CD Review: KTU - 8 Armed Monkey

First posted on Mark Is Cranky:

Dreams are funny things. Everybody has them. Whether they're remembered or not is a different story. My dad, for instance, claims to have remembered only one dream over his entire lifetime and that was during a minute or so time segment when his heart raced out of control during a medical procedure. They had to bring him back with the paddles. He dreamt of being chased.

I fall somewhere in the middle. Dreams do happen. I'm aware that they've gone on...but unless something very bizarre occurs overnight, they just dissipate like so much brain mist.

Unless: I'm very, very tired. If a long and particularly difficult week passes and I sort of "fall into" Friday night then there's a good chance that I'll have one of my all-night dreams. These things leave me feeling like I've watched several televisions, DVD players and stereos simultaneously over a six-hour period. I actually get the sensation that all of the dreams have overlapped. Intimate conversations are interrupted by heavy-duty construction vehicles (loaded with Amish woman wearing wetsuits) driving through my living room and up the stairs to attend the string quartet recital scheduled in the guest bedroom for 7:30 PM. It's nonstop, surreal action. I don't try to interpret any of this mess, figuring that it's just the overloaded brain shedding excess mental dandruff.

So, whether you remember your dreams or not, in black & white or color, normal or just plain wacky...the music created by the ensemble that is KTU can provide the score. At the very least, it contains many musical parallels to my own sleepy brain freakouts.

KTU is Kimmo Pohjonen on accordion and voice plus Samuli Kosminen on samples, Trey Gunn (formerly of King Crimson) on Warr guitar and Pat Mastelotto (of Kind Crimson) on 'rhythmic devices'. Together they produce music that manages to be both soothing and sinister. Honestly, how often do you see the words 'sinister' and 'accordion' in such close proximity?

Let's just look at the track "Absinthe" from the KTU release 8 Armed Monkey. It contains the essence of this band in eight-minute twenty-one second microcosm. Gunn's Warr guitar (or is it? you can never tell what with all of these samplers causing such trouble) lets out a spooky wail that is joined by an equally spooky voice. Tibetan Monks on acid, I tell ya. The main motif takes over, a series of three-note passages that is soon filled out by Gunn's low lines and Mastelotto's 'rhythmic devices'. As the groove builds a person might be tempted to think that the festivities have King Crimson-ish or perhaps Projekct 2 quality. Maybe. But then that voice floats in from above and proceeds to take on the conductor/shaman role. After a repeat of the main structures, Gunn takes an industrial and nasty solo, followed by the accordion solo from hell. Just when you think you've got this all figured out the instruments drop away to reveal a KTU take on the gamelon. More ethereal vocals pop in and out over the chiming percussion. All of this slowly morphs back into one final shot at the big groove. It's exhilarating, it's creepy and it ends on a short repeat of Gunn's "Monk Wail" note.

Not all of 8 Armed Monkey plays at such an intense level. "Keho" is a more ambient piece that again uses a mid-song percussion flurry to great effect. "Sineen" rests somewhere in he middle, a floating almost-ballad that might remind me of French folk music if it wasn't for the odd samples popping up here and there.

One of the most positive things that can be said about any collection of music is that it's difficult, if not impossible, to classify it. That's definitely the case with KTU. If you're familiar with the 'modern' era of King Crimson you'll be familiar with part of this sonic palette, but that's not the whole story.

Be aware though, that the whole story may have a definite dreamlike quality.

Article Author: Mark Saleski

Mark Saleski is a writer and music obsessive based out of the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. He has contributed to Jazz.com and also writes reviews for Blogcritics.org. He produces the weekly feature The Friday Morning Listen. …

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