GONERVILL

However, dialectical discussions aside(as Hegel and Positivism do not coalesce) when the two ambivalent realms come together, the results can be awe-inspiring. Recent attempts, in the ever-trendy domain of space-prog-hip-hop-trance, have revealed a monetarily sufficient realm for the new jambands. While enticing, each band reeks of derivation: but the dilettantes follow and subsequently get their "groove" on in a GHP addled community, happily crossing the parallel lines, and enjoying the Studio 54 treatment. Faint screams, tacitly acknowledging cupidity, of "Ibiza" are heard through out the night.

Luckily, bands like Gonervill (and the term "band" may indeed be inaccurate), consisting of the now hip DJ-Drum-Bass mix, exist and rather than creating work for a capitalist solidarity, they instead create work with a healthy sense of sincerity. Most hip-hop/jazz/dub mixes, bands taking George Clinton's dofage "shake their ass and the mind will follow" sound as shallow as Clinton's platitude. Gonverill, in a perceived moment which remains inaudible, yet present, seemingly creates a potent mixture of idioms, and remains exploratory enough to garner consideration as the paragon of the neophyte genre.

Even the grandest dolt can listen to Gonervill and cry "foul!" He or she might harangue: An impossibility exists in the world of art: actions exist in the moment, but each moment relates to the past. Exegesis can only exist if this remains true, in a moment wherein constant relation, the high note and the low note, light and dark (not absence) has been accepted as the syntactic structure. To speak of new, implies a moment of chaos, pre-Edenic moments, silence, absence; a land of no speech. Thus, the question and theory must consider the potential for "new" within "old." Nothing new exists, as Eco argues in "Foucault's Pendulum," but instead "permutations run rampant." The cliché of "History repeats itself," could be amended to "history fucking repeats itself, only if you summarize and are searching for some natural truth." Meaning tautology becomes natural, but only for the individual searching for a simpleton's truth. The forest, for example changes, but the "forest" like "history" does not (semantic, post-modern discourse tacit). "From afar, the story seems simple and neat, but up close, ah, it becomes another problem" Hugo states in Sartre's "Dirty Hands" for a decent, lucid exemplar.

My disputatious, Derridianly diaphanous, discursive aside, while their dauntless eponymous debut exemplifies the possibilities for music, Unseen Worlds, exposes references to '70s Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix and DJ Cam; yet always sounds original and ebullient. The music's alacrity, beyond the point of hyperbolic name references, exists in the ineffable ability to allude and be ironic; referencing the past, and yet being ironic in an attempt to create an autonomous aesthetic creation. Gonervill chooses to walk the arduous line of artistic sophistication, rather than the innocuous land of the parallel lines.

Other tracks, such as Voodoo, Cut Up Brain, Raver's Revenge and Panic Attack deserve equal superlatives and circumlocution. Realizing the uselessness, I will stop here, but I emphasize the music's decency and ability: finally someone has truly synthesized jazz, hip-hop and dub into a panache creation. Only Gonervill's Bay Area brethren Mushroom, can compete in a territory currently occupied by an endless assortment of charlatans; and even an aspersion like "charlatan" becomes unnecessary given Gonervill's ilk.

Christopher Orman (courtesy of the Jam Bands website)

Even after listening to the whole record, you still have no clue what Gonervill is. Upon first thought, maybe it's a place for losers, a place that really uncool people go to get gone. Who knows? The two men who, in theory, make up Gonervill claim that while it is a place, it's more of a mental place that an artist goes to while art is being created. These two men, Extrakd and Eddie Def (along with live beat sampling Brian) seem to have spent a lot of time in that place while this record was being made. It would be most appreciated by DJs and/or die-hard fans of extremely experimental hip-hop. Much would be improved by adding lyrics to the wacky tracks, but a few that didn't leave my head spinning were "On And On," "Unseen Worlds," the transfixing "Voodoo," and the deeply beatific "Nurds."

Vanessa Bormann (courtesy of the Ink19 website)

If you are looking for quantity, Gonerville has it. It's features twenty tracks, with the longest being just less than five minutes. In quality though, Gonerville is really gone. The project is one that has a good premise, showing the instrumental side of hip-hop and how two DJ's, a live drummer and guest guitarists can bring about different slant on the primarily beat-based form of music. The way it is executed here shows at times how limited the genre of hip-hop is when you eliminate the vocal aspect of the music. The vocalist or rapper can bring about a special personality in the music which helps to show some human heart and soul to the sometimes mechanical feel of the music. In Gonerville, there was very little diversion from the same tempo and the heart and soul has been very subdued. After the first few tracks, the sameness comes through and only near the end of the CD came a diversion that could have been better earlier in the release. Also an additional diversion track could have made the difference to help the CD have a better chance for acceptabilty by the group that they were trying to reach, namely people who are turned off by the lyrics of hip-hop, but still like the rhythmic value of the genre. With the right planning, Gonerville could have been here to stay as a breakthrough release to bring new meaning to hip-hop. Instead, Gonerville will never go out of the record bin at the corner music store.

Norm Breest (courtesy of the Jazz Review website)

Here's an unusual lineup for you. Gonervill is a trio consisting of a drummer (Brain of the Limbomaniacs, Praxis, and Primus) and two turntablists (Extrakd and Eddie Def). Of course, they do get a little help from guitarists Buckethead and M.I.R.V. (and that sure does sound like Bill Laswell on bass on a couple of tracks). But the focus is on Brain's sturdy, funky beats and the mind-blowing turntable skills of Eddie Def and Extrakd. The album hits a high point early on with the densely constructed "Infiltrating Assassin," but maintains a surprisingly consistent level of quality throughout; the psychedelic guitar work on "Unseen Worlds" blends nicely with a welter of manic cuts and scratches from the turntable crew, while the moderately creepy "Fear Is the Killer" takes a breakbeat that sounds as if it was recorded at the Black Ark and combines it with Bernie Worrell-flavored organ parts and a nasty, shuddering bass line. The album closes with "Muad' Dib," a slow and funky Buckethead showcase that draws equally on North African flavors and old school hip-hop. Fans of breakbeat and turntable artistry should ignore this one at their peril.

4 1/2 stars out of 5

Rick Anderson (courtesy of the All Music Guide website)