Konk Pack Albums (2)
What The Critics Say
Konk Pack's first CD, 1999's Big Deep, was more than instrumental in establishing the then-new German label Grob as a leading source of experimental music. From the start, Tim Hodgkinson, Thomas Lehn, and Roger Turner had the intention to keep this group alive and active. Since 1999 they toured Europe and America, stretching their vocabulary further. Warp Out is their first studio album (Big Deep culled live recordings from various dates), recorded over two days in June 2001. Three extended tracks (12 to 16 minutes) are separated by two shorter numbers. Everything is improvised following an esthetic that allies the aridity of British free improv and the harshness of noise. The resulting music is very demanding, but just as satisfying. Warp Out makes for a better listen than its older sibling, even though the artistic proposition sounds less revolutionary. The musicians know each other better; they react more vividly, push things to farther extremes (toward both noise and silence), and develop more complex circumvolutions instead of resorting to the well-tried ebb-and-flow frame. Lehn's pointillist splashes of analog sounds find an echo in Turner's junk percussion. The two build cathedrals out of brief, dry sound events. Hodgkinson may decide to contribute to the construction with some delicate scratching on his table guitar or tear down the walls with a loud twang. "White Jem" is particularly strong, but there is not a second lost on this dense album of top-rate cutting-edge free improv by masters of the genre. A must-have. ~ François Couture, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Electronic experimentation and total improvisation can be dangerously appealing to amateurs who can't yet consistently play any one instrument or style, and want to shortcut into 'making music' without the prerequisite work. When this happens, what comes out of an instrument at the word 'Go' is far less interesting -- even laughable -- in the hands of a novice musician. But when excellent musicians who are also seasoned improvisers decide to improvise what a treat it can be. Happily, this debut release by the trio project Konk Pack is such an album. With Big Deep, Tim Hodgkinson (electronics, reeds, guitar), Roger Turner (drums, percussion) and Thomas Lehn (analogue synth) create a constantly engaging, ever-morphing soundscape that is surprisingly active, in contrast to some of Hodgkinson's more minimal projects. Konk Pack takes the listener on a reckless journey through the many corridors of a music-lover's brain, with all sorts of snippets emerging from the dynamic fray. Listening leaves no doubt that Lehn, Hodgkinson and Turner are lovers and manipulators of sound, with an energetic focus on creation and interplay. Add to this the musicians' sensitive ears for the many colors and effects of the wide world of sound, and you get an outrageously good sampling of what modern improvisation can be. Big Deep is also a great place to check out the under-documented, excellent drumming of Roger Turner. ~ Joslyn Layne, All Music Guide
