If the guys from Portishead were smokin’ weed in the alley with Captain Beefheart and “wordjazz” master Ken Nordine outside of a Jimmy Smith show, and then decided to corral Smith for a jam at Nordine’s home studio, this is what I imagine the resulting recording would sound like.
Belgian-born Fabien Van der Steppen has been brewng an unusual blend of trippy, blues-influenced music for a number of years, experimenting by weaving familiar blues elements like slide guitar and harmonica into mixes that use classic hip-hop and trance as a base. The results here are a bit uneven, but never boring, and the recording has the spontaneous, improvised feel of a jam session, with all the good and band elements that entails. Some of the lyrical ideas could benefit from further fleshing out, as some of the vocal mantras border on Nordine’s “word jazz” abstractions both in content and in treatment. A few more Beefheart-like howls, wails, and growls would spice things up.
Incursions Ostentatoires is worth repeated spins, so spark one up, kick back and chill out with FAB. There is a planned Belgian tour, and have been a number of live performances as well in the Chicago area, so keep an eye out.
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website: http://www.fabblues.com/