TU-NER
TU-NER “T1 – Contact Information”
By Dark Starr
You know you are in for a treat when the lineup of the group is Markus Reuter, Pat Mastelotto and Trey Gunn. You can also figure that the music will be along the lines of KING CRIMSON and STICK MEN. Well, this double CD set delivers on the promise that the lineup makes. This isn't exactly the kind of music that works well with track by track reviews, but that's how I am doing it. Suffice it to say this is mostly instrumental music based around Warr and touch guitars with percussion and other elements in the mix. It's always varied and dynamic. It's also consistently compelling.
They open things with "Crowfin" (Now We’re Having Some Fun), a nearly 15-minute track. Percussion gets it going. Then the whole thing powers into some smoking hot CRIMSONian jamming. This works through a number of twists and turns. It's heavy, rather dark sounding and so cool. There are some synthetic vocals, but otherwise it's purely instrumental.
There is a cool funky vibe to "31." It's less dark and heavy, but still so cool. There is more of an electronic feeling at play here. There is some smoking hot guitar jamming later in the track in an extended section that is less funky and electronic. "Apple Turtle" starts electronic, sparse, ambient and trippy. There is a real creepy vibe at play in this early section. The number continues to evolve and gets into territory more aligned with the heavier, guitar dominated side of the act. It is quite the intriguing jam.
With a funky and textural vibe at play, "On the Other Side" grows with a definite moody and yet cinematic feeling to it. It is another intriguing piece of sound. Synthetic spoken vocals are heard on "Contact Information." The cut has a real science fiction feeling as it gets going. This is more than 23-and-a-half minutes long, making it a real epic piece. It turns toward trippy percussion dominated cinematic territory after a time. This just keeps evolving within the same general scope we've heard throughout. Different moods and modes take control at different times. It is classy stuff. Then again, that applies to everything here. The sounds of machinery are heard late in the piece.
The second disc starts with "Poem for a Sad Horse." Intriguing melodic instrumental interplay is the idea as it gets going. It's mellower than some of the rest of the music here. It's also quite effective and interesting. There is a percussion section that's much more energized later. It gets back to the somewhat subdued stuff from there. It turns to decidedly trippy, space type sounds further down the road.
At over 22-and-a-half minutes of music, "Forcibly Taken into the Future" is another epic piece. It starts with some busy percussion and waves of sound over the top of that. We get some really intense jamming at times on this thing. It has some positively driving moments. The piece really has so much built into it. It's not only epic in terms of scale, it is in terms of scope. It might be my favorite piece on the album.
"Moses" is much more subdued. It's rather trippy and atmospheric. There is a definite jazz angle to it all. It has a spoken sound-bite at times. Heavier and more rocking "Poodles" has some killer CRIMSONian textures. It's a great rocking groove. The thing gets pretty crazed and intense at times. This turns toward trippy, space music later, becoming very textural and atmospheric before it's done.