefano Olivato
(fretless bass).

Less successful is the inclusion of vocals on "Diving Into the World"
and "Asoka's 9".  The problem is not the Italian vocalists, Marco
Verdica and Momy, nor the clumsy English lyrics, but rather that the
vocals, depsite their attempting to justify the aforementioned
worldmusic philosophical pretensions of the release, are spurious.
They only serve to distact from the brilliant musicianship on which
they are entirely parasitic.  But the mood is not hopelessly
disfigured by these inclusions.  The vocals are pleasant and
forgettable enough that, given the Worldmusic backing, what you end up
with is something akin to _US_-era Gabriel.  Well, sort of.

The release of the album is being primed by the release of a CD single
for "Diving Into The World" with some non-album tracks.  Apparently
videos have been made for "Diving Into the World" and "Niceday", but
let's face it, we're never going to see them.

This is just the beginning for Baldan and Torn; future plans include
collaborating with Trey Gunn of King Crimson.  Baldan has already been
skirting the Frippian fringe, in his past work with Crafty Guitarist
Pietro Russino.  He is touring with Russino and James in September,
and with Torn in October.  Torn also adorns Alesini and Andreoni's
_Marco Polo_, another Materiali Sonori release scheduled for October,
which reunites him with past collaborator David Sylvian.

-- Ron Chrisley