CD Feature/ igOr OGOGO: "Solo View"
TobiasMany mysteries surround this CD production to say the least. When has it been recorded? We don’t know. Who plays the instruments? We can assume that the band OGOGO is very much involved. Without any doubt: all compositions have been done by igOr. Recorded in Los Angeles, London and Moscow. On the iii record label.
Do we need the information not provided? After listening to the CD I agree with igOr: No, not really. So just let us take a determined startup and jump right into the music, which provides an intimate view, a Solo View, to be precise, into the musical, avant-garde world of Igor Grigoriev.
References are made to two of his heroes, Charley Parker and Johann Sebastian Bach. Are they his heroes? I can only assume they are, since in both pieces, ‘Whatever Parker Wants’ and ‘Bach’ we clearly hear the basic influences of both of these musicians. In ‘Bach’, the fugue is a recurring theme, although very much influenced and alienated by the works of free improvisation. But nonetheless, even electronically-based sounds stay in the confines of the very strict regiment of the original fugue, even if they sometimes wander erratically out of line, only to return to the original scheme. An extraordinary example of how music doesn’t depend on time and how even the seemingly most distant influences can find a common home.
The piece on Charley Parker takes a similar route. Here, we find the same appeals, many a time experiencing the typical Parker-phrases, only to find them constructed even further into new and more adventurous musical surroundings.
But igOr doesn’t stop there. Honestly, I don’t believe for a second that he wastes a minute of time thinking about how anybody else may judge his music. The integration of various influences, regardless of whether they are born out of jazz, rock n’ roll, extremely experimental stuff or classic, can be found all over this CD. Bass lines or percussion, most likely electronically produced and often limited to a snare and maybe a very distant bass drum, guitar riffs, soli, you name it. It’s all there, sometimes rough and raw-cut, then again with an almost tender ambience. At times seemingly looping, but then there are always little differences to be detected, which alter the sound ever so often in a favourable fashion. This technique defines the underlying theme and reflects its intellectual background in an impressive way.
It is surely no coincidence, that OGOGO recently won ‘The 17th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards’ in the category ‘Experimental’ for the aforementioned 'Bach’. Truly this is a remarkable achievement for igOr and his band, consisting, if I’m correctly informed, of ever so often changing band members, sometimes operating in a bigger, then again in a smaller setting.
However that may be, „Solo View“ is a CD, that has been masterfully structured, masterfully arranged and masterfully performed. A real treat for those open to new and experimental rides into the musical kingdom of exciting adventures, for those who can enjoy almost any influences out of music’s history and thrilling excursion into areas, where new musical paths are discovered right here and right now. An all-around impressive work. Congrats, igOr and OGOGO!
By Fred M. Wheeler
Homepage: iii Records
Homepage: igOr OGOGO
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