Review | “Ash Grey And The Gull Glides On” by Andrew Wasylyk & Tommy Perman
Yet another brilliant Clay Pipe Music release opens up views toward new sound horizons
‘Just released on the dependably brilliant Castle Pipe Music label, “Ash Grey And The Gull Glides On” is the first album (and nationwide UK tour) as a duo by Scottish composers Andrew Wasylyk and Tommy Perman, who have already collaborated in the past for other records, as well as for films and sound installations.
Andrew Wasylyk is already a favorite of mine and is widely renowned, awarded, and accomplished as a musician.
His imperceptibly methodical approach towards orchestration, melody, harmony, and overall atmosphere is tantamount to a rigorous dogma whose unwavering discipline hides sensitive secrets behind a stern facade.
Lesser known to me is Perman, around whose organically sourced, treated, and sampled percussion the album revolves, an international DJ, visual artist, and musician boasting various eponymous releases and collaborations
As the liner notes for this album inform us:
“...approaching the meditative ten-song collection, Tommy posted to Andrew three envelopes containing ‘Recording Instructions’, ‘Tempo Cards’ and ‘Chord Cards’.
Nodding towards the Fluxus instructions of Yoko Ono’s Grapefruit (ed. or Sol Le Witt's written directions for paintings and sculptures) the cards inspired exploration and improvisations which were then cut up and collaged.”
Their collaboration blossomed around an upright piano in Andrew's studio, initially envisioned under the working title "Consequential Piano".
The playful process resembled the game of Consequences or Exquisite Corpse, blending Andrew's piano with Tommy's unconventional electronic production techniques.
About half of the album's tracks originated from Andrew's demos, while the rest began with Tommy's sketches.
The addition of Perman's rhythmic interventions to the Wasylyk compositional alchemy introduces an urban warmth to the contemplative harmonies by quoting dancefloor-adjacent sounds, mainly through percussion but also airy horn arrangements and sing-along backing vocals
Every one of these elements is a piece representing a bigger puzzle, their timbre subtly alluding to wider genre flavors, like the splinters of echoing rimshots hinting at dub, the splintered fragments of stuttering electro, isolated shreds of rare groove and recurring orchestral flourishes reminiscent of '70s R&B and jazzy soul.
"Communal Imagination", is the first single. It started with Tommy's percussive samples and electronic drums, which Andrew then transformed, and it exemplifies this hybrid sound, with Wasylyk’s ethereal keys weaving around Perman’s popping beats, teasing out from the brisk melody an unexpectedly sinuous Balearic interpretation of a repetitive orchestral and choral theme, whose playful style reminds the listener of some forgotten TV titles theme written by library music legend and highly influential British composer Basil Kirchin.
The entire record sounds like a long-awaited rendezvous between the library music scene and the hauntological genre, both of them not only well acquainted with each other for some time now but, crucially, also in the mood to open up their intimate relationship to some sexy summery experimentation, just as they meet a charming stranger who proposes a funky ménage à trois on the couch of some chill-out sunset beach bar.
More of a communal sound, instead of an introspective meditation, these unexpected elements of desaturated, post-dancefloor, meta-club culture references add a soulful sheen that results in a carefully calibrated melange between introverted and buoyant
The album is a fortuitous occasion for the established reflective Wasylyk signature, whose circumscribed wistfulness is characterized by a chamber music aesthetic, to welcome the uplifting breeze of urban grooves introduced by Perman, the mingling of their deceptively incompatible moods resulting in a bittersweet amalgam that is just shy of melancholic, standing to the left of joyful.
An example of this laid-back soulful vibe is "Remain In Memory Full Of Light", one of the album's highlights which features synths derived from Andrew's piano, evoking early 1970s Marvin Gaye with its piano, bass, and sax lines.
Featuring overall instruments both analog and electronic, traditional and idiosyncratic, as well as sampled monologues, choir-like backing vocals, romantic piano arpeggios, and rasping saxophones, the rich orchestration sometimes rises to an exuberant fanfare
This spirited bluster, occasional but present throughout, works as an auxiliary effervescence to the ruminative harmonies, like gas bubbles turning water to a sparkling simulacrum of itself, boosting the conviction of abstract melodies, whose elegant sparseness simulates a poker-faced mask of emotional aloofness, immaculately conjuring a pensive lack of expressive specificity, performing feigned apathy but in good faith, urbanely opting for emotional discretion.
This contemplative reticence and discreet coyness becomes all the more alluring because of the inherent tension between the sensuality of the beats and the non-committal, speculative melodies.
It's a post-club chill-out mood that reminds me of the sublimely laid-back sophistication of the highly influential '90s avant trip-hop merchants Pork Recordings.
This hybrid between urban dance culture (at its most esoteric attenuation) and the melancholic sublime of Scottish introspection is achieved via their unexpected tonal affinity and sonic affiliation, creating a fusion that is surprisingly apposite and makes for yet another reason to love the gentle intrigue hinted at by such meticulously balanced arrangements and subtle compositional technique.
"Unrepeatable Air", which culminates in a crescendo of beautifully layered strings, reminiscent of Charles Stepney's experimental productions, saw Tommy overcoming his reluctance to record his voice, creating a choir of multiple Tommys in the quiet of his home, a testament to the piece's evocative mood.
"Ash Grey And The Gull Glides On" emerged from a happy accident with reverb settings, leading to castanet-like percussion around which Andrew improvised, resulting in a beautiful, drifting chord sequence.
The only track featuring lead vocals is the final one, starring the raspy baritone courtesy of Aidan Moffat of Arab Strap fame singing a quiet anthem over a vaguely New-Order-ish modulated backing track, strutting on the strongest four-to-the-floor beat of them all.
Not obvious regarding the hauntological meta-folk sensibilities usually expressed by Wasylyk (and the Clay Pipe Music scene) but unexpectedly rewarding, this album is a breakthrough towards a synergistic evolution of two disparate spheres, one being the introspective persuasion of bittersweet acoustics and the other representing the extrovert potential of beat-based improvisations.
Text written by Panagiotis Chatzistefanou, Berlin, May 2024