Track Listing

1. Beneath The Undercurrent
2. Rumoured Version Of Ourselves
3. Two Fold
4. Bob Whites
5. Time Makes The Tune
6. Triple Of Keys
7. Polylectic
8. Noded Disnoded
9. Luz

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #308676 in Music
• Released on: 2008-05-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Hybrid SACD, SACD
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Album Description
On their debut record this European improvising supergroup makes captivating music that erases distinctions between jazz, electronics, and ambient/soundscape styles. Henriksen is acclaimed for his unique vocalized trumpet work in the Norwegian ambient/noise group Supersilent. Adding Juul's jazz-inflected drumming, Delbecq's prepared piano, and Argüelles' sampled loops and live electronic mutations, Poolplayers conjure a floating, hermetic beauty. The recording creates an almost holographic effect in both stereo and multi-channel - audiophiles into post-rock and avant-jazz will respond.

Customer Reviews

Poolplayers- Way Below The Surface LP Review (8.5/10)
Poolplayers is a free improv/electro-ambient quartet consisting of some of the most innovative artists currently plying their trade in Europe. Supersilent's Arve Henriksen (trumpet, vocals, electronics) plays alongside a master of improvised prepared piano, Benoît Delbecq (piano, bass station) and British drummer Steve Argülles (Usine, delays, Sherman filter) who runs the specialist electro-jazz label, Plush. Joining them is Lars Juul, the co-leader of two long-lasting Danish jazz/improvised music groups, Sound of Choice and Takuan. Presented on glorious Super Audio CD, `Way Below The Surface' fuses spacey Jazz minimalism with subtle yet bustling micro-electronics to create a unique atmosphere that on one hand is incredibly focused and detailed, yet on the other hand is drifting leisurely towards an unidentifiable oblivion. Don't expect upbeat shuffles or boisterous melodies as Poolplayer's encapsulate the unhurried sound of space debris drifting solemnly across vast expanses of space. Theirs is an altogether darker sound that gets under your skin and into your psyche. Delbecq attempts to characterize this sound stating that; "Making this music feels like a deep concentration, and a deep unconsciousness, both at the same time. There's a certain slowness, an idea of North, where winter makes time feel different".

Throughout the 9 tracks which span 57 minutes, contemplative lounge-y trumpet wails ooze out like liquid soundwaves atop of glisteningly restrained keys and Juul's fragile but detailed percussive brushes and scrapes. Underpinning this sound are occasional lashings of dark bass rumblings that lurk with intent and strike intermittently. The fusing of electronics with instrumental genres is a technique that is becoming more and more popular with many contemporary jazz and classical innovators. The use of electronics in `Way Below The Surface' is extremely subtle acting as a testament to the quality of the arrangement that seamlessly blends it into the acoustic territory. Jull utilises live sampling and effects to extend his spectrum of acoustic colours while Argülles samples and processes the other three players, routing their mic inputs to delays, loops, frequency filters and pitch shifters, mixing his time-warp mutations back into the blend. The featuring of vocals is also a unique touch for an experimental jazz quartet but on the few tracks that feature vocals, Henriksen contributes what can only be described as ghostly and otherworldly vocals that glide across the soundscape like choral vapors. The subtleness of the vocals blends in and becomes part of the musical landscape thus allowing the listeners focus to remain on the instruments.

On `Two Fold' Juul's is given the spotlight and makes full use of his 2 and a half minutes. Like `Elvin Jones' if he was playing with feathers, it is a delectable and intensely complex percussive display that focuses on delicate restraint, a theme he continues throughout the album. `Bob Whites' is an exercise in solemnity, with the quartet slowing the tempo right down and engaging in a meditative Eastern-tinged dirge filled with hauntingly sad trumpet wails, ethereal vocals and agitated percussive shuffles. On this track time literally stops as the listener experiences the explosive power of haunting minimalism. The melancholic theme is continued on the final track `Luz' which shimmers unnervingly across a widescreen expanse.

Ultimately `Way Below The Surface' is exactly as its name indicates, it is an album that musically exists on the outer-fringes of jazz and that will be out of reach to all but the most inquisitive (and lucky) listeners. With this offering, the quartet has carved out an extremely consistent piece with plenty in the way of micro-variation but little in terms of mass shifts in musical direction. This consistency allows an eerie atmosphere to develop and take the listener on an insulated journey which is a million miles away from the world outside. Superb. (KS)


For fans of: Bohren Und Der Club of Gore, Supersilent meets Sun Ra meets Bill Evans