rothko - no chart no anchor no rudder no sails (cdr)
Comprising entirely exclusive material drawn from several sources, 'no chart no anchor no rudder no sails' makes for a surprisingly coherent and complete listening experience.
Mainly exploring a gentle and impressionistic Durutti, Cocteaus, Budd and Weber territory, this unique combination of haunting textures and loop improvs might just be one of the highly regarded Rothko's finer moments.
Tracks
1 no anchor (2.12)
2 for vini (1.17)
3 through corridors (2.20)
4 earthed (1.06)
5 two (1.18)
6 hunt for (7.08)
7 into sunlight (1.19)
8 no chart (2.48)
9 no rudder (1.10)
10 no sails (5.22)
11 abstract (3.12)
12 extract (2.21)
13 crystal (2.44)
14 terrible scrape (8.33)
Credits
tracks 1, 8, 9, 10, 11 were produced by nick olofsson
all tracks by rothko. © rothko 2001
to contact us: www.rothkomusic.co.uk
photography by Carl Glover
Burning Shed CDRs
Burning Shed CDRs are burnt to order and packaged in a stylish rubber stamped cardboard sleeve with card inlay.
Comments
While you savor Rothko's recent In the Pulse of an Artery EP (Bella Union) and anxiously await the live Not Gone, Not Forgotten (due out on Lo Recordings sometime soon), No Anchor No Chart No Rudder No Sails should keep you in a state of suspended delight. A superb set of unreleased Rothko presented by the very low-profile Burning Shed label, No Anchor is billed as "an exclusive collection of outtakes." If these are our favorite English all-bass concern's outtakes, then what they left in must be pure gold. And it is--as you've no doubt divined from the praise we regularly heap upon this outfit.
Rothko's music continues to be a unique celebration of the bass. The quartet of impressionistic poems that lend this set its title finds the instrument freed from its sideline role as rhythmic ballast. No anchor, indeed. For Rothko, the bass is a brush, responsive to the slightest of gestures. An imperceptible flick turns the fine, flowing scrollwork of "No Chart" and "Crystal" into broad and bold calligraphy. Bass and body often fuse in sensuous sinuousness, deliquescent curves consuming instrument and instrumentalist alike. The arco couplings of "Abstract" are almost too intimate for outside ears.
Though Rothko always works well in miniature, and even the momentary glimpses of "Earthed" and "No Rudder" are to be treasured, the lengthier pieces prove especially rewarding. "No Sails" is as alluring and open as the ocean's embrace. "Hunt For" is glorious--stormy blue abstraction parting at the tender urgings of shafts of light--while "Terrible Scrape," the album's sublime closer, belies its fearsome title with celestial whisperings and a holy aura worthy of Arvo Pärt.
Where Rothko has previously paid homage to Pentangle bassist Danny Thompson, whose exceptional fluency in jazz and folk redefined the language of the low end, No Anchor includes a tribute to Durutti Column maestro Vini Reilly. "Two," "Into Sunlight," and "For Vini" certainly reflect Reilly's guitar lyricism, transposing the trebly substance of his fragile sketches for the richer resonances of the electric bass. And, like Reilly, Rothko is liberal in the incorporation of electronics. "Through Corridors" and "No Anchor" are seemingly spun around samples, the silken weft of bass deftly woven with the coarser warp of sampled sound. When not subsumed by noisy swells, the expressive bows and bends also suggest that a future tip of the hat to Steve Swallow is in order. Until then, "Abstract" will serve nicely.
Gil Gershman, www.fakejazz.com
ROTHKO are a trio of bass players whose mastery of group dynamics, effects pedals and loops creates a luxurious Radox bath of booming frequencies, far greater in its emotional resonance than their basic blueprint would suggest. Admittedly, the title implies a nautical theme, but No Anchor is a Blue Planet of a record, washing you with swathes of sound in some undersea darkness. And you'll need to dive deeper than usual to find it, too, as it's available only from Burning Shed, a specialist label located at www.burningshed.com. There, shadowy figures like Navigator, Darkroom and Bass Communion are coaxed into bequeathing us limited-edition releases, most of which are worth investigation. Meanwhile, if you're a 20th-century square, Rothko also have a new live album, Not Gone Not Forgotten (Lo Recordings), which is available from those retro analogue retail outlets called "shops".
Sunday Times Review, 11th November 2001
this is mark from rothko here. i just wanted to offer my extreme thanks to all at burning shed for giving us the amazing oportunity to release the tracks on 'no anchor...' we've recieved so many great messages from people, both about the album and about the great service offered by the label. so, infinite thanks to tim and peter, and to all those of you who have so kindly bought the record. with love. mark beazley - rothko.
mark beazley
This is a quick note to say thank you very much for sending me the Rothko CD. I ordered it on Tuesday night and was amazed when it arrived this morning (Thursday). I was very impressed indeed. The CD packaging and artwork is wonderful too.
Vince Deehan
please mail me when shipping. best, RP Vienna Austria
Reinhold Pirker