Customer Reviews

Eastern Twin

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I must admit that I bought this CD on a whim; any CD with a Coptic Orthodox monk traversing desert terrain with two suns in the background must be, at the very least, interesting. What I was not expecting, however, was a CD that I would still be listening to almost daily 2.5 years later. In short, this is one of the best CDs I have bought in the last 2.5 years.

The cello on this CD is just plain *sexy*. It reverberates with depth; it caresses with care. It moves like molasses and is sweet to the last drop. If this CD is any indication of his talent, then Tillman is a true virtuoso. Behind the cello is a blend of middle eastern grooves and melodies that really do engage the listener. Tillman does not accept cheesy samples; this is the real deal.

I do wish to note just briefly the songs "Amadeus on the Nile" and "Rue Sibeluis". (No, I do not know where he gets the name for some of these songs.) The solo in "Amadeus..." is almost redemptive feeling to me; there is something about the break in which it takes place that simply whispers of Presence. And "Rue..." is just beautiful. It is rugged, yet simply gorgeous; the cello is, again, deep. I could listen to it for hours (and sometimes do!).

This CD has a depth and rugged beauty that far surpasses anything else that I have bought in the past few years. Highly, highly recommended.

To Black Cat and like-minded listeners: I am sincerely sorry if you were under the impression that this was a collection of instrumental pieces. If I had to identify the dominant character of "Eastern Twin," I would call it a fusion showcase. Styles melt and run together, wave after wave of percussive synthesizer effects assault the listener, until there are no individual instruments or even sounds - there is only a raging river of music. Tillman's arrangements are heavy yet bouyant (the pounding rhythms of "Nothing on My Mind" resolving into lilting radiance come to mind), massive yet pliant (the turbulent, obsessive parts of "TransMojave" float up from memory), breathy and rasping (like the windy acoustics of the intro to the title piece), but also languid and melodious (as, for example, the fantastic vocals in "7 Saris"). Acoustic cello and electric guitar monodies are driven and jagged, the piano in "Amadeus on the Nile" and elsewhere is pure noir, while the percussion - instrumental and otherwise - summons up imagery that is ominous, phantasmagorical, and yet liberating. Simultaneously reading a dark urban fantasy, I found many similarities - also, this is absolutely the one CD one cannot fall asleep to, so I finished the book quicker than usual! One of the very few critical comments I feel qualified to make is that at times pieces lack individuality. Nonetheless, I sat spellbound from start to finish. A fantastic way to clear the mind.

Martin Tillman is a cellist of the first order. He uses the cello as his main instrument and surrounds it with an ambient backdrop of synthesized instrumentation. Tillman's use of drum loops and bass lines make the CD have a more rock feel while at the same time capturing a eastern flavor. This CD could be a movie soundtrack capturing mood through a lush musical landscape.

"Basically, it's all about communication" Martin Tillman says, describing his Unitone Recordings debut solo album. "My goal for Eastern Twin is to take the listener on a journey through yet uncharted musical landscapes, by combining different musical styles from a palette of different cultures."

Born in Zurich and trained at the prestigious Bern Conservatory in Switzerland, Tillman has surely confounded the purists who expected him to pursue a brilliant Classical career. Instead, the young virtuoso opted to compose perform or record with the renegade likes of B.B. King, Beck, Indigo Girls and others. He has also performed on film and television projects like Mission Impossible II (co-writer of score), Armageddon, The Replacement Killers, Face Off, Kiss The Girls, The Fan, Ally McBeal, Chicago Hope, The Sopranos (featuring a piece from The Poet: Romances For Cello), and others

Tillman's improvisational skills on albums like "Slowdiver" and "Sutra Spin" were acclaimed throughout Europe and Australia, while his collaborative recording "Afterglow" with Michael Hoppe and Tim Wheater earned stateside raves. As Billboard magazine effused: "Tillman, in particular, carves (an) emotional arc ... his cello echoing in curvaceous melodies."

Considering his maverick reputation, it's not surprising that Tillman pushes the limits even further on his auspicious Unitone Recordings debut. Produced by soundscapist and co-composer Tom Vedvik, Eastern Twin is what results when exotic World melodies and Ambient grooves mingle with Classical improvisations and Pop sensibilities. Vedvik's unique sonic canvas provides the album's sensual, multi-layered rhythms and shimmering atmospherics, which suggests a union between earth and the cosmos.

For Tillman, the album's spaced-out rhythms and Ethno-Ambient sounds reflect his unique musical philosophy. "I am very drawn to Middle Eastern sounds, I love its freedom and unpredictability," the cellist says. "But I also love the possibilities of Electronica - the ability to process and manipulate the cello where it almost sounds like something else. The album is all about floating between those worlds."

It's appropriate that Tillman would employ the term "floating" to describe his composing and recording approach. After all, Eastern Twin is such a phantasmic recording; it veritably wafts from the speakers. The album opens with "Odessa," a mysterious track that blurs the distinction between Sub-Saharan Pop and Zero-Gravity Funk. "It's structured like a Pop song, which was a challenge for Tom and I," Tillman explains. "The idea was to place a Classical cello in a Pop context by approaching the instrument like a lead vocal."

As it stands, "Odessa" is an auspicious harbinger of things to come. On "Nothing On My Mind" and "Close To Water," Tillman's languid cello is offset by soulful Funk rhythms and Pop-inflected vocals. "Amadeus On The Nile" finds the cellist coaxing serpentine Middle Eastern melodies from his instrument, while the album's mysterious title track "Eastern Twin" pits pattering Indian percussion against soaring string improvisations.

