It is all there in plain sight. The name of the label, Soutrane, and the lead off cut on side two, “Hamlet, North Carolina 1926.” These are references to jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane.
Enclosed in a handmade woodcut art cover, Jason Wietlispach’s latest album Sea of Drone consists of three tracks. “All Praise Be to Thee, Thy Key of D” teases, builds then recedes like waves in a gradual climb and equally gradual return. Taking an entire side of the LP, it combines the sound of a drone machine run through eight different distortion pedals and string quartet The Tontine Ensemble.
Based on a melody Wietlispach wrote over two decades ago, “Hamlet, North Carolina 1926” would not be out of place on many albums by the influential Impulse Records label of the ‘60s. Dave Gelting’s bowed bass sets an ominous mood as Russ Johnson’s clarion trumpets signifies lazily above. Dr. Mark Mantel’s subliminal vibraphone seems to be sending a semaphore message. The title cut concludes the album with a pastoral feel, a hazy drifting texture with Linda Binder and Chet Garrett’s voices finding a place in the hypnotic mix.
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