BASE3_Live From Earth (1k017)

74 minutes of absolutely essential BASE3. Transmissions of heat and spark, assembled from several astonishing BASE3 live performances in Philadelphia from 2009—featuring drummer Doug Hirlinger, baritone guitarist Tim Motzer, and bassist Barry Meehan.

Release Date: April 25, 2011

BASE3 is:
DOUG HIRLINGER – traps
TIM MOTZER – baritone guitar + electronics
BARRY MEEHAN – bass + electronics

This is an archive performance—no overdubs. BASE3 recorded in Philadelphia at Gojjo 4/19/09, the Fire 8/23/09, & Moonstone 9/11/09 by Tom Lindel except for the Fire performance recorded by Brendan Krivdan with live PA by Gordon Rice. Produced by BASE3. Mastered by Jeff Chestek at the Hat July 2010.

Thanks to Zvex, Guyatone, Line6, Gordon Rice, Brendan Krivda, Tom Lindel, Matt Feldman, Stephen Buono, Dan Scofield, & all from The Sci-Fi Music Series.

Design by Dejha Ti. Photography of Tower Farm by Tim Motzer.
(C) 2011 1k Recordings Inc. (P) 2011 One K Music Co. (BMI)
All rights reserved. 1k017

 

reviews

BASE3 – Live From Earth (CD, 1K Recordings, Progressive/electronic)

Contrasting their previous studio release, Philadelphia-based trio Tim Motzer, (baritone guitar / electronics), Doug Hirlinger, (drums), and Barry Meehan, (bass / electronics), have drawn together a serious of live performances from 2009, knitting them into an expansive, continuous suite that’s constantly boiling over with adventurous and often ingenious interplay.

Tracing an intriguing map made from waves of interstellar glissando, sepia-tinged hybrid blues licks, locked-down beats, and sparkling electronica-induced atmospheres, they maintain a tightly-controlled environment that’s often dense but never cluttered.

Impeccably sequenced, it gracefully processes from the impressionistic squall of Ninth Ward, and the repetitive, jagged rockface of God Particle, through to The Unanswered Call. A 33 minute-long psyche-prog shadow play that combines fluid expression and instinctive judgement calls bordering on ESP, it’s the undoubted triumph of the album.

Hirlinger’s compact skittering grooves ripple and buzz like well-crafted, concise dramas, telling tales via skins and metal, producing stuttering interjections against Meehan’s unflappable focus.

Throughout the album, Motzer’s kaleidiscope excursions intrigue and entertain. However it’s here more than anywhere else on the album that his swaying, sustained guitar lines most ably communicate a lonesome, remote reverie with all of the exquisite eloquence of a tautly drawn haiku.

This album can be summed up in one word: essential. – Sid Smith Postcards From the Yellow Room (UK)

*****

Yet another project utilizing the skills of ultra-productive creative mastermind Tim Motzer. BASE3 is the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based trio comprised of Motzer, Doug Hirlinger, and Barry Meehan. The tracks on Live From Earth utilize plenty of technology-driven sounds and spontaneous improvisation. These tracks are from two live performances…the first 41 minutes were recorded at The Fire in Philadelphia while the final 33 minutes were recorded at the Gojjo Sci-Fi Jazz Series. These three guys feed off one another in obvious ways, making these free-flowing progressive psychedelic compositions trippy and unique. In some ways this is a throwback to the heady music of the 1970s…but in other ways these guys are forging new sounds directly tied to the twenty-first century. Killer packaging…wildly inventive sounds…what more could you ask for? Our favorite cuts include “Ninth Ward,” The Collider,” “After Shock,” and “The Unanswered Call.” Cool and perplexing. –  Baby Sue

*****

Culled from shows in the Philadelphia area, BASE3 features lead soloist and very active experimental guitarist Tim Motzer, who integrates jazz-rock, avant-rock and ambient soundscapes into his adventurous repertoire. Having collaborated on albums with German composer, touch guitarist and synthesist Markus Reuter in the recent past, here, Motzer and associates perpetuate a boundary-less trek into innumerable musical galaxies, abetted by a democratic, group-centric focus.

“GodParticle” is a prime indicator of what Live From Earth is all about. Largely improvised, the trio works through expressionistic idealizations akin to electronics-shaded jazz-rock, spun in a free-jazz mold. The band seldom ventures towards pure cacophony, mixing it up with pounding grooves offset by drummer Doug Hirlinger’s flailing rim-shots and Barry Meehan’s titanium-laced bass lines, with Motzer’s multifarious baritone guitar work seasoned by polytonal distortion and airy panoramas.

The band toggles between loose frameworks and weighty, climactic choruses amid enticing improvisational segments and off-kilter treatments. The artists embed multiple storylines into “GodParticle,” with variances in pitch and fluid passages, while upping the ante on numerous occasions. The outing marks an antithesis to the norm, where the musicians’ multihued sound designs and seething dialogues spawn an abundance of persuasive schemas along the way.
Personnel: Doug Hirlinger: drums; Barry Meehan: bass, electronics ; Tim Motzer: baritone guitar, electronics. – GLENN ASTARITA – AAJ

*****

BASE3 – Live From Earth
In a live setting the band really shows their experimental side, with more than a slight nod to improvisation. This is probably best exemplified with the album ending epic “The Unanswered Call”, an amalgamation of ambience and electronic soundscapes with excellent East Indian guitar motifs. Other notables include the chilling “God Particle” where moody atmospherics of guitar and electronics blend into an absorbing jam session and the feedback/loop filled “Ninth Ward” with its brazen blasts of wild guitar effects and spacey electronics.This is an album filled to the brim with jam band aesthetics and spacey atmospheres that make for a rather other worldly listening experience. It is best enjoyed with a good set of headphones. Recommended for psychedelic and space fans everywhere. –  Jon Neudorf/SOT

*****

 

BASE3- Live From Earth
Exploring the hypnotic low-end, the avant-garde power trio of Base 3 probes into the dark depths of experimental post-rock. With the lineup of Tim Motzer (baritone guitar/electronics), Barry Meehan (bass/electronics), & Doug Hirlinger (drums/percussion) the seminal groove vibe is persistent throughout Live From Earth, as the organic jam session finds itself induced by various electronic nuances/samples as well as feedback, electric hum run through effects, phasing, and delay to spring the opposition to any paint by numbers scheme. The album itself is bold with the musical faction sounding cinematic, like a soundtrack to an edgy film, with a jazz influence in “God Particle” & “Killshot,” semi-industrial chill on “The Collider,” and a free-form frenzy on “Aftershock.” Live From Earth may not be all out melodic, but at least it’s real, honest, and interesting – as being a pop band is not the priority for Base 3; the record is most certainly a headphone listening experience where you feel engulfed in the music with it’s raw magnetism. – Tommy Hash/Ytsejam