DUN-DUN- BAND

PITA PARKA PT. 1: XAM EGDUB

Ansible Editions / Canada Council for the Arts

Craig Dunsmuir, single-line electric guitar; Joy Anderson, Roland Handsonic; Josh Cole, electric bass; Jim Duggan, hahahacksaw; Blake Howard, conga/percussion; Kurt Newman, chordal & lead electric guitar; Mike Smith, Fender Rhodes 88/Hammond A105/keyboards; Ted Crosby, bass clarinet/tenor saxophone; Colin Fisher, tenor saxophone; Karen Ng, alto saxophone/clarinet; Brodie West, alto saxophone/clarinet.

A bass line plays a captivating melody beneath an electronic production. A percussive flurry sets the tempo and an electronic instrument doubles the bass.  The saxophone improvises on top of the rhythm section groove and the first song simply titled “No. 1” begins.

The Dun-Dun Band emerged in early 2016, featuring Craig Dusmuir referred to on Canada’s music scene as “Toronto’s unsung guitar god.”  Stylistically, the Dun-Dun Band helped to expand Dunsmuir’s sonic range by blending American minimalism with electronics and elements of jazz, resulting in a package of experimental music.  Dunsmuir’s writing and arranging for the band orbits around odd-meter grooves, with spur of the moment arrangements that stem from unexpected improvisations by his talented bandmates. This highlights individual creativity and the personalities of his collaborators. There is a tendency for the players to get hung-up in ‘loops’ of musical phrases that repeat again and again.  Some of this I find repetitious to the point of boredom, like the faded ending of their first tune “No. 1.”

The second piece on this recording titled “No. 20 (Once Raw: The Aging G)” begins with ‘loops’ once again, based in beat-work that establishes a meandering rhythm, with horns and guitars whistling the melody to each other. The churning cacophony of these instruments plays like an instrumental chant, growing in a crescendo of repetition and building harmonically on the repeated melody line. The mood changes, like conversations between friends. The guitar takes center stage to speak to the listeners with melodic messages played atop a bassline that creates the foundation.  Some would call this an arrangement of strobing polyrhythms, complete with sound effects that mimic squeaking doors and wild animals. It’s experimental jazz.

Pita Parka Pt. 1: Xam Egdub is Dun-Dun Band’s first vinyl release.  This album of experimental music is comprised of three extended pieces that take us on a rambling journey of chords and musical phrases that chant, repeat, improvise and wander.  The musicians depend on electronics, loops, and sound sonics to captivate and entertain the listener.  These old-school ears wish to hear less repetition and more musical creativity.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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