Reviews Search

DAVID COULTER, "INTERVENTION"

David Coulter is a multiinstrumentalist who was a contributing member of the Pogues and TestDept., has played with Peter Hammill, The Kronos Quartet, Marc Ribot,Talvin Singh and Roger Eno among others and currently lectures atStratford-upon-Avon College. "INterVENTION" is his solo debut viaMichael Gira's (SWANS, The Angels of Light) Young God Records.
David Coulter is a multiinstrumentalist who was a contributing member of the Pogues and TestDept., has played with Peter Hammill, The Kronos Quartet, Marc Ribot,Talvin Singh and Roger Eno among others and currently lectures atStratford-upon-Avon College. "INterVENTION" is his solo debut viaMichael Gira's (SWANS, The Angels of Light) Young God Records. Of the13 tracks found here, the majority were recorded between 1996-99 invarious European locations with several different guests, including:Marc Ribot, Steve Nieve (Elvis Costello) and Terry Edwards. To give youan idea of the extensive amount of instrumentation used, here is a listof *just* the stuff Coulter plays: jews harp, krar, soprano andbaritone sax, one-string fiddle, violin, accordion, terracotta pottsand paper, violectra, double bass, soprano saw, shaker, viola, variousdidjeridus, bowed bass, hand claps, guitar, and berimbau. Wow! Themusic is rather difficult to explain (which is good) ... textureddrones, percussive bits, unidentifiable/found sounds and a few spokenword passages and wailing vocal parts. The end result is full butuncluttered, experimentally minded meditations with an almost alien,organic/acoustic flavor throughout. The singing saw and guttural chantsfound in a few pieces took some getting used to but most of the albumis soothing rather than abrasive. And all of it is remarkably differentand interesting. Leave it to Gira to find and release something thiscool, hopefully a sign of things to come from Young God.

samples: