IPECAC IPC-53 - 2004 &
BOMBA RECORDS 24012 - 2004
ISMS
Compiled by Mike PattonMusicians
Benjamin Boutreur saxes,
Michel Mast saxes,
Eric Morel saxes (except 3),
Bruno Vansina saxes (3),
Marc Meeuwissen trombone (2,3,9,10,12,14,17)
Stefaan Blancke trombone,
Pieter Lamotte bass trombone (except 5,7),
Jan De Backer trombone (5,7),
Peter Vermeersch clarinet,
Tom Wouters clarinet, vibraphone, xylophone, vocals,
Kristof Roseeuw double bass,
Roel Poriau percussion (except 3,9,14),
Danny Van Hoeck percussion,
Teun Verbruggen percussion (3,9,14),
Peter Vandenberghe keyboards,
Wim Willaert accordion,
Anja Kowalski vocals & kazoo,
Luc van Lieshout trumpet,
Bart Maris trumpet,
Pierre Vervloesem guitar,
David Bovée guitar (except 3),
Leonard De Graeve tuba,
Heliogabal cast, choir ( 3)
Credits
Mixed & produced by Karel De Backer, Steven Lorie, Peter Vermeersch & Pierre Vervloesem.
Executive producer: Mike Patton
Mastered by Karel De Backer & Jet Studio
Artwork by Marc Meeuwissen
More info ︎︎︎
reviews
Scratchrecords.com
“Founded by clarinetist, saxophonist, composer/arranger Peter Vermeersch, Flat Earth Society has become one of Belgium’s most original bands on the jazz and avant-garde musical scene. Although the music of the 17 man FES has its roots in big band music, there is also a moment when the cleverly disguised humor and sarcasm shine through. FES greedily draws from influences such as swing, mambo, latin, chanson, cabaret, R&B and freestyle. Isms is a 19 track compilation showcasing tracks from previous FES albums (import only) as well as some unreleased material chosen by our own Mike Patton".
Allmusic.com - Sean Westergaard
Love him or hate him, Mike Patton has very eclectic taste in music, and he's putting his money where his mouth is with the Ipecac label. Earlier in 2004, he had licensed Eyvind Kang's beautiful Virginal Co Ordinates from the Italian I Dischi di Angelica label, now he turns to Belgium (!) to give wider exposure to the Flat Earth Society, a progressive big band formed from two defunct Belgian groups, X-Legged Sally and Fukkeduk. The resulting album, Isms, draws from their four prior releases and presents a band capable of everything from beautiful chamber jazz miniatures to slinky crime-theme jazz noir to driving rock rhythms. The shorter pieces tend to be cues from their Minoes soundtrack album, and often serve as interludes between longer pieces. As mentioned, several of the tracks ("O.P.E.N.E.R.," "Zonk," "De Zoekactie") could have been put to good use the theme for some crime drama. "Pune" sounds something like an Asian brass band with crazed galloping percussion and a manic kazoo solo that sounds something like Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing kazoo instead of flute. "Funeral & Binche" starts out like New Orleans funeral music, then shifts gears and becomes quite exuberant. "Ellemeet en de Katten" is a short but menacing piece that contrasts nicely with the moody, nocturnal bass, Rhodes, and vibes of "Tibbe Hoort Iets." The songs are all very approachable, but there's plenty of punch in the playing and soloing and great detailed arrangements. Fans of progressive jazz orchestras and big bands like Pierre Dørge's New Jungle Orchestra, Sun Ra, and even Frank Zappa should find a lot to enjoy here.
“Founded by clarinetist, saxophonist, composer/arranger Peter Vermeersch, Flat Earth Society has become one of Belgium’s most original bands on the jazz and avant-garde musical scene. Although the music of the 17 man FES has its roots in big band music, there is also a moment when the cleverly disguised humor and sarcasm shine through. FES greedily draws from influences such as swing, mambo, latin, chanson, cabaret, R&B and freestyle. Isms is a 19 track compilation showcasing tracks from previous FES albums (import only) as well as some unreleased material chosen by our own Mike Patton".
Allmusic.com - Sean Westergaard
Love him or hate him, Mike Patton has very eclectic taste in music, and he's putting his money where his mouth is with the Ipecac label. Earlier in 2004, he had licensed Eyvind Kang's beautiful Virginal Co Ordinates from the Italian I Dischi di Angelica label, now he turns to Belgium (!) to give wider exposure to the Flat Earth Society, a progressive big band formed from two defunct Belgian groups, X-Legged Sally and Fukkeduk. The resulting album, Isms, draws from their four prior releases and presents a band capable of everything from beautiful chamber jazz miniatures to slinky crime-theme jazz noir to driving rock rhythms. The shorter pieces tend to be cues from their Minoes soundtrack album, and often serve as interludes between longer pieces. As mentioned, several of the tracks ("O.P.E.N.E.R.," "Zonk," "De Zoekactie") could have been put to good use the theme for some crime drama. "Pune" sounds something like an Asian brass band with crazed galloping percussion and a manic kazoo solo that sounds something like Rahsaan Roland Kirk playing kazoo instead of flute. "Funeral & Binche" starts out like New Orleans funeral music, then shifts gears and becomes quite exuberant. "Ellemeet en de Katten" is a short but menacing piece that contrasts nicely with the moody, nocturnal bass, Rhodes, and vibes of "Tibbe Hoort Iets." The songs are all very approachable, but there's plenty of punch in the playing and soloing and great detailed arrangements. Fans of progressive jazz orchestras and big bands like Pierre Dørge's New Jungle Orchestra, Sun Ra, and even Frank Zappa should find a lot to enjoy here.
