Black Jazz Consortium: Structure

Soulpeople Music, 2009

The guys at LWE have been waxing poetic about Black Jazz Consortium’s latest 12-inch, so when I saw an entire CD-R of his material at Downtown 304, I had to grab it. I’m glad I did! These are some of the deepest, mightiest, and most experimental house tracks I’ve ever heard.

“Deep Love” has the kind of bass which envelops. Slow, spacey synths and dry snares complete the warm embrace. “New Horizon” smacks of recent Larry Heard, which is by no means a bad thing. It is more airy, with searching synth strings and an oddly fast and tinny beat. “Teapot Science” experiments with wobbly bass (like a saucer landing) and clicking percussion (like a cricket chirping). As its name suggests, “Tribal Dance” is quite rhythmic, with claps and a big bass drum. Less expected are the otherworldly electronics and low note pulses.

Just when you think the bass can’t get more massive, “Levels” can vibrate a whole floor. The distorted voice-like bits over top are disconcertingly strange. “Something Old” is spellbinding, with a short piano loop and analogue synths over driving kicks. The journey to muffled filtering and back again seems epic despite its simplicity.

“Watching You Vouge” [sic] embodies the spirit of “hitech jazz.” Lush instrumentation includes wandering keys that dance around a joyful tune. “The Title” is equally beautiful as its deep beats and ghostly vocal sample are caressed by a jazzy piano line. The last couple of tracks are more straight-forward, but they’re a good send off back into reality. Fred Peterkin has created his own world here, and it is one where I would like to stay.