Risil
(Important Records)
"Risil is a collective of musicians that are all somehow connected to each other in some form or fashion." Oh. Uhh... This wildly specific and illuminating statement is the beginning of Risil's press release/album blurb for their debut recording Non Meters Volume 1. The intentionally overly cryptic sound bite continues, "The project started as a chance for a large number of people to freely collaborate without a set goal for the end result or achieving a certain sound." Ok. Now we're getting somewhere: No goals and nothing really in mind aside from getting together. Got it. ‘Free love' for sound waves instead of flesh? As pretentious and annoying as this type of intentionally vague language can be (better to say nothing), the music thankfully comes off much better. Whereas the blurb hopes readers will mistake vague for deep (maybe the writers mistook it?), the music itself has actual depth.
Being touted as something of a "super group," Risil includes Guillermo Herren of Prefuse 73, John McEntire of Tortoise, and Zach Hill of Hella (among others). The music here is more like an improvised, electro-acoustic, no-wave hybrid than the spliced hip-hop samples or avant-rock listeners may associate with some of the band members' previous output. Non Meters opens with an abrupt, short sputter of distorted electronics acting as a palette cleanser for your ears. It's easy to cite possible influences: Steve Reich minimalist phasing in the opening "Risil Intro," chance music concepts from Morton Feldman, John Cage, or John Zorn throughout, or even a vocal sensibility akin to avant-garde artist Meredith Monk in one of the more tuneful tracks "There Has To Be." The music is definitely closer in spirit to the 20th century avant-garde than any rock music aesthetic.
With 11 members in the group - four of them drummers, many playing electronics, samples and field recordings being present, lots of processed instruments, etc... - the opportunity for chaos is ever present but kept mostly under the surface. It is often a relatively contemplative, if rather busy, recording. The music works better here when the road map feels a bit clearer, whether the map was drawn ahead of time, in the moment, or in post production. "Oxygen Path, " the longest track at almost 9 minutes, has a clear development from the opening electronic metallic scissors overture, to the overdrive rock drum kit explosion middle section, to the dark and heavy guitar laden outro. "We Were Ruined Before We Started" begins with a longish section of meditative, unintelligibly processed vocals which fade into a wonderfully psychedelic, reverb and delay soaked guitar séance that would make John Fahey dance in his grave.
The closing track, "Risil Outro," is the recording's most tuneful. It opens slowly and mindfully - simple in its rhythmic and harmonic sense with 4 repeating chords. They repeat over and over without much melody but a single repeating note intoned throughout; as a bell sounding when a car door is left open. Its simplicity, beauty and directness is reminiscent of another tune from a Chicago based band - "La Jetee" by Isotope 217. This first half gives way to a very different second half which involves a carefully constructed, slow electronic bottoming out. Intentional or not, it leaves the listener with a sense of decay - like witnessing the disintegration of the universe's energy and matter. Being and nothingness in sound.
Standout Tracks: "Oxygen Path," "We Were Ruined Before We Started," "Risil Outro" JOHN DWORKIN
