Now that King Crimson is no longer with us, Swiss drummer Manuel Pasquinelli is trying to fill that sonic void with his team of Gabriel Wenger/sax, Maja Nydegger/keys, Markus Ischer/g and Andi Schnellmann/b. This latest release of features a mix of ambience, soundscapes and dreamy visions juxtaposed with enticing directions and solos.
“Zephyr”, for example, is a mix of soft musical wallpaper, with velvety sax and keyboards, eventually segueing into dramatic side roads. Taking a cue from Pasquineelli’s bouncy keyboard, Wenger’s breathy tenor broods around Ischer’s dark and sinewy guitar on “Kinema” with a funky soul feel and punchy pulse that digs into a deep groove for Wenger on “ Ink”. Finally echoey guitar and plugged in piano sketches create a thick paste that flips into a hard rocker on “Morph.” The overall effect of the album creates a tension between classic albums Fripp and Eno and Red. Not a bad intersection at all.