SZEMZO, TIBOR - Snap #2: The Other Shore & Cuba

"Tibor Szemző presents two compositions on his new album Snap #2: The Other Shore & Cuba. As the title implies, Snap #2 can be considered a sequel to his cult album Snapshot from the Island. In that first album the island was a metaphor for isolation and now Snap #2 offers Szemző's reflections of his visits to real islands, Cuba in 1988-1990 and Japan in 1992-1994. As usual, Tibor Szemző processed the themes both visually and musically and has presented them many times live as cinematographic performances. The previous version of "The Other Shore" was released in 1999 on CD. On this album the original recording from 1997 is used; it has been recomposed, remixed, and remastered and some additional recordings have been included. The core of Szemző's Gordian Knot ensemble of the mid-nineties -- Tibor Szemző (bass flute), Péter Magyar (drums), Tamás Tóth (bass guitar) -- has been enlarged by a string section and additional percussionists. "The Other Shore" composition has a multilayered texture; it starts with strings and is followed by prerecorded voices reciting the Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law (Myôhô-Renge-Kyô in Japanese), the most important sutra of Mahayana Buddhism. Then, percussion introduces the basic beat of the piece and the voice of the 102 year-old Buddhist priest Ônishi Ryôkei giving a lecture on Kannon sutra is heard. The following uneven entries of drums and bass guitar are like paint brush strokes in Zen calligraphy. The long tones of Szemző's bass flute enters the piece as the last element suggesting itself as a connecting thread through all previous layers. When Tibor Szemző first visited Cuba in 1988 he had just started shooting film on 8mm, something of a personal diary. When he met Jonas Mekas in Budapest a few years later, he realized that this footage could be screened publicly and also be an integral part of live performances. "Cuba", presented on the Snap #2 album, is the recording from 2000 of one such performance and was remixed by the author in 2021. The Gordian Knot band seemingly structures the piece in the same way as "The Other Shore", but the resulting sound is much heavier especially thanks to drummer Péter Magyar. Nevertheless, the contributions of Szemző on bass flute, Mihály Huszár on electric bass, and T. Bali on prepared electric guitar also inject the proper rock sting. Incorporated Havanna street sounds and local radio broadcasts recorded by the author provide even more steamy roughness to the sound of Szemző's "Cuba". 45RPM." - Fodderbasis .