Mette’s playing has a raw tonal approach that makes one think of Eric Dolphy at his harshest. Her lines evince much of the same nimbleness as well. The effect is not unlike being hit in the face by a bunch of snakes with wings. Naturally, Tashi is playing electric in order to make himself heard, and the clots of sound he manages to coax out of his amp are worthy of comparison with such form-erupters as Keith Rowe. On the first side, there’s a real physicality to the blocks Tashi creates, as well as to the manner which Mette’s reed attacks them. It’s an incredible sound — brutal and communicative in equal measures. But as much as this may imply a musical surface akin to that of Borbetomagus, there’s a lot more open space here. Especially on the second side, the music is paced to give itself over (now and then) to crenellations that allows in as much light as they emit.”
“This record is a supremely human effort and hopefully the harbinger of much more to come.”
-Byron Coley, 2018
Mette Rasmussen, is a danish saxophone player, situated in Norway. Her ability to move between the often strict confines of genres and explore the elements is always on full display. In solo affairs aswell as in collaborations, she has encapsulated her own personal vision of the role of the saxophone. Embracing her audience with sonic altitude and prolific melody lines, rocketing a prosaic stem.
In the resent year she has been touring with among others Godspeed You! Black Emperor throughout France, Australia and USA, Chris Corsano troughout Europe and Japan, Sofia Jernberg throughout Australia, her own band cosisting of Torbjörn Zetterberg, Johan Berthling, Raymond Strid, Paul Lytton, and been doing an extensively amount of solo shows all over the world. And heard in bands and collaborations with among others, MoE, Craig Taborn, Barry Guy, Julien Desprez and Zeena Parkins.
Tashi Dorji grew up in Bhutan, on the eastern side of the Himalayas. Residing in Asheville since 2000 and soaking up a vast array of music. Along the way, Dorji developed a playing style unbound by tradition, yet with a direct line to intuitive artistry. His recordings feature improvisations that spasmodically grow along tangential, surprising paths. All references break loose during a composition, as Dorji keys into his own inner world. His compositions drag the listener into a labyrinth of warbling tones, where each sound seems to jump out and replace the eerie silence that would otherwise occupy the atmosphere. The textures remain sustained in the reverberation as the vibration of the strings dwindle and ascend. After a handful of releases on various labels since 2009, Dorji presented his debut LP on Hermit Hut, the label created by Ben Chasny (Six Organs of Admittance) in 2014. And since Tashi has released music both as a soloist, and with duo projects, notably with percussionist Tyler Damon and MANAS (w/ Thom Nguyen) on labels like Bathetic Records, Cabin Floor Esoterica, Blue Tapes, Marmara Records, Feeding Tubes, UNROCK, VDSQ, MIE, Ultra Violet Light, Family Vineyard and Astral Spirits.
