UKヨークシャーの新興レーベル【Odda Recordings】から、同国のデュオChurch Andrews & Matt Daviesによる幾何学的でパーカッシブなエレクトロニック作品。

プロデューサー兼コンポーザーのチャーチ・アンドリュース（別名カーク・バーレイ）とHip Hop、J・ディラやフライング・ロータスのスウィング・ビート、テリー・ライリーのミニマリズムやダブ・テクノのスパース・パレットに影響されたというドラマーのマット・デイヴィスが、リズムの限界を探るため、1台のシンセサイザーと生ドラムのみでの作業するという制約のもと対話のようなセッションを重ねて制作。

Yuccaの名前の由来となった植物の原始的でありながら複雑なフォルムを想起させるトラックは、フィボナッチ数列のリズム比を中心に構成されています。自然界に見られる螺旋状のパターンを反映した各トラックは、ライブワイヤー構文の「Chirp」、解体された干満の「Ferns」から、蛍の放つ光の明滅のように変調されたエレクトロニクスの間を鮮明なグルーヴが飛び交うタイトルトラックへと展開していきます。


Church Andrews and Matt Davies weave intricate patterns from Fibonacci sequences on new mini-album, Yucca.

Producer and composer Church Andrews (aka Kirk Barley) and drummer Matt Davies return to explore the outer limits of rhythm on a six-track suite that is at once angular and fluid, natural and systematic. Drawn to the restrictions of working solely with one synth and live drums, the pair found creativity in limitation, developing a compositional dialogue between the sonic timbres of Kirk’s productions and Matt’s percussive practice.

Evoking the primitive yet complex form of the plant from which it takes its name, Yucca features tracks that are built around rhythmic ratios of the Fibonacci sequence. Mirroring spiral patterns exhibited in nature, each track evolves like a cellular structure of its own, from the livewire syntax of ‘Chirp’ and the deconstructed ebb and flow of ‘Ferns’, to the mini-album’s title track, where crisp grooves flit between modulated electronics like fireflies.

“I’ve always been inspired by music that is complex without sounding complex,” Matt explains. He maintains a sense of bounce amid the intricate phrasing and cites drummers Roy Haynes and his grandson Marcus Gilmore as inspirations, alongside sabar drummers from Senegal and Mridangam drumming of South India.

With a shared background in hip-hop and the swung beats of J Dilla and Flying Lotus, Kirk Barley and Matt Davies were also inspired by the minimalism of Terry Riley and the sparse palette of dub techno.

Written and recorded in Lewisham in the spring and summer of 2023, Yucca follows the release of Axis in 2022, with the duo having also performed at festivals such as Rewire and Waking Life, and recorded live sessions for FACT magazine and Worldwide FM.

The third release on Yorkshire-based Odda Recordings, following Kirk Barley’s Marionette and Flaer’s Preludes, Yucca confirms the label’s reputation for championing music on the unstable ground between the organic and the synthetic.