Fred Lonberg-Holm / Simon Camatta - Crazy Notions [Umland Records 017]

Coming in from the label offices of Essen's Umland Records is "Crazy Notions", the latest collaborational album effort by label head Simon Camatta and Chicago's Fred Lonberg-Holm. Recorded after a short tour allover Germany we see Camatta on drums and Lonberg-Holm on cello cater a six track, one hour journey into their very own universe of Jazz-infused improvisation, starting with "Night Is Here" sporting super loose, abstract drum signatures from which structures slowly emerge, evoking memories of thundering Candomble rituals at times whilst the cello performs slightly fever'ish stunts to pave the way for things to come over the course of this longplayer, "Again, Baby" sees the two musicians provide more of a longing, siren'esque soundscape which, for some unknown and well quirky reasons, projects scenes of buzzing, timelapsed Italian streets and kitchen scenes in the 1930s or 40s onto the screen of our inner minds cinema, "Stretched Out Of My Bed" rather focuses on the cello's string treatment - plucking included - whilst the abstract percussion works of Simon Camatta provide only a bit of an additional thunder and squeak every now and then before the albums main piece, the 21+ minutes spanning "Seeing All Kinds Of Crazy Notions", explores the most fever'ish, wild and untamed (non)musical visions one could ever think of, again bringing up ritualistic notions for the headstrong, providing spine-tingling sequences of unsettling calmness only to get lost in a hefty, flickering climax of tilt mode madness again after a few more minutes. Furthermore the two artists are "Running Around", chasing a creaky sonic vision of an abstract kind one might associate with ancient, mechanical Field Recordings whilst the concluding journey "Through My Head" is a calm and relaxing one, relying mostly on the magic of plucked strings and rattling, yet tender metallic sounds progressing into more nervous, thundering sequences from Camatta's drum kit. Quite a lot to take in for unexperienced listeners, demanding even for those in the know, but defo a rewarding one for those indulging deep in genres like FreeJazz and FreeImprov.

Album artwork on Instagram!