Artist: Peter Friis Nielsen/Taylor’s Free Universe Album: On-Plugged in Elsinore (2007) Label: : Marvel of Beauty Records Website: http://www.progressor.net/robin-taylor Reviewer: Bill Knispel

Track List: 1 Amalie 2 Picnic at Noon 3 Tight Little Waves 4 The Fifth Element 5 Exit Elsinore 6 Train On-Plugged in Elsinore is “the first battle between Taylor`s Free Universe and ‘monster’ bass player Peter Friis Nielsen.” Recorded live and direct to DAT at Toldkammeret in Elsinore Denmark on 13 March 2003, the album was edited and released to acclaim, culminating in a 2004 nomination at the Danish Music Awards. On-Plugged features the current core of the TFU ensemble; joining Taylor are long-time collaborator Karsten Vogel (Secret Oyster, on alto sax), Pierre Tassone (violin) and Kalle Mathiesen (percussion), and as the title implies, the band is fully plugged in, electric and processed. Of course, this is a co-credited album, and the fifth musician present for these recordings is Peter Friis Nielsen on bass. Above you’ll see him noted as a ‘monster bass player,’ and in this case, the title is well deserved. I don’t know that I’d put him in the same category as a Jannick Top or Bernard Paganotti (just to mention two of my favourite ‘monster’ bassists), yet at the same time I don’t think I could put either of them in the same category as Nielsen. Nielsen seems to come from a much heavier jazz background than Top (trained cellist) or Paganotti, and his tone and style rely less on brute force and in your face distortion and more on quicksilver lines that seem almost impossible to have been played. His tone is punchy, with a touch of treble to make it cut through the organised chaos that is a Taylor’s Free Universe live session, and his presence is an important element defining each of the six improvisations on this album. In fact, he opens the album with some wild bass playing on the first cut, “Amalie.” Written by Nielsen, his bass playing leads into a pleasant alto sax solo courtesy of Karsten Vogel before Kalle Mathiesen adds brushed cymbals to establish phrasing and “rhythm.” Bubbling up from beneath all of this are soundscape/atmospheric guitar and violin that sound more like echoes of Vogel’s melodic lines...or perhaps more appropriately, responses to Vogel’s calls. This is a musical conversation in the truest sense of the phrase. Vogel steps back to allow Tassone center stage, and the interplay between his violin and Nielsen’s basswork is just as impressive. Processed tubular bells herald the beginning of “Picnic at Noon,” the album’s second composition. Nielsen plays high on the bass neck, plucking notes that would almost be easier to play on a guitar. Bursts of noise and odd samples battle with staccato violin riffs and Vogel’s always fluid sax playing. There is a slightly heavier emphasis on electronics and noise on this track, with noise being shaped as sound for musical purposes. Not all music needs to be built around a simple melodic core; artists such as Fred Frith, David Torn and John Zorn have shown that a willingness to step outside the restrictions created by the rules of music can create new shapes from the same building blocks most musicians use to craft their pieces. On On-Plugged in Elsinore (as well as other Taylor’s Free Universe albums), the musicians seem to pledge allegiance to that way of thought first and foremost. Taylor’s guitar is heard, unprocessed for perhaps the first time on the album, opening “Tight Little Waves.” Don’t hold out hope that he’ll remain the instrumental focus for long...those few distorted chords, mixed far back in the sound field, give way quickly to another solid Vogel sax improv. Between Vogel’s sax and Nielsen’s often frenteic bass playing, it’s perhaps difficult to decide on a point to focus on aurally. Better not to try, really...just take it all in, or try to. It may take more than one listen, actually. The same could be said for the 16-minute “The Fifth Element,” the lengthiest composition on this album. There are massive amounts of musicking going on, even in the quietest moments. I’ve heard enough TFU albums at this point to know that I can’t make a snap decision on any piece or album...I have to be willing to live with the music for a few days, taking it in layer by layer, in order to get the most out of it. The odd space moment 4:30 into “The Fifth Element” is a perfect example...it arises out of nowhere, with echoing space guitar and odd sounds that could be a sitar, or could be something else entirely. The effect is disquieting, unnerving, and just a little freaky...but it fits the piece. In the context of the composition, it works. Had it been the focal point of an entire piece, it might not have had the effect it does here. “Exit Elsinore” opens with a slowly building series of loops, with Vogel unleashing a lovely blues/soul sax solo, wringing emotion from his sax note by note. His solo, which would not be out of place on some 40’s or 50’s trad jazz album, is set off in odd ways by the electronic loops it soars over...yet the disparate elements integrate rather than clash. Album closer “Train” finishes things with just a touch of quiet, gradually building downward in intensity rather than toward an explosive climax. It offers some of the most extended moments of restraint and calm, with elements that would feel familiar to fans of the 1990’s double trio King Crimson. Crimson’s more exploratory improvisational moments touched on some of the areas that make up the outskirts of TFU’s staked out territories, and would be perhaps the closest thing from a more familiar group to compare to, or make available a doorway for a listener not familiar with fully free playing to pass through. I’d probably state that On-Plugged in Elsinore is one of the most difficult Taylor’s Free Universe Albums to listen to. I say that not because the music is unlistenable...far from it. But it is perhaps the densest, most complex stuff I have heard from the band. While there are moments of uneasy quiet, the album as a whole is edgy, intense, and holds the listener firm in its grip from the first warbly bass line to the closing fade. I have said in the past that TFU’s music is not for the faint of heart, and On-Plugged in Elsinore stamps that statement paid in full. Listen at your own risk...you might find your opinions on music changes forever. Band Members: Robin Taylor: atmospheric guitar, electronics Pierre Tassone: processed violin Karsten Vogel: alto saxophones Peter Friis Nielsen: basses Kalle Mathiesen: percussives, samples, etc.