I’ve been following the music of Toronto-based
multi-instrumentalist Colin Fisher for over ten years, including his output with
the I Have Eaten the City trio alongside Nick Storring and Brandon Valdivia
(Mas Aya) and with Not the Wind Not the Flag (a duo with Valdivia). It goes without saying that when new Fisher
tunes arrive on the scene, that I’m going to do my best to sniff them out. UK-based Tombed Visions is a new label to me,
but upon peeking at their back catalogue I realize that I’ve been hiding under
a rock. The aesthetics of the imprint’s
releases are fantastic – each is a miniature work of art. I have some investigating to do…
Fisher’s oeuvre is massive and boundary-stretching, as far
as creative music is concerned. Whether
he’s going solo or teaming up with like-minded heads, there are no laurels rested
upon. Yet there’s a cohesive thread
running through it all, a signature that is undeniably present in each
release. Perhaps epitomizing this
phenomenon, The Garden of Unknowing finds
the musician pushing compositional and improvisational boundaries yet
again. Fisher wields guitar, saxophone,
synth, drums and bass all on his own to weave together a series of free jazz
pieces that contain the energy of a complete outfit – a collection of masterful
players folded into a single entity.
Musically, these pieces are incredibly melodic and
appealing. Each of the seven tracks is a
mini-universe, complete with interwoven narratives – both though-provoking dialectics
and late-night carousals. Each element unfolds
expertly as Fisher improvises with himself, the music ebbing and flowing with
an inconceivable unison that only a master craftsman of sound could achieve. Particularly engaging is “Unveiling,” which
unfolds with an energetic abandon over a searing wail of synthesizer. Its ember sheds tongues of flame that twist
and leap freely, cascading upward as bursts of orange sparks, until finally waning
at track’s end.
Join Fisher in The
Garden of Unknowing; head over to the Tombed Visions Bandcamp. Physical copies are still available.
