PLASMA

Taking flight for the fourth time like the Greek god of its namesake, the Swiss jazz outfit IKARUS has impressed the avant-jazz underworld for some seven years now since it's debut "Echo" showcased a new style of musical cross-pollination. The 2015 first offering displayed a firm command of and interesting hybrid of modern classical in the vein of Bartok with a chamber music sensibility defined by Arvo Pärt's multi-vocalist group weaving. Add to that the bubbling zeuhl rhythms of classic prog acts like Magma and Zoo and IKARUS succeeded in delivering something new and unexpected to the massive market of fringe jazz that lies in that gray area between the world of jazz, the world of classical as well as progressive rock.

PLASMA is the band's fourth release following "Chronosome" and "Mosaismic" and continues the stylistic approach crafted on the debut. Defined as a mix of post-minimalism, zeuhl and avant-garde jazz, IKARUS employs the sparse instrumentation of piano, bass and drums along with the dueling divas Anna Hirsch and Andreas Lareida who implement wordless vocals like seaworthy sirens summoning who knows what to seduce your senses into an ethereal entanglement! And yes, it works quite well indeed! Consisting of five tracks and a running time of just under 40 minutes, PLASMA is indeed a musical equivalent of the substance that stubbornly sits out of the three better known phases of matter: gases, liquids and solids.

Instrumentally speaking IKARUS' approach is to employ the tones and timbres of a jazz group while compositionally speaking evoking 20th century classical maestros. Rhythmically it's all set to zeuhl mode with the wordless vocals eerily haunting in their procession evoking the mysteries of an equivalent of Kobaian folklore and therefore is one of the few modern zeuhl based bands that succeeds in crafting an alienating hypnotic effect in the vein of classic Magma and given there are no guitars to be heard doesn't really feel like there are any rock aspects to be heard at all. What is experienced falls much more into the world of jazz with a thundering bass line constantly present but the intricate vocal lines are what transcend this musical experience into something that breaks the musical flow from the gravitational pull of any known genres.

"Tritium" opens with a more Earthly mood setting as the vocal patterns evoke calls from a lost African tribe therefore the connection to the home planet are expressed in dynamic form but as the album precedes the IKARUS takes flight and develops an airy feel as it sheds any expectations or connections to jazz, rock or classical yet never feeling over-alienating or too avant-garde for its own good. The beauty of the zeuhl rhythms is that they add an element of instant accessibility whereas the other elements take bold steps in decorating the musical motifs with crazy time signature patterns, oddball syncopation and vocal gymnastics. Like all IKARUS releases it's a tightrope act of an underlying rhythmic flow and the dynamic tensions of juxtaposing various grooves and elements that often threaten to derail the entire process. Luckily that never happens!

IKARUS is a strange chimera indeed as it seems to be too jazzy for many prog rockers and not jazzy enough to please the jazz purists but for those seeking something that defies all the silly genre boxes then this is definitely a worthy investment of your precious life-force as this quintet has certainly latched onto something original and completely out of the box and not only is this unique but well executed! There's not really a lot to distinguish the four albums of IKARUS however PLASMA feels a bit lighter and less ominous than previous endeavors. Overall this is an excellent slice of accessible avant-garde jazz/rock/classical music and will surely please the adventurous musical souls out there who grave interesting new interpretations with the world of avant-jazz, avant-prog and minimalist classical. At times even sounds a bit like Philip Glass!