Search - Bill Laswell, Sacred System :: Nagual Site

Wonderful fusion of traditional Indian music and rhythmicjaz

Bauwens Michel | Brussels, Belgium | 06/14/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought the CD by chance in a Warsaw jazzstore, misled by the title which in my mind suggested something precolumbian. What I heard instead was most amazing. I have simply never heard a better matched fusion between classical Indian music, expressed in very powerful both male and female voices, traditional instruments, but an especially strong rhythmic section (tabla's, etc..), and on the other hand, very convincing rhythmic jazz with keyboards, trumpets etc.. This is neither one or the another, but a new kind of powerful blend, not newagey at all, but nevertheless trance-inducing through its rhythms ... There's also an identifiable African percussion to be heard. I only give it a four, instead of five, because the documentation is very poor, apart from the names of its musicians, you get no background about the project, the musicians etc..."

Everything that?s good and bad about Post-Modernism

Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 07/03/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Wild eclecticism--good. Undigested wild eclecticism--bad. Access to other cultures--good. Access couched in excessive irony--bad. Evocation of non-Western sacred musics--good. Such evocation wrapped in alien contexts--bad. The title gives it all away: Sacred System. How can the sacred ever be turned into a system? That's at the heart of what's wrong here--a notion that anything can be appropriated by mere evocation.A noble attempt to cross several genres--jazz, dub, Indian classical, trance, drum `n' bass, "world lounge," dance, and electronica--there's a real question as to whether this disc succeeds in any. To my ears, this is an unassimilated amalgam, with its wildly clashing styles and aesthetics--sometimes on the same piece, sometimes serially, sometimes all at once--making for aural chaos rather than any kind of enjoyable synthesis. Yet, without the genuine exploratory sensibilities of Bill Laswell, many of us would probably never be exposed to such a wide musical palate. In a sense, you have to hand it to him for bringing together such a wide range of musical elements. That they don't completely gel doesn't necessarily mean it shouldn't have been tried.Yet, again, I do have another real complaint against this record (you can see that I'm really of two minds about it): The talents of such notable players such as Dave Liebman, Byard Lancaster (a very underrecorded musical genius), Graham Haynes, and Hamid Drake are sorely underutilized. One of the reasons I bought this record was for these players. But their talents are swamped by Laswell, Bernie Worrell, and Jah Wobble. Will that satisfy the trance crowd? I hardly think so. One final grouse (you can almost see the stars slipping away): The musicians aren't listed by track, so it's impossible to tell who's playing on what.Bottom line: some interesting sounds unfortunately just kind of left lying there. 2 and 1/2 stars."

This is it... this is the one...

Kevin | Victoria, BC Canada | 06/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ok...Disclaimer: Bill Laswell is so far my favorite musician on the Earth. His production: amazing. His fretless bass playing: beautiful and inspiring (I also play fretless bass)His sensitivity, adventurous spirit, respect for music and musicians, his trance-awareness, all unparalelled in the music I've heard.And this album is the embodiment of all these qualities. It's incredibly diverse, yet cohesive. It's intense, yet sensitive. It's new-age, yet respectful of tradition. It's beautiful. Pick it up!"