Pitchforkmedia.com - Matthew Murphy
At first glance, Mike Patton's noise-mongering Ipecac label may seem like an odd home for Flat Earth Society; then again, this avant-garde Belgian big band would seem like a misfit in any company.
Led by veteran composer and clarinetist Peter Vermeersch, Flat Earth Society are well-versed in a broad array of big band jazz vocabularies, and their music is an unruly confluence of Carl Stalling's "Merrie Melodies", Henry Mancini's cosmopolitan swank, and Sun Ra's cosmic slop-- all performed with the whiplash attention span of John Zorn's Naked City. The group's previous four albums have only been available in the U.S. at import prices; so on Isms, Patton has thoughtfully compiled 19 introductory tracks-- including a couple previously unreleased ones-- to help bring you up to speed with FES's brand of lunacy.
Due to the band's rambunctious nature each FES album displays multiple personalities, but Isms compounds this schizophrenia by drawing material from such distinctive records as 2002's Minoes, the soundtrack to a children's movie, and 2003's The Armstrong Mutations, on which the group re-interprets the works of Louis Armstrong. As a result this collection undergoes such violent mood shifts from track to track that you'll either be enthralled by FES's seemingly bottomless creativity or else you'll feel like you just spent an afternoon on the Tilt-A-Whirl after a heavy lunch of ketchup and mustard.
Like many European jazz acts, Vermeersch and FES draw as much inspiration from such 20th century composers as Stravinsky or Bartok (not to mention art-rockers like Zappa or Beefheart) as they do from the blues or other more traditional American sources. These artier influences are especially evident on some of the shorter orchestrated pieces from the Minoes soundtrack like the Morricone-esque "Minoes Op Boodschap" or the mischievously atmospheric strings of "Ellement En De Katten". But they also surface on longer songs like "Zonk" or "Trap", which emphasize complex, turbulent arrangements and strenuous group interplay over solos or individual virtuosity.
The group's size and membership fluctuate (There may be as many as 20 players on some tracks) but regulars like bassist Kristof Roseeuw, trumpeter Bart Maris, and tuba player Leonaar De Graeve consistently deliver memorable performances. Best of all might be the two tracks here from The Armstrong Mutations, the percussive-heavy "(Little) King Ink" and the woozy Preservation Hall stomp of "Funeral and Binche", both of which strike the ideal balance between reverence and radicalism while Vermeersch plays his horn as sweetly as Sidney Bechet. Hopefully fleeting interludes of near-perfection like these are enough to sustain you while you chase Flat Earth Society around hairpin turns on theirÊunending quest to capture the next hot moment.
At first glance, Mike Patton's noise-mongering Ipecac label may seem like an odd home for Flat Earth Society; then again, this avant-garde Belgian big band would seem like a misfit in any company.
Led by veteran composer and clarinetist Peter Vermeersch, Flat Earth Society are well-versed in a broad array of big band jazz vocabularies, and their music is an unruly confluence of Carl Stalling's "Merrie Melodies", Henry Mancini's cosmopolitan swank, and Sun Ra's cosmic slop-- all performed with the whiplash attention span of John Zorn's Naked City. The group's previous four albums have only been available in the U.S. at import prices; so on Isms, Patton has thoughtfully compiled 19 introductory tracks-- including a couple previously unreleased ones-- to help bring you up to speed with FES's brand of lunacy.
Due to the band's rambunctious nature each FES album displays multiple personalities, but Isms compounds this schizophrenia by drawing material from such distinctive records as 2002's Minoes, the soundtrack to a children's movie, and 2003's The Armstrong Mutations, on which the group re-interprets the works of Louis Armstrong. As a result this collection undergoes such violent mood shifts from track to track that you'll either be enthralled by FES's seemingly bottomless creativity or else you'll feel like you just spent an afternoon on the Tilt-A-Whirl after a heavy lunch of ketchup and mustard.
Like many European jazz acts, Vermeersch and FES draw as much inspiration from such 20th century composers as Stravinsky or Bartok (not to mention art-rockers like Zappa or Beefheart) as they do from the blues or other more traditional American sources. These artier influences are especially evident on some of the shorter orchestrated pieces from the Minoes soundtrack like the Morricone-esque "Minoes Op Boodschap" or the mischievously atmospheric strings of "Ellement En De Katten". But they also surface on longer songs like "Zonk" or "Trap", which emphasize complex, turbulent arrangements and strenuous group interplay over solos or individual virtuosity.
The group's size and membership fluctuate (There may be as many as 20 players on some tracks) but regulars like bassist Kristof Roseeuw, trumpeter Bart Maris, and tuba player Leonaar De Graeve consistently deliver memorable performances. Best of all might be the two tracks here from The Armstrong Mutations, the percussive-heavy "(Little) King Ink" and the woozy Preservation Hall stomp of "Funeral and Binche", both of which strike the ideal balance between reverence and radicalism while Vermeersch plays his horn as sweetly as Sidney Bechet. Hopefully fleeting interludes of near-perfection like these are enough to sustain you while you chase Flat Earth Society around hairpin turns on theirÊunending quest to capture the next hot moment.
