Nils Petter Molvaer - Khmer
Let's jump to the end: This is my favorite disc from 1997. Nothing else really came close. That's not to say that there weren't other fabulous discs during 1998, but Molvaer's was stellar enough that I wanted to put it at the top of my list again this year, arguing that its domestic release in 1998 qualified it for the list.
Khmer reminds me of Miles Davis' On the Corner (purists are already getting their sharp sticks out to poke me with) in that it defies easy categorization and simple listening. It isn't as nearly outwardly funky as On the Corner, but has similar drive. It begins with "Khmer," a slow opening of bass and drum in the distance with Molvaer's muted trumpet dancing in the foreground like a wisp of smoke. And this tug of war breaks out between the trumpet and the murmuring background, neither really relenting, neither really winning, but slowly bringing your attention into focus on the music.
And then with "TlØn" we segue into a denser rhythm, a long note stretched out over a rapid heartbeat. You can feel the build beginning almost immediately, the rhythm getting tighter with introduction of repeated rise and fall of guitar melodies until the main section bursts through with the tight dance between the 'talk box' and the horn.
"Song of Sand I" has a shuffling rhythm that feels like the shifting heat staggering across the wide dunes of a desert sea, the squeals of guitar and horn like the ever-present sting of heat. "On Stream" is a breathy melody, surrounded by the tinkling rhythm of water transcribed through modern instrumentation. "Platonic Years" and "Phum" fill the middle of the album with a tight introspection that leads into "Song of Sand II" where melodies and rhythms are repeated and stretched until we reach "Exit." "Exit" opens with a lamenting e-bow guitar, adds acoustic guitar and a hint of the opening melody of "Khmer," and slowly fades out. No trumpet, just the death of wind as if the trumpet has lost its voice and the rest fades soon after.
Khmer a fantastic album that wraps itself around you with the wail and swarm of its instruments, that transcends the simplistic categories of 'jazz' and 'electronic music' that seem to be where it ends up in the record store. I sat down with On the Corner and followed it with Khmer and felt that one wasn't far from the other. The same spirit which came out of Miles' horn has found similar life in Molvaer's fascinating album.
Nils Petter Molvaer
ECM Records [1997]
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