With the intriguingly seductive Buñuel De Jour guitarist Kalle Kalima and his quartet, the K-18, continue their paean to the rebel auteurs of cinema. Their third installment in this series, again on the Finnish TUM label, is obviously dedicated to the iconoclastic surrealist filmmaker, Luis Buñuel. His works themselves, not the scores, serve as inspiration to the dozen originals that comprise the album.
Each improvisation heavy piece truly reflects the spirit of its namesake. "Belle de Jour" for instance maintains the movie's enigmatic aura with the brief and tense exchanges among the band members. Saxophonist Mikko Innanen's luxurious and heady lines reflect its sensuality while Kalima's elegant dialogue with accordionist Trio Chaud with Veli Kujala in Helsinki Finland its subversive wit. Bassist Teppo Hauta- aho's reverberations quietly simmer in the background like the main character's passionate yet taboo fantasies.
Elsewhere on the ethereal "Tristana," and in keeping with the critique of rigid, social ritual, Kujala's solemn notes mimic the liturgical sounds of a baroque organ. As the other instruments enter, the melody grows fluid and tender but remains darkly hued. Reflecting the love triangle at the core of the story, Kalima and Innanen take turns serenading the main theme. The former uses eloquent and contemplative lines while the latter evocative serpentine phrases. Much like the film's more sinister ending, Hauta- aho's intensely lyrical solo fades into a mordant and stimulating melee of ensemble dissonance.
The tracks named after the bitter and intelligent satire "Simon of the Desert" and Buñuel's masterpiece "Viridiana," are imaginative collective extemporizations. On the first Innanen evokes sandy winds with his hornpipe while Kalima's wailing strings and the rustle of percussion reenact the dramatic climax. Kujala and Hauta-aho's expectant and ominous vamps usher Innanen's soft "villainous" howl that concludes the tune. The haunting performance on the latter is marked by a sublime abstraction. Despite its short duration, it is compelling and memorable as the sparse and wistful tones weave a somber lullaby.
Motion picture influenced extemporized music is nothing new but Kalima and his group bring an innovative twist to this exquisite union. Their creations are dedicated to the entire oeuvre of each iconic director and, as with their previous conceptually similar discs, they not only provoke and delight but also help rediscover these cineastes' legacies. - Hrayr Attarian
This third album featuring K-18's original line-up doesn't stray very far from the content of the previous two. But in combination with vaguely remembered images from Buñuel's films the music readily transports the listener to far corners of the aural universe with its exotic and compelling mixtures of timbre and intensity. The players are all masters of the exceptional and the unexpected and along with the sumptuous packaging, featuring on the cover and inside TUM's standard selected piece of Finnish artwork (this time by Leena Luostarinen), this album is another ticket to the strange auditory world of Berlin based composer Kalle Kalima. This time the themes of all pieces are taken from the visual world of the iconic Spanish director, Luis Buñuel.
Similar in dynamics to the earlier albums, this contains maybe more archetypal themes, where scrunchy low guitar and obtuse sax or clarinet lines undercut by haunting discordant accordion. Again similar varieties of crescendo, dissonance and weirdness push the boundaries of indulgence. Key in this respect, Mikko Innanen has made something of a name for himself in Europe as a purveyor of bizaare saxophony which is easily transferable to Kalima's off the wall compositions.
This is not to say that many pieces are lacking in melody or harmonic feel. Some evoke a distinctly meditative feeling, such as El Padre, a reference to Buñuel's own appearances in his films as a priest, as well as possible motifs of Charles Mingus and Eric Dolphy. The references to the films are not intended to be categorical, and Kalima's writing in the copious liner notes explains that it is often just a mood that the film conveys which he is trying to interpret auditorially.
In accordance with the variety of Buñuel's work, and in comparison to Kalima's earlier Kubrick-and Lynch-inspired albums, as a whole this is more low key, even delicate at times. Belle de Jour has a particularly dreamy feel, with Innanen's sax played very sotto over Hauta-Aho's minimalistic bass and Kujala's ephemeral micro-toned accordion. There is as much variety here as Buñuel's own work, and enough to keep the listener dazed and intrigued. - Anthony Shaw
Tracks
01. The Phantom of Liberty (Kalle Kalima)
02. The Milky Way (Kalle Kalima)
03. El Padre Kalle Kalima)
04. Los Olvidados (Kalle Kalima)
05. Belle de Jour Kalle Kalima)
06. Diary of a Chambermaid (Kalle Kalima)
07. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
08. Tristana (Kalle Kalima)
09. Simon of the Desert (Teppo Hauta-Aho/Mikko Innanen/Veli Kujala)
10. That Obscure Object of Desire (Kalle Kalima)
11. An Andalusian Dog (Kalle Kalima)
12. Viridiana (Teppo Hauta-Aho/Mikko Innanen/Kalle Kalima/Veli Kujala)
KALLE KALIMA electric guitar, percussion
MIKKO INNANEN alto saxophone, xaphoon, wistles, hornpipe with contest mic
VELI KUJALA quartet-tone accordion
TEPPO HAUTA-AHO doubles bass, percussion
Recorde November 30 and December 1, 2013 at Studio P4, Berlin, Germany
TUM Records TUM CD 038 Finland
https://www.tumrecords.com/new-music