Over-looked Kate session in Dec. Pulse

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (chris williams)]

Chris here,

  In the December Tower Records magazine _Pluse_, someone (I forget who)
spotted Happy Rhodes' _Warpaint_ bizzarrely listed as one of the ten
best "Dance Records" of the year. (Well, you *can* if you *want* to.)

  But our otherwise sharp-eyed Love-hound missed a Kate reference.

  Here it is...

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Cover up 

   In the tight race toward that late-20th century Holy Grail --
a pop-classical crossover watershed --the Balanescu Quartet has a
strong resume in it's favor. Leader Alexander Balanescu left the
preeminent Ardditti Quartet a ways back to start an ever more
contemporary forum. Ardetti serves up prolific helpings of Cage,
Legiti, Hans Werner Henze and other 20th century masters; Balanescu
adopts the efforts of Lounge Lizard head John Lurie, jams with
Kate Bush and the Pet Shop Boys, and keeps it's experimental edge
sharp with composers Michial Nyman and Gavin Bryars.
   Following a spirted Argo recording of Nyman quartets, Balanescu
hits us with _Possessed_ (Mute), consisting half of Kraftwerk covers
("Autobahn," "Pocket Calculater"), half of originals, plus one David
Byrne piece. The Kraftwerk tracks are drab, maybe even silly; they play
like those half-recognizable Muzak variations which keep us playing
guessing games in shopping malls. Balanescu's originals, on the other
hand, are pretty interesting. Exceedingly rhythmic and ripe with drama,
they draw on pop music's resources internally, often intuitivly. Light
percussion, and a rich supply of tasty, cellular melodic motifs and an
urge toward cinematic expression drive Balanescu's compositions. Rather
than simply play the game the Kronos Quartet did with it's cover of
Jimi Hendrix's "Puple Haze" (or the Greene String Quartet with Gun's N'
Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle," or the Tango Project with Jefferson
Airplane's "White Rabbit" ... when will this end!?), composer Balanescu
rewards us with a model for a true crossover: He doesn't need to cover
a James Brown song to affirm his gratitude; he just works a variety of
musical threads through his far-ranging, satisfying pieces, and leaves
the listener to trace the patterns to their sources. (The quartet's
adgenda is too large for one label; at presstime a sophomore Argo
recording was announced, containing works by Byrne, Robert Moran,
Michael Torke and John Lurie -- his _Stranger Than Paradise score,
speaking of cinematic urge.) The Kraftwerk misstep aside, Balanescu
adapts traditions with an ear for harmony, not publicity.

                                         Marc Weidenbaum

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Copyright - who cares! Like I'm going to try to obtain copyright
permission for an excerpt from a give-away mag! Sheesh...

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   I can't *believe* that he mentioned Kate, and neglected to mention
what song Kate appears on. And is "jams" just hyperbole, or does Kate
appear here as a musician, instead of as a vocalist? Does she sing on
the Kraftwerk covers? "I am the operator of my pocket calculator..."

                                 Chris Williams
                                 chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu