One of the great explorers of 21st century electronic music
author: John Book/The Run-Off Groove
The last I heard of Jeff Bujak, I had interpreted his music as jazz with electronic stylings. I really enjoyed it and looked forward to what he had to offer, and he now presents the world with a new effort called Building: An Arsenal (Lizardflag Recordings). For this one, the vibe here is electronic music with jazz stylings, not sure if he decided to switch his emphasis or I'm just hearing things differently, but what I like about this one is that he continues to explore with his music with a bit of minimalism involved, and trying to get through each song layer by layer, without worrying about reaching the end at a specific time.
I say this because Bujak likes to explore things in-depth, meaning that while there are brief 44 second pieces on here ("Py" and "Vy" respectively), tracks like "Vacuous" are 11:11 in length, while "Sill" is 14:00 and "Crowd" is 12:16, while the album closes with three 9 minute songs in a row. Think of The ORB if they were into jazz, and some might read that and go "oh, so Bujak sounds like The Necks?" No, but instead you have a musician who is very sure of his playing style, and chooses to do so with electronic backdrops. "Muses" could easily find its way onto any new electronic album, some of the beats sound like something from the Future Sound Of London vaults with something that sounds like an electronic Melodica. Dare I say it, but as a whole this guy could easy give Moby a run for his money in terms of arrangements, musical depth, and concepts. He can create something with an abrasive edge, or as is the case with "Crowd" it sounds a bit like new age with a beat. Some of it sounds perfect for some kind of promotioal tourist package video, but then you sit down with the music a bit and start to hear his music in different ways. But away from the textures surrounding him, the focus is his piano playing, and Bujak is great to listen to. Not sure if he plans to tour for this one, but to be able to have a group of musicians who could duplicate this live would be a trip to listen and view. Job well done.
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