Stick Men

Deep (2013) [CD + DVD9 A/V NTSC]

 ^{Stick Men — Deep (April 16, 2013) [CD + DVD9 A/V NTSC] {Deluxe Book Special Edition}}
♦♦♦♦   This is a GREAT disc to test those speakers at home; or perhaps your best headphones. So break out your speaker of choice, turn the lights down low and ENJOY your journey into the Deep…
Location: Dripping Springs, TX
Album release: April 16, 2013
Record Label: Stick Men Records | STM 9867D
Duration:     54:17
Tracks:
CD
01 Nude Ascending Staircase     5:05
02 On Off     3:58
03 Cusp     4:54
04 Hide the Trees     6:38
05 Crack in the Sky     5:47
06 Horatio     4:14
07 Concussion     4:27
08 Sepia     8:55
09 Whale Watch     10:19
Personnel:
•   Tony Levin: Chapman Stick and voice
•   Pat Mastelotto: acoustic drums, electronic drums, percussion
•   Markus Reuter: 8– and 10–string Touch Guitars, live electronics
Notes:
•   DVD A/V
•   Uncompressed 5.1 DTS surround and 96khz/24bit stereo mixes
•   "A Little Deeper" documentary / concert film by Jack Casadone
•   Spanish & Italian versions of "Crack in the Sky"CREDITS:
•   Written and produced by Stick Men
•   Mixed by Machine for Machine Shop Productions
•   Mastered by Lee Fletcher for Unsung Productions
•   Executive producers: Stick Men and Richard Schilder
•   Cover design by Ritxi Ostariz
•   Tony's parts recorded by Tony at Studio 41 in Kingston, NY
•   Drumming engineered and recorded by p@ @ place in Dripping Springs, TX
•   Markus' parts recorded by Markus and Erik Emil Eskildsen at The Atelier, Innsbruck, Austria
•   P@ thanks John, Don, Garrison and all the cats at DW drums, Andrew, Tim and all the guys at Paiste, Ben and Vic at Vic Firth, Marco and Steve at Evans/D'Addario, John at Hammerax, Steve and Tim and the folks at Roland, Evan and the Korg team, Vince De Franco at Synesthesia, a big thumbs up to Ableton LIVE, Nord, Stylus RMX.
•   Markus thanks his wife Renée, Bernhard Wöstheinrich, Ed Reynolds, the members of the Touch Guitar Circle, Touch Guitars (www.touchguitars.com), Reunion Blues, as well as Crumar, Darkglass Electronics, WMD, Tech21, Z.VEX, Fuzzhugger(fx), Pigtronix, Jack Deville Electronics, Analog Man, and Digitech for the pedals.
•   Special thanks to Matthew J Larsen, Junichi Iwawaki, Darcy L Quinlan, Griffith Davies, Philipp Quaet-Faslem, Laura Keen Photography, Richard Schilder, Kenji Takeichi, Diego Santana, Veikko Linko, David Martyn, David L Daniels, Jake Puntis, Jaanus Lee Damsgard, Russell Clemons, Daniel Jarvis, Erik van Oosten, and Allison Bates.
Description:
•   Limited edition (only 300 copies made!) Deluxe 32–page linen–bound book with personal photos and notes by the band. Stick Men (Tony Levin of King Crimson, Peter Gabriel; Pat Mastelotto of King Crimson, XTC, Mr. Mister; Markus Reuter of Tuner, Centrozoon) present their new Special Edition CD/DVD release of Deep. The bonus DVD includes a wonderful 5.1 DTS mix of the entire album and hi–res versions of the stereo mix. All of this uncompressed at the highest fidelity. Also included is a 65 minute documentary and concert film A Little Deeper. Also included are two alternative versions of Crack in the Sky in both Italian and Spanish and a postcard signed by Tony Levin, Pat Mastelotto, and Markus Reuter.
•   You might have expected, upon hearing that the Stick Men’s forthcoming project would be on a theme of whale watching, that there would follow these cerulean moments of oceanic calm. Instead, Deep hurtles out with a tensile force.
