2006
Archive Records
While released in 2006, this recording is comprised of two Chicago performances from 2001 and 2002, respectively. At only two tracks, one a half hour in length and the other just over ten minutes, it's somewhat surprising that it's received actual CD release: usually, something that dates back four years and wasn't an exactly revelatory performance is the sort of thing content to see a CD-R or mp3 only release. For those unversed in the current combination of noise-rock and improvisation though, these two tracks could form an excellent introduction to this sort of sound: it's a heavy piece of music that nearly overwhelms the listener. Hearing this live must have made for a difficult experience.
The musicians of Gaping Maw are Tatsuya Nakatani on drums, Kyle Bruckmann on mini-moog and Kurt Johnson on bass, under the supervision of Myles Boison. All three men play around with various other instruments, which lends the album an sense of unbelievability--"three people can make that sound? LIVE?" For those of us, and the Factual is included in this group, who have little experience outside of jazz with improvisation, Gaping Maw makes for a ridiculously well-contained education. While Anthony Braxton, Derek Bailey and Wolf Eyes make for better listening at times, improvisation can, without being ushered into the live recording, make for a difficult experience. Regardless of what it's biggest proponents may argue, it's hard to buy that anyone experiences this sort of stuff with the same sort of enjoyment they'd find in more harmony/melody/song-based music: noise-improv is heavy, heavy stuff, and without a musical background, it's well-nigh impossible to discern specific instrumentation AND listen at the same time. Enjoyment, of course, comes much later: and therein lies the rub. After all, to get to the level of actual pleasure, one has to put in some work, serious work--and with so much great music that is, arguably, far more easily accessible, it can be an intensely egotistical experiment. Which leads one to the more common complaint lodged against noise music: if one attempts to share this music with others (as most social beings would like to) enjoyment again takes the backseat to defense. With 2004's widespread acknowledgment of a band like Wolf Eyes (who were quite obviously following in the footsteps of thousands of other musicians) it became apparent in every single article that the first paragraph or sentence when talking about them would be some form of explanation why the writer had come to the decision that this frightening, irritating business was not only a form of music, but that it was both good and worthwhile as well.
No other artist in the field has to suffer this kind of attack (although it would be deliriously entertaining if everytime Madonna put out another variation on her whore/goddess shtick she was requisitely forced to explain the philosophy behind it as well.) Gaping Maw, if it were to receive wide-spread acclaim or even wide-spread existence, would be placed in the same category: why is this music, why should i have any respect for it, and why is this better than i might make if i had the opportunity. It's the same argument so often lodged against art: i could do this myself, if i'd thought of it, therefore, it's no good whatsoever. That's part of what makes Gaping Maw's release so interesting and, yes, good: most people, even those as talented as these musicians, couldn't pull off improvising for thirty minutes and construct something as relentlessly compelling as the first track on this release, and even less could pull off an even better version in ten.
Yes, this disc requires work to listen to and enjoy, and yes, it's not the easiest thing to track down. But if one wants to expand one's comfort zone and experience a form of music that they probably haven't before, then one should expect to put in some time.
-Tucker Stone, 2006
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