| JensHausmann - Acoustic Guitars & Beyond |
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Author
Visiting George Lowden in his workshop 2008
Some of my old reviews at Besonic ...
Tabla & Strings 09.12.99 The music of Tabla & Strings can be recomended to anyone who is after rhythmic subtleties and profound musicianship! The four musicians of Tabla & Strings convince with their exciting blend of the all-time-favorite concept “east meets west“. Without losing themselves in just placing those elements side by side, they go for contrasts and an ingenious unique style well-balanced between technique and expression. The modal character of indian music, which has it's main focus on detailed development of motifs comparable to thoughts in language can be especially found in “In The Cort Of Akbar King“.“What Is He Doing There“ stands out for steadily being build-up to an exciting piece with more modern grooves. Here the acoustic guitar gives room for development with it's bass-part. “In my Village“ again is an example for fascinating contrasts between the sounds of acoustic and electric guitars, more on the mysterious side this one might be the strongest composition of the three. In the whole the music of Tabla & Strings lives more on the western side and can be recomended to anyone who is after rhythmic subtleties and profound musicianship. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cafe Duo 21.12.99 Wonderful debut with beautiful melodic lines. In the beginning of the 80's there was an acoustic guitar boom in jazz played in duos and trios. Too rich by means of variety and influences to be easily categorised in terms of style, this is exactly what the two guitarist of Cafe Duo link up with.As well, they have a vast variety of styles under their belt, and the listener leans back having a picture in mind how they figure out their wonderful melodic tunes while taking things easy with a nice cup of coffee. In 'Spanish Wind' for instance the coffee brings up their strong point with soothing melodic lines one can dream on, here and there sweetened by playing sixths and a few little overdubs.Then the cream would be some relaxed solos like in 'Son Of Dorian' which invites to improvise on II-V progressions with it's tune played in octaves, 'Dorian Al' (DiMeola) meets Wes Montgomery! The whole thing is served with some virtuoso-cookies and driving rhythm-biscuits as in the spanish influenced 'Que gambas tan ricas'. After this wonderful debut I can't wait to see how they develop, who knows, maybe they serve red wine next time... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dave Griffith 22.01.00 Looking for some cookin' & jamin' blues? Here it is! All the songs of Davey Boy Crocky feature his marvelous melodic basslines, no wonder since he commands the bottom end of the band „Shakedown Wizards“ from North Carolina! But furthermore he adds some great guitars, be it the rocker „Seattle“with harmonies and some nice solos, or simply smokin' in „Don't Let The Door Hit Ya“ with a bit of rock'n'roll and walking bass. There is also a classic blues in Bb with a nice groove called „Boy Crocky Blues“. I can't wait to hear these songs with live-drums, that would be fun! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pavlov's Cat 06.02.00 Less Is More! What a fancy and inspiring thought to name a band after pavlov's cat, that makes curious! Very British idea! It's not only that a cat always has it's very own mind combined with they are said to have seven lives in Germany (I think it's nine in England, probably due to the climate conditions). No, the name of the famous scientist Pavlov gives even more to think: wasn't that the one who experimented with dogs redefining the traditional theories of reflexes? To cut it short: the name fits perfectly! The music of James Hibbins' band refreshes traditional British folk with contemporary styles in it's own unique way, the cats capture the intense feelings of a few moments in their songs and make the listener want to share the subtleties of their intimate world of marvelous songwriting! Less is more they say and their spartan arrangements proof them right, giving room for the listener enhancing what is important: the song! Wonderful work! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Rimm 17.04.00 Very British and sweet-sour Due to their efford to get someone to write a review there have been quite a few who did, well, here's another one: Most of it has been said already anyway, so the first thing I can add is that they managed to develop a unique style with their singing drummer, at the bottom end supported by a melodic bassplayer while the guitar is hammering it home with solid rockriffs. I like their clean cut sound especially the charismatic voice, (I wonder if Andrew Bennett sits in front on stage, that would be something else!). As the other critics are in favor of "Are You Winning?" My choice would be "Plunger" or maybe "About Me" both of which are more interesting fresh sounding and good songs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Graham Foster 10.09.2000 One of my favorites at Besonic It's the everlasting search for universal themes that makes a good songwriter, "Restless Age" is perfect example with excellent lyrics and a nice arrangement. The acoustic guitar has been doubled with a great voice on top of it and the rest of the band gives it a push in the last part where others would have their fade out. This is the song I always wanted to write. Watch out for their other electric songs as well these jewels are worth it! Songfeature: Graham Foster It's the everlasting search for universal themes that makes a good songwriter, this is a perfect example with excellent lyrics and a nice arrangement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shawn Harvey 