Simultonality
Studio album by
Joshua Abrams and Natural Information Society
Released2017
Recorded2014 and 2015
StudioChicago and Montreal
GenreFree jazz, minimalism
Length42:18
LabelEremite
MTE-68
ProducerJoshua Abrams, Michael Ehlers
Natural Information Society chronology
Automaginary
(2015)		 Simultonality
(2017)		 Mandatory Reality
(2019)

Simultonality is a 2017 album by multi-instrumentalist and composer Joshua Abrams and the Natural Information Society.

Background

The album was recorded during 2014 and 2015 in Chicago and Montreal, and was released in 2017 on vinyl by Eremite Records, based in the United States, and on vinyl and CD by tak:til, an imprint of the German Glitterbeat label. Led by Joshua Abrams on guimbri and double bass, the group features tenor saxophonist Ari Brown, electric guitarist Emmett Kelly, keyboardist Ben Boye, harmonium player Lisa Alvarado, and drummers Mikel Avery and Frank Rosaly.[1][2][3][4]

The title of the final track, "2128½", refers to the address of Chicago's Velvet Lounge, where Abrams was house bassist during the 1990s.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Free Jazz Collective[5]
The Guardian[6]
The Jazz Mann[7]
Pitchfork[8]
Tom Hull – on the WebA–[9]

In an article for The New York Times, Giovanni Russonello described the album as "at once tensile and hypnotic," having "an aesthetic of repetition and renewal," and noted that the music "draws on a global scrapbook of sources: the liquid chime of 20th-century minimalism, the trebly funk of guitar-driven jazz fusion, the burrowing pulse of West Africa's Gnawa music."[10]

John Lewis of The Guardian called the album "a compelling Afro-futurist voyage," and wrote: "What holds everything together... is the spectral presence of Africa – with Abrams' goatskin-covered guimbri bouncing around the mix, sharing sonic space with resonator bells, bow harps and thumb pianos."[6]

Pitchfork's Marc Masters stated: "The group moves together like a carbon-based machine, loose enough to allow for surprises but always focused on one goal... the music... coaxes you to quiet your mind and focus your attention, but it doesn't necessarily move slowly... Simultonality advances Abrams and Natural Information Society's signature sound, one that gets even more unique the further it grows and expands."[8]

Writing for the Chicago Reader, Peter Margasak noted that the power of the group "is in large measure derived from a singular sense of purpose: to lock in on a single chord and with subtle, kaleidoscopic modality cast a spell at the nexus of a hypnotic groove." He praised the music's "shifting timbres" which are "built atop the twangy, cycling propulsion of the leader's thrumming guimbri lines."[11]

In a review for Dusted Magazine, Bill Meyer commented: "Musical and elemental forces converge harmoniously without losing their essence. It's a soul-warming response to the agents of fracture at work in America and other places."[12]

Commenting for The Jazz Mann, Ian Mann remarked: "Simultonality continues to find Abrams creating an increasingly individual music that binds disparate musical elements together in pursuit of a common purpose... Abrams has carved out a unique niche for himself and has surrounded himself with some excellent musicians as he pursues his artistic and philosophical vision."[7]

Eric McDowell of The Free Jazz Collective wrote: "Given the niche that Abrams has dug out for NIS in the avant-jazz scene, it's not surprising that at the root of Simultonality's propulsive character lies rhythm, in particular the hypnotizing ostinati that ground Abrams's simple, sturdy compositions... it's the band's collective focus that accounts for the full unstoppable force of the music."[5]

JazzWord's Ken Waxman stated: "Simultonality demonstrates that Abrams and NIS could easily be a high-quality groove band if it wishes. But like thoroughbred stallions that can be born as the result of careful breeding, the final two racks confirm that compositional and performance smarts exist to move the group onto an even higher level."[13]

Track listing

  1. "Maroon Dune" – 9:05
  2. "Ophiuchus" – 7:24
  3. "St. Cloud" – 4:20
  4. "Sideways Fall" – 12:11
  5. "2128½" – 9:03

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ "Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society: Simultonality". AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Natural Information Society - Simultonality". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society: Simultonality". Eremite Records. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society". Tak:Til. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  5. 1 2 McDowell, Eric (July 4, 2017). "Joshua Abrams Natural Information Society - Simultonality". The Free Jazz Collective. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Lewis, John (April 20, 2017). "Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society: Simultonality review – Africa soaring". The Guardian. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  7. 1 2 Mann, Ian (June 8, 2017). "Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society: Simultonality". The Jazz Mann. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  8. 1 2 Masters, Marc (April 6, 2017). "Simultonality". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  9. ↑ Hull, Tom. "Jazz (2000– )". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
  10. ↑ Russonello, Giovanni (April 20, 2017). "Pop, Rock and Jazz in NYC This Week". The New York Times. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  11. ↑ Margasak, Peter (June 1, 2017). "With Natural Information Society, Joshua Abrams expands his sonic palette while remaining locked-in on modal trance". Chicago Reader. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  12. ↑ Meyer, Bill (April 13, 2017). "Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society—Simultonality (Eremite)". Dusted. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
  13. ↑ Waxman, Ken (October 1, 2017). "Ari Brown / Lisa Alvarado / Joshua Abrams / Frank Rosaly". JazzWord. Retrieved December 30, 2023.
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