Village of the Sun • First Light
 wenty twenty-two was a
great year for music -- and music on vinyl in particular. Many, many LPs graced the
platter of my Music Hall Stealth turntable, none having received as much replay as this
one. Moe Tucker, drummer of the Velvet Underground, once famously said, “If music
doesn’t have a beat it’s not music -- it’s noise.” On each listen to First
Light, this statement rang true for me. As wild as the music becomes, the beat
remains just beneath, or occasionally on top of, the action. It’s vital and
prescient. Village of the Sun is the name of a trio initiated by electronic dance-music
maven Simon Ratcliffe, a member of British progressive house-music duo Basement Jaxx.
Along with the free-jazz duo of Binker Golding and Moses Boyd, Ratcliffe co-wrote all the
songs on the album except “Ted.” Other than saxophone and drums, Ratcliffe plays
all of the instruments heard. Bandmate Golding handles the tenor sax and Boyd fills the
drum chair. (The duo Binker & Moses has a handful of recordings listed on Discogs, all
on the Gearbox label. I’m embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing about them before
this record.)
“Cesca,” the album’s opener, presents an aural awakening at the sound of sleigh bells, among other percussive effects, shimmering at the rear of the stage. Boyd’s drum kit acts as the rising sun, Golding’s tenor sax emerging from the din with sounds of gathering energy. From these humble beginnings, the song grows into a maelstrom of sound and rhythm before it slowly, gently fades into a calm, quiet conclusion. With its roots firmly planted in spiritual jazz, this song further extends the genre with its cosmic aura, organic flow and searing emotion. If you get John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme or Alice Coltrane’s Journey In Satchidananda, you’ll get “Cesca.” In contrast to the controlled drive of “Cesca,” the title song puts the listener in the center of a frenzied conversation between Golding, who is literally “singing” on his horn, and Boyd, who is generating intense rhythmic interest. Beneath this agitated scene, Ratcliffe’s studied synth work holds things together. Next, on “Village of the Sun,” a synth intro embellished with various percussive effects leads to a steel-drum sound from Ratcliffe. After some background percolating, Golding emerges from the mix with a searching, loosely organized, assertive statement followed by an out-there assault on his sax (as well as the listener’s ears). After several minutes of cacophony, the song ends as calmly as it began. “The Spanish Master,” which opens side two, is the album’s closest nod to modern, swinging jazz. Its Spanish-tinged rhythm is infectious. After stating the theme, Golding takes off into rapturous improvisation. Not surprisingly, Boyd seems to use every element of his drum kit on this one. “Tigris” opens full of suspense with relaxed percussion, bass, synth and piano. Against this background, Golding tells his personal story with some of his most reserved playing. Closing the album, the Eastern-sounding “Ted” features more upbeat, galloping rhythm from Boyd that propels the sax into a virtuosic solo. The spotlight is definitely on Binker Golding here. Where did this stunning album come from? Overseas at Gearbox Records in London, England (and later, Tokyo, Japan). The label was founded in 2009 by ex-drummer Darrel Sheinman, who operates by the theory that “If you record and master something beautifully, you can convince people to enjoy it much more.” To that end, Gearbox Records incorporates a mastering studio built around all-analog tape machines, tubed electronics and a treasured Haeco Scully lathe. Initially focusing on the release of a small selection of BBC archival jazz recordings, Gearbox’s eclectic catalogue of over 150 titles has grown to include, among other unreleased historic recordings, a recently uncovered live set by Thelonious Monk and genre-challenging albums by artists such as Don Cherry, Nico, Sarathy Korwar, Chihei Hatakeyama, Abdullah Ibrahim, Butcher Brown and Nitin Sawhney. In order to fully serve its customers, Gearbox, in cooperation with Pro-Ject, has also released a record player -- the Gearbox Automatic Mk II turntable. This 180-gram LP is flat and quiet with flawless
surfaces. It is presented in an artful outer sleeve with -- hooray! -- a poly-lined inner.
The excellent recording is set back a bit with good depth and soundstage width. Musically,
it falls outside the mainstream by a good distance, yet, despite its often sustained
wildness, it never becomes tiresome or uninteresting. It is essentially a dialogue between
Golding and Moses played against a background of Ratcliffe’s creative orchestrations.
It is produced and mixed by Simon Ratcliffe and skillfully mastered at Gearbox studios by
Caspar Sutton-Jones and Kristina Rhodes. Do yourself a favor and leave your comfort zone
to hear this recording. It could easily expand your musical horizons and change your
musical expectations. |