02.04.2001 Shawn Harvey Ladies & Gentlemen: The King Of Quantity! Yeah, he's really something else! He has been working as an Artist/Band, Musician, Lyricist, Producer, Video Artist, Manager, Dancer/Performer and Singer! He has written more than 300 songs, and maybe he's got the longest songlist at Besonic! (I gave up counting after 50, 10 of which I gave some Instant Play) His Songs are in a whole lot of genres, you can find everything as long it's Rock'n'Roll or should I say Rockabilly, however if someone's as busy as Mr. Shawn "Elvis" Harvey he can't bother 'bout unimportant details like that, he just lives it, who gives a s... if things are sometimes only half-cooked, and the songs all sound the same. "You got it wrong" he'd probably say "It's a way of life!" Maybe my Coke simply wasn't cold enough, but now at least something nice: I like this Retro-Rockabilly-Thang, and Mr. Harvey has got one big advantage: if he cuts out two thirds of what he's collected, there will be a whole lot of good material, others still have to invent it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Carimba 01.04.2001 Brazilian Groove & funky Acid Jazz from Glasgow? Hell, why not? It's fun to click on ttp://www.besonic.com/carimba, lots of fresh grooves there! Favorite Track: The Brazilian Groove, with acoustic bass and a very interesting arrangement, with lots of percussion, and nice vocal samples. That's what happens when Scotish musicians go for grooves like that, who would put on a rhythm guitar like that in a brazilian groove, but that's makes the difference! Can't get enough of it! I'm probably a bit old fashioned for not being a fan of samples, but here it's done with so many ideas, embedded in the compositions and so hard to tell which is which; simply convincing! So check out Upside Down Frown with lots of groove and vocal samples. Still I somtimes wonder what that has got to do with jazz, but The Mighty Quintete A Tete comes closer, changing the groove half way through the song and the instruments as well, some nice saxophone parts are featured here. Carimba is one example how far you can get with good musicianship and the aid of electronic tools! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Karina Kampe 13.01.02 Beautiful surprises "I have a little story, that I would like to tell" is the first thing you'll hear from Karina Kampe's beautiful voice when you go to her website at Besonic. And it won't be the last, cause you'll probably stay there! Let's stick to the story in "Springtime" it's about what it's like to be alone in springtime, and as it starts like a real songwriter-thing (Spanish guitar) building up with a nice bass, you'll get the blues (in G) at about 1:30, wow, beautiful, they're jamming along just fine, then up a whole step and the story goes on… what a beautiful surprise! The same goes for "Kindered Soul" which sounds a bit more like her New York Influences ( that's where she spend quite some time) though they do it on steel strings over there, again it's Karina's very own surprising blend of styles somewhere between folk, jazz and pop, hop on "Don't Go Teasing My Heart" you'll still get some more New York you want more of that? There you are: "New York Rainy Day" a bit like streets of London for NewYorkers in a whole band-version. How about surprising your feet for a change? Try tapping with "Falling In Love With You", happy counting! And here's another surprise: tight modern grooves are what you need? Take: "Fantasize" it's fantastic, Karine Kampe at her best! Nice Rhodes-Solo at the end, only question that remains: who are all those great musicians she works with? Maybe that'll be the next surprise! Songfeature: Remember that old saying about New York " If you can make there, you can make it everywhere"? Here's the latest example, you can't ask for anymore than that one, folks! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ruediger Gleisberg 13.01.02 Kaleidoscope-Music Yeah, sounds like the fat-man-in-the-kitchen... Only kidding, that's just the samples of the first few seconds of "Urban´s Psychedelic Breakfast" leading us into the right mood for what's coming up next. Gleisberg likes to use samples of noises and orchestral sounds, sometimes of classical instruments in combination with very decent synthesiser sounds. This mixture takes you to his very own and unique world, sounds turn to pictures, thoughts keep wandering, following associations and fantasies. A title like "Alice`s Adventures in Wonderland" comes handy as example and description of his own: With strong classical influences it's built on themes and motifs, but even though they are embellished, varied and woven to patterns they still stay independent being organised in blocks changing their colours and shapes like being seen "Through The Looking Glass". Recommended reading: The Original book to the music by Lewis Carroll, you won't miss the film with music like this! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Irene Jackson 12.02.2003 Every song a jewel There is an old saying: "Those who can do, those who can't teach!" Forget about it, it's outlived, I got the proof, just listen to Irene Jackson! Let her glue you to the speakers, with her fresh sounding songs and her charming voice, let her tell you those stories embedded in musical versatility and more than solid and competent musicianship. No matter if it's a standard blues in Bb like "Catnip" or songs like "Green Light", or "What Do I Know" they all have a certain drive in common with great guitar playing, and loving warmth shining through, simply making you feel real good. She's already got four CDs out and a beautiful website with lots of tutorials about songwriting.
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I'm author and photographer for the German magazine 