(2023, 300lmt 180g 12” Vinyl, FK018)
Rudolph and Sorey had long admired one another’s work from afar when they first met for a concert at The Stone in 2018. “Tyshawn and I had an immediate, alchemical connection,” Rudolph recalls. “We found that we were really in tune with each other, and it was easy and inspiring to play with him.” Sorey adds, “With both of us being composers, it felt natural for us to operate in this composerly way. Rather than speaking two different languages, we quickly found a way to unify our languages and speak as one. Having developed a greater understanding of each other’s work as composers and performers has really intensified the experience for me.”
Archaisms I begins sparsely, with surprising, pointillist sounds that seem to emerge from various points in three-dimensional space surrounding the listener – strikes, crashes, gongs, chimes, horns. An insistent rhythm gallops out of this mysterious space before subsiding again into a mesmerizing sparseness. The first half of the performance continues in this tidal fashion, ebbing and flowing from dynamic action to punctuated silences. The second half (Side B of the vinyl release) begins with a dialogue of mallets and hand strokes, echoing and floating like whale song carried underwater. Ricocheting cymbals and snare snap these amorphous sonics into crisp focus, initiating an avalanche of roiling, shifting sounds that carry on at blistering pace for the remainder of the 22-minute excursion.
Adam Rudolph – handrumset and percussion
Tyshawn Sorey – drum set and percussion