At the Center

Meat Beat Manifesto | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 24, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Thirsty Ear
• ASIN: B0008EI74Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #221,454 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Wild

2. Flute Thang3. Murita Cycles

3. Want Ads

4. Blind

5. Musica Classica

6. Bohemian Grove

7. United Nations etc etc

8. Want Ads 2

9. The Water Margin

10. Shotgun!

11. Granulation 1

Editorial Reviews

Review

In Meat Beat Manifestoâ TMs nearly twenty-year existence, what began as a collaboration with fellow Perennial Divide member Jonny Stephens quickly became a revolving door forum for multi-instrumentalist Jack Dangersâ TM investigations into sonic possibilities and contemporary electronica rhythms. From the Industrial Dance of its â TM87 debut, Armed Audio Warfare, to the Acid House of â 02â TMs R.U.O.K., Meat Beat Manifesto has remained on the cutting edge of sound design. As an aural sculptor and remix innovator, Meat Beat Manifesto has worked with David Bowie, Aphex Twin, and the Chemical Brothers; under Dangersâ TM own moniker, he has produced albums by Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, Public Enemy, and, most notably, this yearâ TMs Thirsty Ear/Blue Series collaboration between DJ Spooky and Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo, Drums of Death.


Now, for the first time since Satyricon (Elektra, '92), Meat Beat Manifesto is getting release on a significant independent label with its own brand recognition. At the Center is really just a logical progression in the MBM discography, but this association with Thirsty Ear may further broaden Danger's profile among an audience which may not already be aware of his creative talents. And by collaborating with the nearly-ubiquitous keyboardist Craig Taborn, Bad Plus drummer Dave King, and flautist/Thirsty Ear exec Peter Gordon, Dangers adds an improvisational element to Meat Beat Manifestoâ TMs already divergent explorations, broadening his reach even further.


At the root of MBM's work is rhythm sometimes hypnotic, as on the trance-like â Bohemian Grove,⠝ elsewhere more insistently dance-floor, as on â Wild.⠝ But itâ TMs more than just about the beat. â Want Ads One⠝ and â Want Ads Two⠝ have a deadpan voice reading a series of seemingly disconnected newspaper ads that just might reveal a greater link on further examination. â Flute Thang⠝ blends improvisational interplay between Gordon and Dangersâ TM own bass flute, while â Murita Cycles⠝ is driven by Kingâ TMs almost-swinging 3/4 rhythms and Tabornâ TMs more outré piano work.


As much as each piece has its own flow, one cannot be anything short of amazed at the mind that conceives such collage-like combinations of sound. There are all kinds of ear candy to be found deep in the layers of every track, and yet thereâ TMs an overriding ethereal quality that makes At the Center a softer cushion than Meat Beat Manifestoâ TMs earlier, harder-edged work. Even when the rhythm is dense and the harmonies dissonant, thereâ TMs a certain smoothness of texture in this music that never jars or disturbs the flow, keeping things eminently approachable.


At the Center continues Thirsty Earâ TMs Blue Seriesâ TM drive to blend modern electronica with the riskier tenet of jazz improvisation. Dangersâ TM remarkable ear for sound potential makes At the Center one of the labelâ TMs most successful meetings to date.
--All About Jazz