According to Tillman, "Tom and I don't have a preconceived approach to writing. For instance, 'Nothing On My Mind' was sort of a yin-yang production for us. It was the one song where the entire process was undertaken as a team. But other songs were composed individually and collaborated on subsequently. I can't stress Tom's involvement enough, he's a great collaborator."

How could someone possibly think they can tell everyone to pass up on a album and give it such a low review just because it doesn't adhire the standard, typical kind of music they assumed it would be? No disrespect to Black Cat, but this is "ambient" music not "cello" music, that's why if you are looking for a cello only album, sure this isn't it. But that doesn't make it bad. In fact, on the contrary it's quite beautiful, lush, exotic, full, deep and wonderful. If you feel the need to only listen to music that is serious, structured and plays by the rules all the time, then maybe you will be dissapointed. But I highley doubt the majority of people are like that. This album is full of deep ambient rhythms, layered electronics and synthesizers, eastern influences and a cello that wonderfully glides along the tracks adding even more depth and sensuality to the disc. Overall, it's unique, innovative and progressive in style and I'm sure you will LOVE it! This cd is also produced by Tom Vedvik btw, and you should check out his albums "Sutra Spin" and "Slowdiver". Also, for more interesting cello/electronic hybrid music try Caroline Lavelle's "Spirit" cd produced by William Orbit.

Martin Tillman's first solo release is well worth the wait. I recently heard a cut from this CD on the NPR program "Echoes". it was enough to convince me that I needed to investigate further. The first cut on the CD is my favorite, using the strings to great advantage to help create a mood of large landscapes and interesting peoples. The ensemble of musicians is superb, with each contributing a different feel to the instrumentation. The music is rather "ambient", yet it has deep melodic integrity. I think that this is due, in part, to the interesting use of acoustic and electronic instruments and the adept addition of strings in many forms. The CD is produced by Tom Vedvik. In addition to recommending "Eastern Twin", I suggest that you check out the music from Mr. Vedvik, especially "Slow Diver".

I love the rich, low sound of the cello, and some of the pieces on this jazzy, international-style album by accoustic and electronic cellist Martin Tillman do a perfect job of capturing that instrument's potential. In particular, track #1, "Odessa", stands out as a truly stunning composition that draws you into its brooding, building energy. I've read in other reviews that it alone is worth the purchase price of the album and I tend to agree. Other notable tracks include "Ceremony", which sounds like a spare, deconstructed version of "Odessa"; "Trans Mohave", a mysterious, surreal composition with penetrating, almost bhangra-like beat; and "Rue Sibelius", a sweet, slow cello solo done in ostinato form and overdubbed upon itself in rich, repeating harmonies. I wish I could speak as highly of the other tracks, many of which start out pregnant with promise but then lapse into a mindless, repetitive pop-funk style that just doesn't seem to go anywhere musically. The performance and production values are fine but the material itself just isn't that interesting. It's been done before and done to death. And sometimes, here, it makes it hard to tell that there's even a cello playing! That said, I really like the creative and effective way the cello is used in other parts of this album, and look forward to more future focus on that historically underutilized instrument, perhaps fused with the Middle Eastern and Asian musical elements that are only hinted at in most of "Eastern Twin" rather than fully realized. For other contemporary albums featuring cellists, you might want to investigate the work of Ron Clearfield and David Darling.

To Ma Jivan Shreela

Somewhere in the wide lost deserts of Middle East travels a marvelous caravan. Camel teamsters wear the arabesque parti-colored clothes, and the camels are full of unexpected grace, and the scrubby jumpers carry huge packages. Faces of the caravaners are extraordinarily gentle and noble, their lineaments have something of aristocracy, as if those people are the descendants of an ancient cosmic civilization, untouched by the time, who decided to take a trip and to see, what's going on at that planet Earth, forgotten by God.

You cannot reach the place from which the strange caravan started its journey, it is almost impossible even to see it. But if you will come to the desert in spring, deep night, when a sudden rain showers the salty soil, you may see the miraculous strangers; and if your mind is clear, they will allow you to join them.

And then you will come with the caravan to a small oasis in the very heart of the desert, which cannot be found at any map. There lays a little town, it is not even a village, just one big hotel, where ambassadors from various civilizations from faraway planets use to stay for a short rest. Its buildings are extremely beautiful; there are no streamlined space shapes, by which earthen artists and designers try to represent the alien constructions. Nothing technological or industrial can be seen in those buildings. Their shapes are very simple and so aesthetic, that you cannot get your eyes away from them. What's that, is it a mosque, or an Orthodox Christian temple, or maybe a palace of ancient Hindus? The elements of various cultures can be found in those remarkable buildings. There are no sophisticated constructions, everything is comfortable and reasonable, there is homely, it is easy to breathe there. As if you just left such a perfect home, where you have lived your whole life, for a short walk. And at least you're back here, and the portentous travels are tarrying for you.

You can go to the far beautiful lands at the other side of the infinite space. And your Beloved will be with you, and you will travel together to the worlds waiting for you, and you will be there together in Love, and there will be nothing except love, because it is God...

The music of Martin Tillman. East blended with West. The technological rhythmic electronics and the meditative delicate flute. Pulse of the time and love beyond the time. Divine harmony and naked nerve. Travel to unknown, path to the Divine...

Serge Kozlovsky
[...]

Subtle, profound, unassuming, complete, pulsing with life, almost painfully perfect, like all truth and beauty.

I am just mesmerized by this cd. It is exotic and fanciful. Buy it, listen to it. It is wonderful.
In fact, take the 2 free downloads. Odessa is powerful.