Two guitarists and percussionists from opposite ends of the country battle it out in the free improv release The Unexpected One. This noisy debut release from Bernard Falaise, Ron Samworth, Pierre Tanguay and Dylan van der Schyff has an edgy, seat-of-your-pants quality which is simultaneously appealing and unnerving. The wide range of sounds, harmonies, effects, moods and all out crashing about created here screams out for repeated listenings in order to truly grasp the ever present subtleties and nuances. Good stuff.

Vancouver meets Montréal! Ron Samworth (electric guitar) and Dylan van der Schyff (drums) from Vancouver join forces with Bernard Falaise (electric guitar) and Pierre Tanguay (drums) from Montréal. Ron Samworth and Dylan van der Schyff are leading figures of the Vancouver new music/improv scene with connections to the likes of George Lewis, Louis Sclavis, Vinny Golia, Barry Guy, Evan Parker and involvement in the NOW Orchestra, Hard Rubber Orchestra, François Houle ensembles and many more. Bernard Falaise and drummer Pierre Tanguay are Montréal composers and improvisers associated with television, theatre, dance, Les Projectionnistes, Dangereux Zhoms, etc. In a word all four of them are improvisers with great expertise and reputation. On this first meeting all four members of this quartet — or double duo if you want — demonstrate a similar interest in improv and improv rock. They talk the same language. Subtle and quiet passages on the one hand, intense and noisy and quasi-melodic outbursts at the other. We hear some very nice battles, like between the two guitarists in Oh My!. In general the interplay between the four is very concentrated and rich. All four take part in the sound explorations, so that one can say it’s really a well-balanced group improvisation. Together they lay down a wide spectrum of sounds extracted from their instruments through a diversity of extended techniques and attributes.

A cross-continental meeting between two guitarists and two drummers, The Unexpected One is a studio document of a too rare intermingling between the Montréal and Vancouver free improv scenes. From the Eastern metropolis, we have two of Ambiances Magnétiques household names of late, guitarist Bernard Falaise (Klaxon Gueule, Miriodor) and drummer Pierre Tanguay (a regular sideman of Jean Derome and René Lussier. Joining them in Vancouver are guitarist Ron Samworth (Talking Pictures, NOW Orchestra) and drummer Dylan van der Schyff (also Talking Pictures, Peggy Lee Band). The group doesn’t work as a “double duo” but as a fully-integrated unit, even though there are episodes of various guitars/drums and Western/Eastern groupings. The session is spirited, talkative and occasionally raucous (Falaise and Samworth both have rock music experience and a tendency to foray into avant-rock electric guitar sounds). There is also plenty of pensive moments, like the last half of Cinq Six Boîtes de Tomates Vertes and the middle part of Pink Crimson, an 18-minute epic ending with an improvised quasi-progressive rock motif. The best moments of the set are found in It Was Nice!, Oh My! and Corned Oliphant, all featuring thrilling interplay and ear-grabbing dynamic shifts. Falaise’s use of a volume pedal, pitch shifter and looping device provide an eery, slightly Frippian mood, while the complementary percussive approaches of Tanguay and van der Schyff (and their close center-left/center-right positioning) give the illusion of listening to a single, extremely versatile drummer. This is a very satisfying studio session from a group showing lots of promise as a stable unit.

The Unexpected One, c’est le premier album d’un nouveau quatuor pourtant composé de musiciens très aguerris. Ron Samworth et Dylan Van der Schyff sont deux piliers de la scène improvisée de Vancouver, collaborant couramment au sein de Talking Pictures et du NOW Orchestra. Bernard Falaise et Pierre Tanguay jouent le même rôle à Montréal, chacun multipliant depuis des années les collaborations de haute-voltige. Sur The Unexpected One, retrouvez deux guitaristes et deux percusionnistes en grande forme.