What immediately sounds like a clamor of percussion frenzy, swerves unexpectedly into a turntable refuge of groove, backed by an avant-garde rhythmic accompaniment in "Landing." So is the story of Billy Martin's latest album, For No One In Particular, released on his own label, Amulet Records. Always joining forces with diverse talent, this new offering has Martin venturing forward with the accompaniment of Grant Calvin Weston and DJ Logic. A redefinition of earth, wind, and fire, the soundscape is filled with talking drums, gongs, mbiras, birdwhistles, duck calls, congas, woodblocks, a trumpet, and numerous wild subtleties all merging from dynamic percussive experiments.
Performed live at New York City's intimate club Tonic, the culmination is one part intricate rhythms and one part sci-fi paranoia. When layered with a technically proficient DJ, these two off-the-wall percussion dynamos dive head first, creating quite a wild ride. The quiet, religious monastery of "Ylang Ylang" stirs to a more common Medeski, Martin &Wood serenade of drum fills within "Flashing Sword." The spectrum is certainly expansive, and though
For No One In Particular may mostly appeal to those with patient ears, one can call this creation, "rhythms for the uninhibited."
