Congs For Brums
A Complete and Tonal Disaster (2018)

About

The fourth album by Congs for Brums, (Ches Smith’s solo percussion and electronics project) is A Complete And Tonal Disaster. Why? Because “A Complete and Tonal Dissonance," while perhaps more accurate, is a shittier title. Obviously!

Smith’s new electronics rig tends toward sounds that fall in the cracks of pitch and tempo. Thus when the melodies—clear and tonal in their own tuning—run up against their counterparts on the equal-tempered vibraphone, they produce by turns jarring, shimmering, tense and hilarious situations. Smith capitalizes on this energy each moment, processing, reacting to, and shaping melodic modules on the spot in various ways. Each iteration points to new implications of a rather small amount of material.

On this album we are hearing the raw state of what was played. Smith had a lot on his plate, improvising with drums, vibes and electronics often simultaneously. He left some cringe-worthy doozies in there. Keep an ear out for the mistakes! And keep in mind how easy it is to fabricate a perfect recorded performance these days. The sound rides the border of control and not knowing.

Credits

released September 18, 2018

Ches Smith plays drums, vibraphone and electronics.
All compositions by Ches Smith (Preposterous Bee Music, BMI)

Recorded in November 2015 by Sam Owens
Samples recorded by Phil Weinrobe in 2014.
Mixed in June 2018 by Randall Dunn
Mastered in July 2018 by Scott Hull
Design by Mỹ Linh Triêu Nguyên
Album notes by David Horvitz

Thanks to Mary Halvorson, Tim Berne, David Torn, Louissaint Jean Mary, Miya Osaki, Kate Gentile, and Zane.

This album is dedicated to Ornette Coleman and Pauline Oliveros.