•   “Nude Ascending the Staircase” finds long–time leader Tony Levin brilliantly intertwining on the Chapman stick with touch guitarist Markus Reuter, even as Levin’s fellow King Crimson bandmate Pat Mastelotto creates a thunderous cadence on the drums. Deep, due for release on February 19, 2013, via 7D Media/Stick Men Records, more often than not continues on in this way — telling a largely unspoken narrative of discovery, but with little of the ambient ebb and flow its subject matter might suggest.
•   “On/Off” is similarly edgy, unfolding with a coiled danger, whereas “Cusp” bangs with a rhythmic tension. “Hide the Trees” finds the Stick Men pulling apart an anthematic tune, then carefully reassembling the parts. It’s not until “Crack in the Sky” that Deep initially descends into darker waters. Levin offers a whispered lyric on this ruminative piece, adding to its echoing mystery.
•   “Horatio,” however, follows with a muscular riff and a stamping beat, building into a funky grind. “Concussion” then builds upon that sense of clanging portent — charging toward a chest–bursting zenith, animating the very sound of fear — before gathering itself for a soaring ride across an icy skyscape.
•   Similarly episodic, “Sepia” begins with an encircled riff before settling into a twilit poignancy, like the heart-rending cries of the album’s long–sought–after whale. Finally, in the concluding moments of “Sepia,” Mastelotto catches a layered groove, and Levin and Reuter emerge — returning to the opening lines with a newfound sense of propulsive imagination.
•   Finally, there’s the complex and startling “Whale Watch,” the song which perhaps most completely captures the wonder, mystery and underlying fear that these great beasts engender. As the tune builds toward a gear–grinding crescendo, this broad range of emotions is explored through a series of stunning, interlocking instrumental segments — loud and then soft, brightly lit and then in lengthy shadow.
•   It must be very much like watching a glass-smooth expanse of sea water transformed from its quiet placidity into a roiling explosion of sight and sound as a whale suddenly ascends toward the sky. As odd as it once might have sounded, this album’s thrilling, and very considered cacophony ends up making complete sense.
© 2013 7D Media / Stick Men Records | STM 9867D
REVIEW
Lee Henderson on July 7th, 2013
•   This is a review of the standard edition CD. At the link mentioned above, you can find special editions with extras and DVD and even a very expensive book edition. No matter which version you buy, the nine main tracks are immaculate and great in their presentation.
•   By now, no one in the progressive music world is unfamiliar with the three giants that comprise Stick Men. Founder Tony Levin on Chapman stick, Pat Mastelotto on traps and buttons and Markus Reuter on touch guitars, U8 and electronics. This is a trio that has a huge sound more like a six piece. For me, this is the best release so far. •   It brings a Crimson sound from where the Discipline/Beat/Three of a Perfect Pair were headed. The opener ‘Nude Ascending Staircase’ is evidence of that. I hear a much richer and broader sound from Mastelotto and not muffled or compressed as he sometimes sounds with Crimson and other former projects. The versatility of all three musicians is in full bloom. The second track ‘On/Off’ is slower in tempo but still explores that Frippiod arpeggiated guitar work. Everything is so silky smooth and although it sounds effortless, that’s due to the decades of experience from the players.
•   All the music has a sharp edge and much of it has a brisk springy energy that walks past you before you see it coming. ‘Cusp’ is as such with incomparable interplay with bass, percussion, drums, guitar and electronic treatments. If anyone thinks this is ambient music, they’d be woefully wrong. Each composition has directness, total structure and are indeed what the general public would call songs. Track four ‘Hide in the Trees’ is a favorite of mine with a more lush atmosphere and floating tempo which brings to mind David Sylvian, and even steps into a slightly Happy The Man sound, but still retains the Crimson presence. The versatility is pronounced here. And then even further so with ‘Crack in the Sky’ where Levin speaks in the song, so much like Robbie Robertson from his early recordings. Calm, deep, and charismatic, his words ride the waves of soothing music precisely like foam on the waves. Reuter creates a gorgeous celestial skyscape with guitars and treatments. This is another fine example of spoken word being absolutely perfect for the music. In fact, everything on “Deep” is perfect.