Jazz composer/arranger/theorist George Russell used to explain his piece "Dimensions" as "a sequence of freely associated moods indigenous to jazz." Same could be said about At the Center but this time the person doing the free associating doesn't come from the world of jazz, at least not as far as his previous records have let on. As Meat Beat Manifesto, Jack Dangers has been responsible for some of the most in-your-face dance music available, recorded for the seminal industrial dance label Wax Trax, and paved the road for the garish sound of big beat. Dangers doesn't have the downtown pedigree that made DJ Spooky such a shoo-in for Thirsty Ear's Blue Series, but as At the Center displays, he's up to the series' "pushing the jazz envelope" challenge. Hearing jazzers Peter Gordon (flute), Dave King (drums), and Craig Taborn (keyboards of all types) interact with Dangers' soundtracky and experimental constructions stops just short of being compelling, but it's refreshing that no one is reduced to being a session musician. On "United Nations Etc. Etc.," Gordon finds plenty of inspiration in Dangers' groove, and Taborn is always contributing, adding funky fills, fluid improvs, and stabbing soul-jazz. Dangers himself proves to be a serviceable bass flute and bass clarinet player, but it's with the "everything else" that he's credited with that he really shines. Besides laying down some trippy soundscapes, he provides both snippets and lengthy tapes of dialog that give the improvisers something that's more tangible and narrative than what they're used to, and that's the record's big draw. Hearing Gordon, King, and Taborn respond to quirky readings of freaky classifieds on "Want Ads One" is an eye-opening experience. The band just shuffles underneath the taped voice, until the pitifulness of all this desperation works them into a more brittle and punchy workout. Jazz musicians versus the mundane world could be what Dangers is getting at, and it works. --All Music Guide

Product Description

Jack Dangers is the veteran composer and sound sculptor behind Meat Beat Manifesto. His constantly evolving musical invention has generated a long string of futuristic classics including Prime Audio Soup from the sci-fi fantasy blockbuster The Matrix . An acknowledged innovator in the electronic music scene, Jack Dangers continues to stretch sonic boundaries and influence new generations of sound activists. Some of Dangers past production/remixing projects include: Public Enemy, David Bowie, Orbital, Nine Inch Nails, David Byrne, Bush, Depeche Mode and Tower of Power.


Supporting him in his latest effort are Blue Series alumni Craig Taborn on keyboards, Bad Plus skinsman Dave King and Peter Gordon on flute. Incorporating his trademark sounds into the tradition of the Blue Series, At the Center is sure to open a new chapter for Meat Beat Manifesto.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jack Dangers finally gets his jazz album., May 24, 2005

By 

T Boz (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the Center (Audio CD)

After years of pioneering dance, dub, big beat, jungle, alternative hip hop, and tape music, Jack Dangers' Meat Beat Manifesto project evolves to where it was always headed, an improvisational jazz quartet. Part of 'The Blue Series' on Thirsty Ear Recordings, an imprint fusing electronics with jazz, they could have not asked for a better contributor. MBMs albums have differed vastly over the past 20 years, and this may be one of their most unexpected yet. Using well known jazz musicians, Dangers layers beats, bass clarinet and flute, and thundering dub basslines over improvised noodling that changes with the flow of each track, sometimes employing his trademark vocal sample archives. Overall, a welcome experience, now we just need him to pick up the microphone again, and school all newcomers.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, May 27, 2005

By 

John L. (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the Center (Audio CD)

As always, Jack totally reinvents himself with each release and makes an album that only he can make. With a mixture jazz and electro sensabilties, "At The Center" may be a suprise to his fans used to the techno industrial sounds of the past 16 years, but in the end, it rewards greatly. Surely not one to miss if you think Jack as much of a musical genius as the rest of us do. However, As Subliminal Sandwich notes, I suggest you "play twice before listening."

My only complaint is that, once again, Jack's vocals are absent. Please bring your singing back, Jack!

Otherwise, this is a treat for your ears.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MBM Keeps Moving The Music, April 6, 2006

By 

schmuck303 - See all my reviews

This review is from: At the Center (Audio CD)

This, like all MBM albums, pushes the lines into a new area. It is heavily Jazz influenced. If you do not like Jazz this album is probably not for you. Personally I find it great to put on while working. My personal favorites have to be the Want Ads One and Want Ads Two. Something intriguing about them. One thing I've noticed about being a MBM fan is every album is way different than the other. This is not Storm The Studio or Satyricon or Subliminal Sandwich. MBM keeps reinventing the wheel. Going into this album trying to compare it to the others does this album injustice.