Will Glaser is known as an extremely versatile drummer whose playing draws on jazz, funk and rock. He has performed with many groups, including Snack Family, Andrew Plummer’s World Sanguine Report, Olie Brice’s Quartet and Liam Noble’s new quartet. He has a strong sense of dynamics and groove which always provides a solid foundation for any group he plays with.
On his latest album, Music Of The Terrazoku, Ethnographic Recordings From An Imagined Future, Glaser turns to composition producing a series of electro-acoustic soundscapes that are either self-standing or feature a particular guest. The soundscapes here are not backing tracks, but are the forefront of the music with the contributions from guests providing an interesting additional texture to the soundscapes.
It is the 8 tracks that feature a guest that are the most impressive. On Sunshower bassist Ruth Goller’s wordless vocals in a very high register add an attractive texture to the strongly rhythmic patterns of the electronics. On Illusions of Abundance Tara Cunningham punctuates the gamelan like percussion and electronics with angular bursts on the guitar. James Allsopp features on bass clarinet on three tracks, Howl, Only The Wind and Wrath providing a stimulating complement to the percussive electronics. On Howl, Allsopp’s free playing is high in the mix, whereas on Only The Wind it is very much in the background. Wrath is much more of a duo performance between Allsopop’s wailing bass clarinet and Glaser’s electronically enhanced percussion.
On Theft percussionist Jem Doulton joins Glaser to create a much more rhythmic piece, while Alex Bonney adds a distant layer of sound on a recorder.. On There’s Shit In The River vocalist Ed Dudley adds gnarly vocals to create a more aggressive track.. The final track Dedicated To All Living Beings Who Suffer features the evocative words of a poem by Yang Licai declaimed by Lauren Kinsella supported by Kirke Gross on cello.
The solo pieces combine free improvisation with studio-based composition and Glaser is developing a very interesting approach to integrating these two elements. He also finds a balance between percussion and electronics; earlier tracks are more acoustic with the percussion dominant, while later tracks veer more towards the electronics. However, there is a danger that these solo tracks become somewhat repetitive.
The album is released on Friday 24 October.
Will Glaser – drums, percussion, electronics
Ruth Goller – double bass, vocals
Agathe Max – violin
Tara Cunningham – guitar
James Allsopp – bass clarinet
Jem Doulton – percussion
Alex Bonney – recorder
Ed Dudley – vocals
Lauren Kinsella – vocals
Kirke Gross – cello
