Untied Knot - Description of a Flame

  by Keith How

published: 10 / 4 / 2016

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Review

The Untied Knot are Nigel Bryant and Matt Donovan who took it upon themselves to record a series of studio improvisations over about twelve months. Matt Donovan plays synthesisers, tabla and percussion, while Nigel Bryant plays guitars, effects, electronic organ and synths. The music was recorded between January and June 2014 and overdubbing and mixing followed until completion in March 2015. This is most certainly an album for the sonic explorer. The fifteen tracks are,like the composers, shrouded in mystery. Each selection has a life of its own and like flood water trying to find its own level the music meanders purposely through troughs and peaks, sometimes speeding like rapids while at other times calm as a deep pool until a point of completion is reached. Any artist or musician will tell you that one of the difficulties with abstraction and improvisation is avoiding boredom yet knowing when to call a halt. Boredom is different to repetition and bravery is required to know when to quit. The key is fearlessness and that is what gives these recordings the edge. The first listen is misleading. You are wondering when the hook line is going to appear or something that resembles a composition to refer to. These tracks have no points of reference which is at first confusing but then becomes exciting and intriguing. The music is sprawling improvisation yet not out of control. Electronic sounds buzz and shimmer. Sometimes a bass riff underpins the experimentation. The guitar work is restrained, often phased and seemingly overdriven but carefully set in the mix. Your brain might suddenly recognise some early Pink Floyd or Tangerine Dream but they seem accidental references and not contrived. Most tracks are fairly short, four or five minutes long, with each piece finding a dimension of its own. Shades of dark and light, gentle interludes and throbbing space pulses intertwine in the almost psychedelic stew. All this leads to a captivating listening experience, which culminates in the final track 'Everything Lasts for Ever' an is eight minutes of pure cosmic bliss that completes a fine album of experimentation. 'Description of a Flame'- is an undiscovered country waiting to be explored. Be warned- there is no map!

Track Listing:-

1 Aluminium Dream
2 Inner Exit
3 Molecular Sound Organisation
4 Exhibition of Industrial Power
5 Natural Velocity
6 Zen Atrophy
7 Swallowed by the Spiral
8 Hexagon in Nature
9 The Golden Specks of Knowledge
10 Revelation=Laughter
11 Ultrastructure
12 5th December 1872
13 Legendary Fountain
14 The Death of History
15 Everything Lasts Forever

Band Links:-

http://www.theuntiedknot.co.uk/
https://www.youtube.com/user/TheUntied
https://twitter.com/TheUntiedKnot
http://www.last.fm/music/the+untied+kn
https://www.facebook.com/theuntiedknot
http://www.songkick.com/artists/678285