Album Review: Trioscapes Digital Dream Sequence

 

Dan Brigg’s virtuoso level bass playing isn’t the only testament to how driven he is as a musician. The fact that he managed to put together a group (whose members don’t live in the same state and had never played together before) that exists on such an elevated level in the midst of him being in an internationally touring band is just as much of one. Prog/jazz/fusion band Trioscapes just released their second full-length LP on Metal Blade but I’ll spare you the intro story I’m sure you’ve heard by this point. If you have even a passing interest in this band you already know this isn’t going to be an easy listen, but in the midst of the chaos these guys have a few new tricks up their sleeves.

While I enjoyed “Separate Realities” I also thought that there was alot more that could have been done in the format this band introduced. While the songs were challenging, interesting, and fun to listen to, they sounded like pieces that were composed once these three monsters got together and realized just what they were capable of. In other words, the whole record seemed set to impress with chops rather than leave a significant impression. “Digital Dream Sequence” stretches some tonal legs that I was hoping for: Dan’s bass for one explores different kinds of ear candy and reaches much farther than his work in Btbam. There’s way more distortion and fuzz present, and at times his tone is downright filthy, but he also mutates with the help of phasers, flangers, etc. and get’s plenty of tasty voices out of his instrument. A big missed opportunity before that is remedied here is Walter Fancourt’s  woodwinds, which flaunt more effect processing and a greater tonal range in general. I realize that’s alot of talk about how cool this record sounds but that brings me to my next point.

I’m glad to hear more textural/etherworldly woodwind sounds and more contorted, ear-candy bass but at the end of the day this is still an album that will hold a 80% audience of musicians. I’m not saying that non-players won’t listen, I’m just saying that when an album is composed as structurally and rhythmically unhinged as this one is it’s really only meant for a certain kind of person. Yes there’s some groove and some riffs you can sink your teeth into. And yes this albums’ listening experience can be wild and immersive, which I wish that more people cared about, but the musicianship is still the main focus. Don’t get me wrong though, I thought that the album’s second half gets to stretch out pretty nicely and I still greatly enjoyed it, but I hope this album’s growth shows that next time around there will be even less emphasis on the jaw-dropping. Still, whether it’s to nerd out on in awe with your friends or to throw on for sheer aural escape, “Digital Dream Sequence” delivers where you want it to.

NAMM 2014 Picks

I may not be enough of a gear-nerd to follow NAMM like a hawk each year, but inevitably there are always going to be some items of interest I get excited about and I thought I would share a few here.

New Earthquaker Devices pedals:

I’ve had chances to hear Earthquaker Devices products in action and it’s no wonder that they are one of the most hyped stompbox manufacturers out there right now. I can’t afford to buy pedals anywhere near as much as I would like but rest assured effects like the Rainbow Machine and Organizer have been on the top of my wish-list for the past year or more. Well, time to put even more strain on your finances and decision making because Earthquaker just unveiled two new awesome effects; The Pitch Bay and Terminal.

I’m a sucker for a good pitch-shifter, and the Pitch Bay also packs in distortion and a polyphonic harmonizer to make sure you’re getting you’re money’s worth in out of this world weirdness and sonic experimentation. The Terminal, on the other hand, is the true fuzz-lover’s fuzz. But hell, take a listen for yourself and see what you think.

http://earthquakerdevices.com/pitch-bay-polyphonic-harmonizer-and-terminal-fuzz-at-namm-2014/

Spector unveils new Dan Briggs signature model bass:

This one takes the top prize in “holy crap!” and “it’s about time they finally did that”. Dan Briggs’ bass playing in Between the Buried and Me is already the stuff of prog-metal legend as far as I’m concerned, but it was his tone on the Trioscapes’ debut record Separate Realities that cleared up any unlikely misconceptions regarding his bad-assery. It was through him that I first heard about Spector,  now I love my Q4 Pro like a child and it’s not even one of the more expensive models. The full specs aren’t available as of yet, but it’s based upon the NS 2000 5-string and will have a figured maple top,  EMG-HZs and a TonePump Jr. Preamp. More info will be available soon and I’ll likely be salivating over this one for a while since it’s supposed to carry a $1,999 price tag upon it’s release (I can’t remember if that’s list or not but I hope so). With it being built to his specs I don’t doubt that it will sound amazing, as Dan’s tone in the aforementioned record strikes the perfect balance between modern active sensitivity and old-school passive growl when he digs in with distortion engaged. This thing should be close to everything I would personally want in a bass if his range of clean and effected tones on his recording portfolio are an indication.

New Digitech Bass Whammy:

I’ve hard praises sung for Digitech’s whammy pedal for years but I’ve never owned one for myself. Looks like I might need to change that soon because this thing sounds pretty rad, especially the chord modes and the extra pitch-shifting intervals such as 10ths.

http://www.guitarworld.com/namm-2014-digitech-introduces-bass-whammy-pitch-shifter-pedal

Although I’ve decided I’m definitely either going Ampeg or Sunn tube with my next amp, I’m also digging the new Orange OB-1K. It’s a 1000 watt solid state bass amp that sports a look similar to the Orange tube guitar heads such as the Rockerverb models.

Oh, and Hiwatt bass! Man I wish…maybe someday.

That may not be much but like I said, extensive Namm coverage for all things bass-related isn’t really my thing. These few items I just talked about however, are.