Manuel Pasquinelli - 2025 - Heartbeat Drumming [Bellmund Session]

(37:31; Heartbeat Rhythm Productions)






















Track list:
1. Heartbeat Drumming [Bellmund Session] 37:31

Line-up:
Manuel Pasquinelli - drums, percussion, drones


Switzerland based drummer Manuel Pasquinelli has been an active musician for a good number of years, with the drums as his chosen instruments. Currently he is a member of a small handful of bands, with Sonar perhaps being the most well known, Akku Quintet also being a band known by many and with Schrödingers Katze as the final of his currently active bands. This year Pasquinelli is out with his first proper solo album. It is called "Heartbeat Drumming [Bellmund Session]", and is an improvised live in studio performance that clocks in at a little bit shy of 38 minutes.

This is a bit of a minimalist creation, where the main instruments are drums and percussion, with an ambient floating synthesizer presence that complement the rhythms. The improvisation ebbs and flows between various patterns with the synthesizer drones fluctuating and alternating alongside the change in the rhythm details, with certain phases and patterns if not repeated directly then at least returned to in a more general manner. In many ways this is an elongated drum solo I guess, as I have encountered quite a few instances of drum solos accompanied by some manner or other of a minimalist musical backing over the years.

For my sake as a mere listener this isn't the kind of album that I found to be all that enthralling. I do like and enjoy drums and drum solo runs, and really enjoy the escapades of drummers such as the late Neil Peart and Gavin Harrison for instance, but in this case I found the rhythms produced to be not quite up my valley. I suspect that this improvisation may lean more towards the technical side of matters without making use of the more musical, melodic and expressive attitudes I associate with the likes of Peart and Harrison. As with all matters in music, this will be a case of subjective taste in music, and in this case subjective taste in rhythms.

My perception of this production is that it is probably one with a bit more of a defined niche appeal. Where I'd guesstimate that those with a specific interest in rhythms that leans more towards the technical aspects of the instrument, and how skills in that department can be used in an improvised performance, is the audience that will find the landscapes explored on this album to be most interesting. As well as other drummers, obviously.

Olav M. Björnsen, April 2025

Links:
https://www.pasquinelli.ch/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ken Field - 2024 - The Canopy

Image
(30:19; Neuma Records) Track list: 1. The Serving 2:24 2. Also Known As 1:49 3. Laevinic Defeat 1:43 4. Culture 4:46 5. Four Words 1:41 6. Mirror 3:06 7. Day by Day 3:24 8. Deluge 3:55 9. Darkness into Light 7:31 Line-up: Ken Field - all instruments US composer and musician Ken Field is a veteran in US music circles, with tenures in bands exploring the fields of world music, jazz and progressive rock in his resume, as well as composing music for television shows. In addition he has been active as a solo artist since the middle of the 1990s, with more than a dozen albums to his name as of 2024. "The Canopy" is his latest studio album, and was released by US label Neuma Records in the fall of 2024. The music on this album was commissioned for a dance performance, where the topic of the performance were expressions of loss, love and resilience. These are emotions that all shine through in these compositions too, and besides the emotional resonances that comes with the different ...
Read more

King Sable: Nothing But The Truth (2024) - mini-review

Image
Swiss band King Sable are out with the album "Nothing But The Truth", and metal is the style explored on this production. The core foundation of this band is what I'd describe as a more contemporary take on the traditional heavy metal form, with a nice array of chugging guitar riffs and galloping riff and rhythm constellations being something of a mainstay. More distinct staccato riff and rhythm arrangements expand the boundaries somewhat though, and along with that we have the combination of more controlled and melodic lead vocals with a bit of a talk like mode of delivery alternating with more aggressive vocal displays that have a stronger attachment to the hardcore tradition. With liberal use of guitar solo overlays that adds a more distinct melodic touch to the proceedings that offset and contrast with the more aggro sometime vocal displays. An album to seek out by those who find the notion of melodic heavy metal seasoned with a bit of hardcore aggression to be an int...
Read more

Kenneth Roy - 2020 - Chairman

Image
(39:34; Physico Records) Track list: 1. Chairman 3:32 2. Two of a Kind 3:33 3. Let Your Love Come Down 3:19 4. In the Night 5:10 5. Think I'll Stay in the City Tonight 5:06 6. After Dawn 3:46 7. Empty Heart 3:41 8. I Still Love You So 3:21 9. Our Love Will Last 3:54 10. Close Enough to Know 4:12 Line-up: Kenneth Roy - vocals, drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, melodica, effects Doctor Ryman - guitars, drums, bass, arrangements, effects with: Baron Chase - bass Richard Howell - saxophones, arrangements Geechi Taylor - trumpet Danny Armstrong - trombone Veteran US artist Kenneth Roy has been around for the last three decades or thereabouts, but as I haven't been able to trace just how many albums he has released over the years I don't know how productive he has been over the years. The album "Chairman" dates back to 2020, and appears to be the most recent of his excursions as a solo artist. I was fairly impressed with this album when I gave it a more superf...
Read more