TIME MACHINE

For their second album, Dzyan refurbished their sound according to the dramatic variations underwent by the line-up. Now as a trio with two newcomers - guitarist Eddy Marron and drummer/percussionist Peter Giger - joining forces with bassist/contrabassist Karwatky, Dzyan was ready to emphasize their experimental drive under a renewed scheme rooted in a clever mixture of psychedelia and fusion. This one and "Electric Silence" are genuine classics of the fusion-friendly side of krautrock. From the very first seconds of the opener 'Kabisrain' a special magic of sound is created out of the zaz, contrabass and sundry percussive ornaments, all of them freely stating a ceremonious ambience. The acoustic guitar washes serve as complements to the zaz textures, with the electric guitar arpeggios soon joining the overall atmosphere. There is a particular passage in which the sonic display reaches some heights of intensity, but that's just a moment of particular colorfulness amidst a flow of languid ambiences. This is sort like a hybrid of early Jade Warrior and second album-era Annexus Quam. 'Magika' shifts to a very different mood, with the band assuming a power-trio line of work in an electrifying exercise on psychedelia-driven jazz-rock: in this way, the band shows similarities with Zappa, the jamming facet of post-"Court" King Crimson, and Agitation Free. The energy is tremendously obvious, but it is also very controlled since the syncopated pace delivered by the rhythm duo manages to set a clear frame for the overall instrumental expansions. Marron is a real virtuoso, and he knows how to keep an open mind to the momentum's experimentation. Once again we face a shift of mood with track 3, the bucolic 'Light Shining Out of Darkness': now, the band explores the introspective side of jazz-rock with a prominent role of acoustic guitar and the use of soaring lines on the electric guitar for the provision of textures. I personally would have preferred that this piece had been longer than its 3 ¼ minute span, but what can one man do. things are as they are, and this piece is beautiful anyway, regardless of its duration. No complaints about the time span of the title track, whose 18 minutes allowed it to fill the whole B side of the vinyl edition. This is a solid and varied exploration on the standards of krautrock from a clearly defined jazz-rock perspective. The first minutes are marked by the alternation of languid passages and brief explicit interludes. The jam that settles in to conform the track's central motif reminds me of a mixture of Ash Ra Tempel and Mahavishnu Orchestra. The additional percussions insert a tribal vibe that state an effective counter to the bass solo that emerges while the guitar becomes momentarily subdued. Each individual's proficiency can be heard from miles, but the most amazing thing is how well the three musicians articulate an amalgam while preserving each their own performative freedom. The last section is built as a ritual of repetitive cadences on a mid tempo pace: the cosmic adornments on guitar and synthesizer articulate shades of eerie playfulness. This is where the essential Dzyan got started: "Time Machine" is a progressive gem of the first division, an undisputed must for all lovers of jazz-rock, as well as krautrock (and other trends of psychedelic rock).