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Jonathan Bratoëff

Points of Perception

F-IRE CD 014

By involving the usual F-IRE suspects (drummer Sebastian Rochford, trumpeter Tom Arthurs, saxophonist Pete Wareham, bassist Tom Mason, keyboardist Nick Ramm and singer Julia Biel) alongside programmer Wampa and saxophonist Oskar Gudjonsson, French (London-based) guitarist Jonathan Bratoëff has not only ensured that the musicianship on this, his second album for the label, will be tight and cohesive, but also underlined the versatility and adaptability of said musicians.

On this multi-textured recording, various combinations of them are required to play in many styles, from what might loosely be termed fusion, through dreamy, spacey drifts in which texture is at least as important as forward motion, to vigorous pieces in which hip-hop beats underlie shifting contributions from trumpet, guitar and electronics.

The result is a rich, multi-hued amalgam of textures and moods, held together by the guitar playing, ranging from slow-building single-note runs to atmospheric washes, of Bratoff himself. What the album loses in this process (homogeneity) it gains in variety; incidentally, the 'hidden' track 13, a strident, climactic piece, is well worth waiting for. Another intriguing album from the Collective, one that touches many bases to great effect.