•   I found nothing even remotely weak or misfitted on the nine cuts. Just the opposite, it’s all at the height of Stick Men’s output. ‘Concussion’ (track 7) pounces on you with drums and bass, then fluid guitar, quickly jumping into a jazz motif unlike anything else on the recording. While the bass lines grind, guitar floats, the drums promote the syncopations. As this develops, you end up with very complex measures of change and textures. Amazing stuff! The following cut ‘Sepia’ comes back down to an aquatic feel. The intro is relaxing but then mystery abounds. You’re underwater in the deep blue sea. Stick Men create a glorious suspense, sound track in element, stand out in it’s cozy environment, and mesmerizing in it’s entirety. At the end, a groove is established by Mastelotto and the piece dissolves. What the listener gets on the last track ‘Whale Watch’ is a total masterpiece of progressive music. An all consuming ten minutes plus epic that snowballs into a mass of all out greatness. The giant awakes! Oddly, this last cut is the least like Crimson, and brings in some big changes in both dynamics and styles. From medium tempo to rushing currents, to suspense, to power plunges, and short lost in space layovers. This one is a true journey and one that will thrill.•   “Deep” is vast, warm, sizzling, striking, and hands down their best release yet. I found everything amazing in this hybrid fusion of Stick Men’s world. The theme of whale watching is reinvented here as so many other images are created for the interpretation of the audience. As said, this is no where near an ambient project, but does just the opposite in cascading and flowing through many textures and tempos, auras and pictures for the mind.
•   Very Recommended !
•   http://www.prognaut.com/ Copyright © 1998–2013, ProgNaut.com, All Rights Reserved.
Also:
Reviewer: Terrell Brooks, March 12th 2013; Score: *****
•   http://www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=14229
Website: http://www.papabear.com/
Website: www.tonylevin.com
Website: www.patmastelotto.com
Website: www.markusreuter.com
Website Japanese: http://www.ient.or.jp/tlclub/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonylevinofficial
Discography:
•   Soup, 2010
•   Absalom, 2011 (EP)
•   Open, 2012
•   Deep, 2013
•   Power Play, 2014
LIVE SHOWS COMING UP:
with STICK MEN   2015 World Tour:
April 9  Billboard Live Osaka / Osaka, Japan
April 10  Billboard Live Tokyo / Tokyo, Japan
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May 14  Jazz Caffe Escazu / Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica
May 15  Jazz Caffe Escazu / Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica
May 16  Bar Republik Zona Rosa / San Salvador, El Salvador
May 20  Teatro Nescafe de las Artes / Santiago, Chile
May 22  Nave Cultural / Mendoza, Argentina
May 24  Centro de Arte Radio City / Mar del Plata, Argentina
May 26  Teatro Municipal / Bahia Blanca, Argentina
May 27  Teatro Espanol de Coronel Pringles / Santa Rosa, Argentina
May 29  ND Teatro / Buenos Aires, Argentina
May 30  Las Trastienda / Montevideo, Uruguay
June 1  Instinuto Tamaba — workshop / Buenos Aires, Argentina
June 3  Teatro San Martin / Cordoba, Argentina
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Sept 29  Il Giardino / Verona, Italy
Sept 30  Il Giardino / Verona
Oct 1  Club Music Jam / Sofia, Bulgaria
Oct 2  Centre Culturelle Regional / Delemont, Switzerland
Oct 3  Rockland / Sala, Sweden
Oct 5  Buckley's / Oslo, Norway
Oct 6  Moriska Pavijongen / Malmo, Sweden
Oct 7  Nefertiti / Goteborg
Oct 9  Sardinen USF / Bergen, Norway
Oct 9  Sardinen USF / Bergen, Norway
Oct 12  Lucerna Bar / Prague, Czech Republic
Oct 13  Bergkeller / Reichenbach, Germany
Oct 15  Harmonie / Bonn, Germany
Oct 16  Cultuurpodium Boerderij / Zoetermeer, Netherlands
Oct 17  Hot Jazz Club / Muenster, Germany
Oct 18  W2 Poppodium / Hertogenbosh, Netherlands
Oct 20  Spirit of 66 / Verviers, Belgium
Oct 21  Substage / Karlsruhe, Germany
Oct 22  Kulturzentrum FranzK / Reutingen, Germany
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Stick Men

Deep (2013) [CD + DVD9 A/V NTSC]

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