Floratone

If under-the-radar supergroups exist, then that’s what Floratone is, claiming as members legendarily versatile jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, avant-garde violist Eyvind Kang, rock producer Tucker Martine, and drummer Matt Chamberlain, who has worked with everyone from Fiona Apple to Kanye West. The resulting album is a collection of open-ended soundscapes that slide between stoned desert rock, swampy fusion and sun-stroked ambient swirls.

The most successful tracks, like "The Passenger" and "The Future," take elements from each of these styles and fuse them into a uniquely abstract take on instrumental funk that's alive with an unsettling undercurrent of dread. The straight-ahead funk of "Mississippi Rising," however, seems less sincere, while cuts like "Monsoon" don't innovate enough, relaxing into a groove and staying there. At its best, though, Floratone recalls the pioneering spirit and tone of '70s Miles Davis records—restless background music for people who want to transform their environment into something mysterious, and to be transformed by it.

—Nate Cunningham
08.13.07

A casual listen might suggest that Floratone is a new Bill Frisell project (and that would be mostly correct), except every indication is that this is a fully collaborative project between Frisell, drummer Matt Chamberlain, and Tucker Martine and Lee Townsend. Composition credits are all shared and they all appear on the front cover. Why is that notable? Because while Frisell and Chamberlain are both credited with "loops" along with their respective instruments, Martine and Townsend receive only "production" credits -- no instruments. That's because on Floratone, the pure elements of sound and space are given as much attention as the music itself. Not only are there cool shimmering loops coloring the tunes, but any musical element can get treated, delayed, bounced around, echoed and twisted through 360-degrees of the stereo spectrum. With titles that invoke the South, the songs mostly float along at a languid pace anchored by the bass of Viktor Krauss. Ron Miles (trumpet) and Eyvind Kang (viola) also contribute to several cuts but don't really figure prominently. The focus is squarely on Frisell and Chamberlain and the soundworld they've created with Martine and Townsend. There's the slight reggae lilt of the title cut with some great dub-style echo and the New Orleans flavored "Mississippi Rising" with its second line rhythm. "Louisiana Lowboat" is somewhat lumbering and clanky, coming across almost like a Tom Waits instrumental. "Monsoon" rocks things up a bit and "Threadbare" gets a bit noisy, but this is mostly a pretty laid-back affair. It's great to hear Frisell messing with the delays again in a big way (see also the "West" disc of East/West) and the pure sonics of Floratone are as much of a treat as the playing. It's pleasant enough for background music, but careful listening will be rewarded. Try this one with headphones. ~ Sean Westergaard, All Music Guide