Album Notes

"Ricardo, Move" is the second album from Cosmo D's ever-evolving acoustic-electronic improvisational collective, Sauce, and third overall. At once a more aggressive, groove-heavy and leaner album than its predecessor, "Ricardo, Move" still provides Cosmo D's penchant for soaring melody, otherworldly texture and intricate drum programming that have all been in place since "Plantastic Joyage," Cosmo D’s first solo album

In the Spring of 2008, Cosmo D had to quickly vacate his apartment due to unexpected structural damage to the 100-year-old Brooklyn walk-up he resided in. What should have taken a week, however, ended up taking many months due to a shady trans-Atlantic contracting deal, a complete overhaul of the pipes and electricity wiring and a last-minute decision by the landlord to install a Jacuzzi in the basement. Meanwhile, Cosmo D’s sense of displacement grew quite intense. During his period of couch surfing and guerilla subletting, Cosmo D wrote the music and programmed beats for his band, playing songs that would eventually evolve into “Ricardo, Move”

"Ricardo," recorded in June 2008 in Toronto (a ways away from Sauce’s Brooklyn home base), finds Cosmo D and the Sauce aiming for a visceral, dance-oriented musicality, rather than the jazz and experimental leanings of its self-titled predecessor. It’s about the desire to dance away whatever immediate troubles would be found on the home front. In addition to the Matmos-inspired found-sound rhythmic textures, Sauce also features live drum samples and synth beats. These samples have all been twisted, mangled and programmed for maximum emotional and rhythmic punch on songs like "Ricardo & the Van, "Leaded Leaves" and "New Sense." Myk Freedman provides his trakemark lapsteel crying on “Charm City,” sax player Pat Breiner merges soulfulness with mathematical exactitude on “Ovah the Brijjj” and Cosmo lends his mournful cello to Josh Myers’ electric bass undulations throughout to entire 34-minute disc.

Simultaneously pulverizing and massaging the ears, “Ricardo, Move,” provides yet another distinctive window into Cosmo D's unique sound world colored by urgency, determination and the desire to dance in the face of uncertainty.

Also, this album is probably the last time the band in particular line-up would exist. Lapsteeler Myk Freedman would end up moving to Toronto for good in the Fall of 2008 and sax player Pat Breiner would move to Wisconsin around the same time, leaving founding members Cosmo D and bassist Josh Myers to carry on the band with a whole group of musicians. To be continued…