CD reviews:

Grain - solo acoustic guitar Creative Sources

 

Raymond MacDonald & Neil Davidson Flapjack FMR CD190-0106

Pretty fierce and full-on improvising that pairs alto/soprano with guitar and, in a forceful soundmix, seems to weld the instrumentalists together. Quieter passages needle with apprehension. "Plank" is an eerie one-note exercise. Davidson personalises an apparently lo-fi equipment bench with surprising individuality. MacDonald is superbly sour and argumentative.
Richard Cook Jazz Review August 2006

 

Age of wire and string Wolves on Fire Deluge and guitary cd-r

Wolves on Fire (sic) are a Glaswegian cello, guitar and electronics trio who really live up to their name. Recalling Tony Conrad and John Cale, Peter Nicholson’s intense sawing weaves a fearsome shivering of strings in and out of Neil Davidson’s equally frantic guitar and Jamie Allen’s inventive, old school electronic splatter. Cut into sizeable chunks and labelled “Singe”, “Crackle”, “Pop” etc, AOWAS has far more going for it that its crudely assembled CD-R in a colour Xeroxed sleeve suggests. – Edwin Pouncey Wire

 

age of wire and string Happy Rabbit Deluge & Guitary CD-R

At the risk of popping a bubble that’s barely blown, it feels like Glasgow is in the first throes of a miniature jazz revolution, with a string of new free improvising ensembles springing up like beautifully disfiguring plooks on the airbrushed visage of Scottish jazz.
The founding of the Glasgow Improvisers Orchestra last year was a signal moment and has inspired a younger generation of musicians, while Scatter, led by saxophonist Kenneth Broom and drummer Alex Neilson, are one of the boldest of new bands.
Age of Wire and String, led by guitarist Neil Davidson, are another interesting ensemble working at the furthest reaches of form. Their Happy Rabbit CD mixes the tonally liberated approach of guitarist Derek Bailey with austere strings, absurd blasts of electronics and an aesthetic that is homemade and deeply personal. Although Davidson’s duo with German saxophonist Christoph Reiserer isn’t quite as blooded as you might have hoped, it’s still a blast to know that this kind of rigorous, defiant noise is being generated right on your doorstep. - David Keenan Sunday Herald

 

Neil Davidson - Jellyfish cdr Deluge and Guitary)
Neil Davidson's work within improvising groups of various sizes (including the Glasgow improviser's Orchestra) suggests that he's a good listener: it's always perceptive and supportive of the surrounding sounds and never seems to over-fill or frill. Here, he creates pieces as soundtracks to short films from Boston & Coney Island by Kate Burton. I haven't seen the visuals, but these subtle and, at times, sparse free improv acoustic guitar pieces suggest that he is also a perceptive viewer. There are some complex rhythmic burts, but the slightly melancholic air of the slower pieces is the pervasive feeling here and it feels right, even without the pictures Neil played to. - J.C.

 

Wolves On Fire - Age of Wire and String cdr (Deluge and Guitary) 4
'Cellist Peter Nicholson (One Ensemble of Daniel Padden, Glasgow Improvisors Orchestra, various chamber and symphony ensembles/orchestras) gets together with Neil davidson (guitar) and Jamie Allen (electronics) to produce lacerating, visceral and compelling free improvisations. Imagine members of AMM getting together with Keiji Haino in a de-pressurisation chamber after an attack of the bends. This vision doesn't quite take you to Wolves on Fire, but it's getting there, believe me! - J.C.