Simon Hanes has played varied roles in an assortment of projects over the last 15 years, including the experimental surf band Tsons Of Tsunami, the Italian soundtrack-pop ensemble Tredici Bacci, and even Guerilla Toss in their wild early no wave period, but it’s his skill as a composer, arranger, and conductor that shapes his brilliant new effort Gargantua, which comes out March 27 on compact disc and digital through Pyroclastic Records.
Hanes brings together trios of soprano vocalists, French hornists, trombonists, electric bassists, and drummers to realize a vision that pulls from an array of influences, amongst them 16th-century writer François Rabelais, contemporary heavy metal, 20th-century Classical composer Edgard Varèse, and the Volcanoes of Hawai’i. The complete work is boldly maximal and thrillingly precise with outbursts of the ecstatic that can teeter on the precipice of the delirious.
In addition to the outfits listed above, Simon Hanes is part of the noise/improv quartet GNR8RZ with Anthony Coleman, Grant Calvin Weston, and Aliya Ultan, the experimental electronic noise-rock quartet Shimmer with Anina Ivry-Block, Nina Ryser, and Paco Cathcart, and is a collaborator in various configurations with JG Thirlwell, including Xordox.
Hanes has also worked extensively with John Zorn, including as part of the thrash metal/improv trio Trigger. There’s additionally a trio with Anthony Coleman and Brian Chase to consider, plus his orchestration and conduction for Hal Willner’s album Angelheaded Hipster: A Tribute To Marc Bolan.
The credits don’t end there, but let’s get to the matter at hand, which is the magnificent achievement that is Gargantua. For this nearly hour-long, ten-piece suite of glorious mayhem, Hanes has scored for the sopranos Priya Carlberg, Isa Crespo Pardo, and Jolee Gordon, the French hornists Kevin Newton, Noah Fotis, and Blair Hamrick, the trombonists Jen Baker, Jacob Garchik, and Colin Babcock, the bassists Anna Abondolo, Jesse Heasly, and Trevor Dunn, and the drummers Jon Starks, Matt Bent, and Kevin Murray.
The finished work is a stirring blending of Hanes’ musical, literary, cultural, and even geographical interests. The opening piece, “A Series of Waves Tremble In a Sea of Blood,” ranges from spastic operatics to a gradually building and quite beautiful contemplative orchestral section. It closes with some courtly regal horn business.
“Gigantes” follows, hitting initially like some manic mixture of King Crimson resurrecting Frank Zappa through occult rituals so they can cut an album with Fantomas for Ipecac Records. “Knockandrow” follows with a fine stretch of choral classical, combining aspects of Early Music and sacred pieces with more Modern elements, including some free jazz excursions.
“Lacerated by a Flying Shard” is full-boil free jazz noise tumult. One would think by the title that “The Number of the Beast Is 666” would be a gush of pure darkness, but it’s actually more of that courtly sound, but with a vibe that’s almost wyrd-folk, like if a longhaired Christopher Lee was hanging around waiting to burn your ass alive because the crops failed. “Submit to the Fabulosity” is a sweet combination of avant jazz with math rock/prog rock underpinnings given an injection of foul-mouthed gal shit-talking.
There is another downshift into vocal beauty collectivity in “Moirai.” For most of the piece, it’s just voices, presenting a serene atmosphere that leads into the building tension, rhythmic barrage, and eventual abstraction of “Lucifer / Aurem Chaos.” It leads into “I Am,” an exquisite piece of meditative orchestration, and the record concludes in rousing fashion with the angular spillage, serrated trombones, and a short blast of cacophony in “Hekla 1970.”
Anyone into peak Zorn insanity and the idea of the Sun Ra Arkestra fused with John Oswald will find their hands and ears wondrously full with Gargantua. With it, Simon Hanes has built a grand-scaled masterpiece.
GRADED ON A CURVE:
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