Tied & Tickled Trio: Observing Systems

Tied & Tickled Trio: Observing Systems These guys are German ? Woah. Whoda thunk it?

The newest CD from these guys is (apparently) a continuation of their forays in blending “traditional” jazz with electronica. I say “apparently” because this is the first I’ve heard of them. I like though, I like. DJ Spooky did something along these lines a little while back, called it Optometry – it’s one of my favourite CDs. Compared with this release though, it sounds like Spooky is showing off too much, trying to prove that it can be done, showing the world his ego, rather than letting the music just kind of happen, like these guys do.

The CD rolls gently from wild improvisational stuff to tightly structured beats, and the acoustic and technological take turns in the lead. There are a few digressions into somewhat 70s kitch jazz, and “Like Armstrong + Laika” wanders into twichy glitchy territory, but all in all a very good listen. Makes me wish I had a better stereo.

I’m told that this kind of music is called “Jazzdubtronica”. This is another reason why I really dislike these genre labels – too many of them just sound plain silly.