Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Jade Warrior
Label: Island Records
Release: 1976
Duration: 36:27
Rating: 5/5
With »Kites«, Jade Warrior, the champions of ambient and world-music offshoots of progressive rock, carried on the instrumental style recipe of their previous two studio triumphs, the masterpieces »Floating World« (1974) and »Waves« (1975), with great success. During Jade Warrior’s Island era, so called because of their deal with the label of the same name, multi-instrumentalist, flutist/percussionist Jon Field and guitarist/keyboardist/percussionist Tony Duhig created the bulk of their best work, and it has stood the test of time surprisingly well.
»Kites« was yet another in a string of Jade Warrior concept albums, but unlike the previous two, it drew its inspiration not from the Yukio philosophy of ancient Japan but from the history of ancient China, specifically the travels of Teh Ch’eng, a 9th-century Chinese Zen master, and Paul Klee’s masterpiece ‘Realm of the Air’. At a time when Jade Warrior were pioneers of world music and ambient rock, interest in the culture of the Far East was growing steadily in the West, so they couldn’t have picked a better moment for a shot at commercial success, but for a number of reasons it came out of nowhere and never happened. The greatest strength of Jade Warrior in their instrumental ambient period was the way they wove a complex fusion of wildly varied sonic ingredients from classical, jazz, world music, folk and rock into exceptionally rich ambient layers, through the inventive use of keyboards, often exotic percussion, the pastoral sound of the flute, gentle acoustic melodies and occasional rock outbursts on electric guitar.
»Kites« had all of the above ingredients, and it differed significantly from its predecessor »Waves«, which was really a single composition split into two parts, in that it was made up mostly of shorter tracks (the only exception being »Wind Borne«, at a little over seven minutes). Compared to its predecessor, you’ll find slightly fewer enchanting meditative moments between the individual tracks on »Kites«, since this album is more energetic and dramatic overall. On the other hand, it’s an even more complex piece of work, with plenty of abstract, highly intricate motifs and fascinating instrumental multi-harmonies. The lion’s share of the more complex rhythmic layers in the individual »Kites« compositions comes from the furious violin passages courtesy of the famed avant-garde multi-instrumentalist Fred Frith (Henry Cow), who is otherwise much better known as one of the most innovative and ‘off-the-wall’ guitarists of all time. This time around, Field and Duhig invited what amounts to an entire symphony orchestra as guest musicians, with Frith by far the best-known name among them, so the individual »Kites« pieces positively luxuriate under the weight of intricate string and woodwind arrangements, which give the album a strong jazz stamp.
The album is split into two parts, in style and in concept. The first part, where Field took the central compositional and instrumental role, is a little more pastoral in color and inspired by the aforementioned Paul Klee painting, as the listener can vividly hear on the deeply romantic »Songs Of The Forrest«, which, after an opening thunder effect, turns into a playful motif with pentatonic rhythmic variations on flute. Although the album is instrumental throughout, Clodagh Simonds delivers wonderful, ethereal, wordless female vocalizations here. The tracks flow into one another without any gaps, so the transition into »Windsong« follows, where ethereal vocalizations reign over the exotic rhythms of multicolored percussion, building the ambient effect of a female choir in the middle of a heavenly temple designed in traditional Chinese architecture. Pleasant variations on flute, violin and guitar nicely build up the rising atmosphere.
The spirited »The Emperor Kite« lives up to its title with the authentic ambience of Far Eastern music, and it’s not hard to picture the floating paper kites so typical of Chinese folklore. The wonderful dynamic between the fiery violin improvisations and the pentatonic percussion scales gives the listener a sense of unrest, caused by the sudden appearance of a giant paper dragon in the middle of the sky. »Wind Borne« is the longest and most complex piece on »Kites«, with plenty of unpredictable time changes and sudden improvisations, yet it also holds some very subtle motifs in which gorgeous pastoral arrangements on flute, percussion and keyboards play the key role. Witty acoustic guitar improvisations add a bit of rock playfulness to the ethereal rhythmic backdrop, while the individual arrangements are marked by an exceptionally tasteful blend of ambient, jazz and world music.
»Kite Song« features gorgeous symphonic arrangements on flute and piano, with which Jade Warrior create a truly serene, meditative atmosphere. »Land Of The Warrior«, which opens with avant-garde, abstract effects and raging flute variations that together create a warlike mood, while its ending is much more ethereal, is the last track of the first part of the concept.
The second part of the album, and with it the concept about the travels of the ancient Chinese Zen philosopher The Ch’eng, is announced by »Quietly By The River Bank«, which boasts plenty of tasteful variations on acoustic guitar and a fuming violin improvisation courtesy of Fred Frith. On the second half of the album, which is dominated by strikingly short pieces, Duhig took the key compositional and instrumental role, which you can feel in the greater amount of acoustic guitar passages and, let’s say, somewhat more rock-flavored structures in the individual pieces, though at this stage of Jade Warrior you could find rock in the true sense of the word at most in a pinch.
»Arrival Of The Emperor« lives up to its title, conjuring the authentic mood of the Chinese imperial court and a chorus of mandarins, with pompous ambient layers on guitar, assorted percussion and strings. Some of the ambient mannerisms on the second half of the album strongly recall the soundscapes that made Brian Eno (ex-Roxy Music) and Robert Fripp (King Crimson) famous. »The Ch’eng« consists of a short guitar improvisation that creates an ethereal mood alongside an array of rustling percussion, while »Arrival Of Chia Shan« is an early example of the aforementioned soundscapes, a short orchestral swell that, in under a minute, makes room for the meditative snack that is »Towards The Mountains«. There, ambient world music motifs, especially from Chinese folk music, take over again, while the orchestral variations are artfully fused with gentle guitar improvisations. On the closing »The Last Question«, a short acoustic guitar melody gives way to an equally short flute improvisation, while a very pleasant, almost serene motif takes shape on the violin, making for a very lovely close to the album.
On »Kites«, Jade Warrior reached yet another level of maturity, once again proving themselves the great progressive rock innovators of instrumental ambient rock with world music elements. Few ambient masterpieces can boast the intensity and experimental fire that »Kites« has, and it can easily be declared the pinnacle of Jade Warrior’s entire studio discography.
Lineup
Tony Duhig – guitar, percussion, keyboards
Jon Field – flute, guitar, percussion
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Roger Bryson – piano
Fred Frith – violin
Pete Gibson – horn
Coleridge Goode – bass guitar
Debbie Hall – violin
Jeff Westley – electric piano
Graham Morgan – drums
Joe O’Donnell – violin
Clodagh Simonds – vocals
Gowan Turnbull – saxophoneGeoff Westley – piano
Willie – drums, percussion
Production
Jon Field and Tony Duhig
Tracklist
1. Songs of the forest (3:30)
2. Wind song (3:25)
3. The Emperor kite (2:21)
4. Wind borne (7:32)
5. Kite song (2:20)
6. Land of the warrior (3:29)
7. Quietly by the river bank (4:35)
8. Arrival of the Emperor: “What does the venerable sir do?” (2:27)
9. Teh Ch’eng: “Do you understand this?” (1:08)
10. Arrival of Chia Shan: discourse and liberation (0:53)
11. Towards the mountains (2:04)
12. The last question (2:37)
