Once a free improvisation collective, by 2004 Trummerflora takes the shape of an organized pool of collaborating artists (much like the Montreal-based collective/imprint Ambiances Magnétiques). Credited to Trummerflora as an entity,
Rubble 1 is in fact a compilation album bringing together several groupings of its members and projects that were developed under its wing -- including a number of key Accretions recording acts, like
Wormhole, Donkey and Titicacaman. The names of Robert Montoya, Marcos Fernandes, Damon Holzborn,
Hans Fjellestad,
Marcelo Radulovich and Nathan Hubbard appear on several of these 13 tracks, but surprisingly (or not, if you already know their work) this does not provide significant streamlining to the album. On the contrary,
Rubble 1 is a dizzying hodgepodge of high-quality experimentalism. The electro-acoustic improvisations and compositions of Donkey, Mrlectronic (an electronic trio formed of
Lisle Ellis, Fernandes and Montoya), Holzborn and Montoya form a core that might be seen as the main theme of the album, which is simultaneously taken apart by the avant-jazz rapping of Perfektomat ("Posturban Subfrequencies," or if
Dälek had opted for collaborating with the Sun Ra Arkestra instead of
Faust), Titicacaman's hard-pumping and truly delightful dance anthem "7 Headless Horsepeople,"
Cosmologic's retro-futuristic fire music, and the delicate and so very precious exchange between
Radulovich and Japanese vocalist
Haco (disguised as the Restlight Duo). If anything,
Rubble 1 illustrates how resourceful and creative the San Diego area has been lately. It also shows how wide a notion creative (or avant-garde/experimental/demanding/etc.) music truly is and should be. The album doesn't provide much of a coherent listen, but it will prompt you to dive into the back catalogs of the Accretions and Circumvention labels, even though most of the tracks here are previously unreleased. ~ François Couture