Thursday, January 12, 2023

Recording: Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman

Artist: Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman

Song: [2nd set excerpt]

Recorded at The Tranzac (Southern Cross Lounge), December 30, 2022.

Aurochs with special guest Kurt Newman - [2nd set excerpt]

[before start of set]

Kurt Newman: Anything I should know?

Pete Johnston: We don't play very much... also, we're not a rhythm section.

Been a fair while since I'd caught up with Aurochs, in fact not at all since their significant shift earlier this year, which saw co-founder/pianist Ali Berkok depart from regular duties with the group on moving out of town. The remaining members (Pete Johnston, bass; Jake Oelrichs, percussion; and Mike Smith, processing) have continued on, with their monthly residency slots now featuring a rotating cast of guest performers.

Kurt Newman brought out his pedal steel for this instalment, gliding along for a couple sets and giving Smith an output so he could add some extra manipulations and spacializations to his sounds. To connect with the pedal steel's vibe, Johnston swapped double bass for bass VI, so there were some moments of minimal Nashville (though not quite Nashville Minimalist) sounds. Things actually got a little frisky — if not a gallop then nudging into a drunken waltz, but the back half of both sets found the musicians zoned in to some really pleasing flows.

Speaking of which, here's some sounds/visuals from the second half of the first set:

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