The Squid's Ear Magazine


Mako Sica / Hamid Drake: Ronda [VINYL 2 LPs] (Feeding Tube Records)

The long-running Chicago free-rock trio Mako Sica currently comprised of Przemyslaw Drazek (trumpet & guitar), Brent Fuscaldo (guitar) and Chaetan Newell (drums & piano) are joined by free improvising legend Hamid Drake on drum kit, tablas and frame drum for a beautiful and rich album of genre merging, spiritually warm, primarily instrumental music, inclusive and persuasive.
 

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Personnel:



Hamid Drake-drum kit, tablas, frame drum

Przemyslaw Krys Drazek-electric guitar, classical guitar, trumpet

Brent Fuscaldo-vocals, electric guitar, classical guitar, thumb piano, bass, harmonica, gongs, floor tom

Chaetan Newell-congas, electric piano, grand piano, hi hat, sleigh bells, teponaztli, timpani, cello, upright bass, viola, drum kit, native american flute, organ, tambourine, orchestral bells


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Edition of 500

UPC: 752830266414

Label: Feeding Tube Records
Catalog ID: FTR 409LP
Squidco Product Code: 26219

Format: LP
Condition: New
Released: 2018
Country: USA
Packaging: LP
Tracks 1-2 Recorded at Electrical Audio by Taylor Hales. Additional Recording /Mixing at Jamdek by Douglas MaloneTracks 3-5 Recorded and Mixed at Jamdek by Douglas Malone. Additional Recording/Mixing at Polytonal Productions by Chaetan Newell.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Brilliant, inspired and somewhat surprising collaboration between Chicago's premier free-rock trio and the truly legendary percussionist, Hamid Drake, who has played with everyone from Don Cherry to Peter Brotzmann to Lee Perry.

This collusion was precipitated by Matt Jackowiak, a mutual friend, who thought a merging of their sounds might make for an ecstatic explosion. This feeling became mutual after they played a show together at Constellation. The set mixed Mako Sica tunes with improvisations that took everyone to places they hadn't expected, and the trip was deemed an utter success.

Ronda was done at two sessions, scheduled around Hamid's insanely busy work schedule. The first was at Jamdek with Douglas Malone at the board, the second was at Electrical Audio with Taylor Hales. The Electrical session allowed the players access to a host of additional instruments, so the sonic palette on "Dance with Waves" and "Emanation" is wider and somehow more cosmic than usual.

But the whole album has an extraordinary depth and width of sound. Even the great songs Mako Sica has had in its set for a while like "The Old Book," gain whole new levels of otherness here, and the material based in quartet improvisations, like "The Wu Wei," explores wild new territory for the band.

Ronda (named after a town in southern Spain with a famous 18th Century bridge crossing a deep gorge) is the first span connecting the disparate musical worlds of Mako Sica and Hamid Drake. Let us hope it is but the first of many."-Byron Coley, 2018



"Mako Sica (meaning "bad lands") is a three-piece band from Chicago formed in 2007. With two members (Przemyslaw Drazek and Michael Kendrick) formerly of the band Rope on the Family Vinyard imprint and a new singer (Brent Fuscaldo), the group combines dissonant, classical-influenced arrangements with wordless, mantra-like singing and a bluesy rhythm section. In the spirit of Chicago's explorative artists such as the legendary Sun Ra, The Art Ensemble of Chicago, and even US Maple (whose guitarist Todd Rittmann recorded Mako Sica's debut), they create a sound that is all their own. Mako Sica uses guitars, drums, trumpet, and at times extra percussion and electric thumb piano to produce songs in the vein of Amon Duul, Hex-era Earth and the out-there reaches of the Impulse Records catalog. The band uses a group-mind aesthetic and an uncanny dose of negative space that charms the listener to be a part of the music."-Mako Sica Bandcamp page

Also available on cassette.
Edition of 500

Artist Biographies

"Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. He lives in Chicago, IL but spends a great deal of time touring worldwide. By the close of the 1990s, Hamid Drake was widely regarded as one of the best percussionists in jazz and avant improvised music. Incorporating Afro-Cuban, Indian, and African percussion instruments and influence, in addition to using the standard trap set, Drake has collaborated extensively with top free-jazz improvisers. Drake also has performed world music; by the late 70s, he was a member of Foday Musa Suso's Mandingo Griot Society and has played reggae throughout his career.

Drake has worked with trumpeter Don Cherry, pianist Herbie Hancock, saxophonists Pharoah Sanders, Fred Anderson, Archie Shepp and David Murray and bassists Reggie Workman and William Parker (in a large number of lineups)

He studied drums extensively, including eastern and Caribbean styles. He frequently plays without sticks; using his hands to develop subtle commanding undertones. His tabla playing is notable for his subtlety and flair. Drake's questing nature and his interest in Caribbean percussion led to a deep involvement with reggae."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Drake)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Przemyslaw Krys Drazek is a Polish trumpeter and guitarist living in Chicago, an original member of the free-rock trio Maco Sika.

-Squidco 3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

Brent Fuscaldo is a Chicago guitarist and vocalist, a member of the group Mako Sica.

-Squidco 3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Having played music for as long as I can remember (my father is an accomplished Jazz and Soul drummer), music has always been a key ingredient in my life. From playing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme on the drum set as a toddler, I have gone on to learn electric/classical/lap steel guitar, electric/upright bass, various keyboard instruments, most percussion instruments, and many old time instruments such as banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, and harmonica. I'm currently teaching myself viola.

In addition to the performing aspect of music, I am also experienced with writing/composition, recording/engineering/mixing/production, and design/manufacturing/distribution/vending of my own albums as well as those of others. However, none of these things bring me the same joy as teaching the ways of music to others. Fortunately, all of these skills integrate to bring about a clear view of the big picture in regards to music so I can better serve a wider variety of pupils and quickly reveal this big picture to all of them.

While I have indeed put a lot of time in touring and playing rowdy rock shows with many critically acclaimed and well-known musicians, I have also taken countless years of public and private lessons on guitar, bass, drums, piano, music theory, and songwriting from highly decorated and regarded teachers. As a child, I played in a nearly overwhelming amount of ensembles and attended various camps and seminars including Cannon Music Camp where I played with The North Carolina Symphony for two consecutive summers. This all prepared me for the Bachelors of Music I received from Berklee College of Music where I appeared on the Dean's List each semester. Now for the price of one instructor, you can learn from a man with as much knowledge as an entire faculty."

-TakeLessons (https://takelessons.com/profile/chaetan-n)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



SIDE A



1. Dance With Waves 15:17

SIDE B



1. Emanation 16:56

SIDE C



1. The Greatest Gift 09:23

2. The Old Book 05:39

SIDE D



1. The Wu Wei 14:03

Related Categories of Interest:


Vinyl Recordings
Improvised Music
Free Improvisation
Rock and Related
Improvised Rock
Unusual Vocal Forms
Staff Picks & Recommended Items
Trio Recordings
Quartet Recordings
Percussion & Drums
New in Rock Forms
Chicago Jazz & Improvisation
Piano Trio (Piano Bass Drums)

Search for other titles on the label:
Feeding Tube Records.


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The Squid's Ear Magazine

The Squid's Ear Magazine

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