SWP006

Sirenians

by the group Utrecht Deep Artment, recorded in 1998

This international octet from Utrecht, led by Michael Baird, play the suite 'On the Way to Abstraction'! The Deep Artment dream, chirp and swing – with drums, percussion, tuba, bass, sax, trumpet, flutes, voice. Recorded in 1998. With Michael Baird (GB), Nikos Tsilojannis (GR), Tjitze Vogel (NL), Henk Raven (NL), Paul Weiling (D), Hermien Schneider (NL), Mark Lotz (D), Janice Jackson (CAN). Total time: 56'31". 6-page fold-out booklet.

Tracklist: 1. And Rising, 2. Lo Down, 3. Next Stop, 4. Scot For Two, 5. Soap, 6. July 1st, 7. Siren Music, 8. Fast Jazz, 9. Go West, 10. Gong Hospital, 11. Legend C Theme, 12. Eastly, 13. Meanwhile Below Your Feet, 14. Lo Down Drone.

NRC Handelsblad 1999 (NL): "Sirenians trekt de luisteraar vanaf de eerste noten de diepte in, naar een wereld die zweeft tussen dromen en waken. De muziek op Sirenians is origineel tot in haar diepste vezel en tart iedere poging tot categorisering."  "From the first notes onwards, Sirenians pulls the listener into the deep, into a world that floats between dreaming and waking. This music is original down to its innermost fibre and defies any attempt to categorize it."
De Volkskrant 1998 (NL): "Utrecht Deep Artment droomt, kwettert en swingt. Er wordt voortdurend gekoorddanst op de dunne scheidslijnen tussen humor en ernst, improvisatie en compositie en, inderdaad, die tussen abstractie en concrete, diep swingende structuren."  "Utrecht Deep Artment dream, chirp and swing. There is a continual tightrope act going on, between humour and seriousness, improvisation and composition and, indeed, between abstraction and concrete, deep swinging structures."