Artist: Yolk
Label: Fazzul Music
Release: 2003
Rating: 4.2/5
Yolk is a Swiss project featuring Spaltklang drummer Remy Strauli. Don’t confuse them with the French band of the same name. This Yolk is a trio that again plays mostly jazz, but they love to wander off into other genres too. On this album, their fourth studio outing (hence the name Die Vierte), they’re joined by two guests: one on trombone, the other on sax (no, not Stauss this time!). The sax is especially important to the band’s sound.
As is typical for Fazzul releases, this album is built around jazz, but once again it’s no ordinary jazz (another typical Fazzul trait). Yolk blend elements of rock, avant-garde, symphonic rock (classical), folk and a few other things into the music. The rock side comes mainly from the strong presence of the guitar, which can get jazzy at times, but often leans toward rock too. The symphonic side is down to the mellotron (or mellotron samples), which sometimes recalls King Crimson (In The Court, In The Wake of and Red). Of course, Yolk don’t forget that experimentation and avant-garde are important parts of music too, and you hear that constantly on the album. But there’s never so much experimenting that it feels like they’re overdoing it. The balance between melody and experiments always feels spot on.
Yolk are only three musicians, but you’d never guess it from the sound. Sure, some of that can be credited to the two guests, but I think a lot of the credit also goes to the dynamics of the music and the incredible talent and know-how of the trio, who all take part in the creative process. Stauli is a wonderful drummer and also shows a talent for laying down atmospheric parts on keyboards. Singing may not be his strong suit, technically he’s just not the best at it, but you can feel he’s having fun doing it, which usually rubs off on the listener too. Burkhard is a good bassist with an excellent feel for rhythm and funk, while Riechsteiner’s style is pretty varied. He can play hard rock, gentle passages (almost pop), jazz solos, acoustic (classical) guitar, and so on. There are also two guests on the album. The sax contributes a lot more than the trombone, and the soundscape is far more interesting with it. The trombone isn’t as present, but you can still hear some nice parts.
Fazzul presents yet another record that has slipped under the radar of most prog (and other) fans. This fourth album from 2003 shows off the trio’s ability to jam, compose, play and basically do anything they dream up on their instruments. I don’t get why Yolk and the other Fazzul projects aren’t on the “biggest” site for progressive music (progarchives), because this music has that true spirit of prog – it’s original, inventive, sometimes crazy, sometimes deadly serious, but always interesting and full of fresh ideas.
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Yolk is a Swiss project which features the drummer from Spaltklang Remy Strauli and is not to be confused with the French band of the same name. This Yolk is a trio of musicians which again plays mostly jazz, but they have the tendency to stray into many other genres as well. This is the trio’s forth album and the band is aided by a trombone player and a sax man (no, not Stauss this time!), where the saxophone player is particularly vital for the overall sound of the band.
As is typical for Fazzul music releases, this album is again based around jazz, but this is not ordinary jazz (another typical Fazzul trait). Yolk mix in some great elements, like rock, avant-garde, symphonic (classical), folk music and much more. The rock element is produced particularly by the great presence of the guitar, which can be jazzy at times but it is also very rock oriented at times. The symphonic elements are supplied by the mellotron (or the mellotron sample), which is reminiscent of King Crimson (In The Court, In The Wake of and Red). Naturally, Yolk don’t forget that experimentation and avant-garde are also important in music and we can hear this in abundance throughout the record. However, there’s never so much experimentation that you feel they’ve gone overboard. The balance between melody and experimentation always seems to be right.
Yolk is a band that consists only of three players, but it doesn’t really sound like that. Sure, some of this can be attributed to the guest musicians, but I think a lot of it has to do with the excellent dynamics of the music and the amazing talent and skill of the trio involved in the creative process. Stauli is a fabulous drummer and exhibits his talent for laying down some fine atmospheric keyboard textures. Perhaps his singing isn’t technically the best, but you can tell he’s having lots of fun doing it, which usually has a positive effect on the listener as well. Burkhard is a fine bass player with a great sense of rhythm and funk, while Riechsteiner’s style is as versatile as it gets. He can play hard rock passages, mellow (almost pop) sounds, jazz solos, acoustic (classical) guitar etc. We also have two guests on the album. The saxophone contributes much more than the trombone and it really makes for a much better overall sonic impression than if it were absent. The trombone is much less present but still adds some nice parts.
Fazzul music presents another record that’s completely escaped under the radar of most progressive (and other) musical fans. This forth studio release from 2003 shows the trio’s ability to jam, compose, play and basically do anything they want with their instruments. Why Yolk and any other project on the Fazzul Music label isn’t on the “ultimate” source for progressive music – progarchives – is beyond me because this kind of music contains the true spirit of progressive rock – original, inventive, sometimes crazy, sometimes dead serious, but always intriguing and full of fresh ideas. Come, on, some Yolk won’t kill you, try it!
Line-up
Beat Burkhard – bass, stick
Willi Riechsteiner – guitar
Rémy Sträuli – drums, keyboards, vocals
Guests: Stefan Hugi – saxophones, Thomas Moser – trombone
Production
Yolk
Tracklist
1. Klabautermann
2. Bio & der Erdbeer
3. Grabbs
4. Preludium
5. Interludium
6. Danza
7. Finale
8. Kllmoulis
9. MIcro Pieza I
10. Zwispi 1_2
11. Micro Pieza II
12. Zwispi 2_3
13. Micro Pieza III
14. Zwiispi 3_4
15. Micro Pieza IV
16. The milk sucking tick
17. Pendule
18. Gluck glotzt
19. Tanko
20. Pietro Pazzo
21. Baltimore & die Kurbisschmuggelaffare
22. Grabbs (Radio Edit)
23. Gluck glotzt
