Artist: Gak Omek, The
Label: Blue Cube Music
Released: 2010
Runtime: 57:26
Rating: 3.5/5
Who are The Gak Omek? Or rather, who is The Gak Omek? These days more and more musicians are choosing to go it alone, completely alone. That means they handle every instrument that shows up on the album themselves. Back when technology was racing ahead, Frank Zappa already warned about these so-called “one-man bands” that would soon be gobbling up the best spots on the scene from multi-member bands. And what do we have today? Most commercial music (I’m mainly talking about electronic music) is a “one-man job”. Luckily, they’re not the only ones. You can find these kinds of “bands” in progressive music too. And one of them is Robert Burger, aka The Gak Omek.
Robert Burger is a former core member of the space rock band Brainstatik. He set off on his solo path in the early 2000s, after discovering his talent for songwriting. He’s an excellent guitarist (many compare him to Fripp) who keeps impressing with all kinds of sounds coaxed out of the guitar, and he’s got way more than just the basics down on the black and white keys too. And since today’s era offers a ton of great software for adding electronic drums to a track, his idea of going fully solo wasn’t so far off after all.
So far, Burger has released three albums as The Gak Omek. His latest is called “Nonrenormalizability”. Even though he did get a bit of help on his previous record, this time he’s the only name on the credits. The album serves up almost an hour of super eclectic music, and it’s hard to imagine a genre it doesn’t touch. The production isn’t at its peak though, and the sound comes across hazy and murky, and it all ends up even more synthetic and artificial than it otherwise would; still, musically the album is right up there.
“Nonrenormalizability” kicks off with the track “The Tunguska Event”. The first few seconds offer a kind of collection of otherworldly sounds, an intro to an experimental rock ride with a strong whiff of King Crimson’s ProjeKCts. Still, it’s too long and gets boring after a while, it’s just not dynamic enough, even though Burger is clearly trying to pull off exactly that. The next piece is “The Pythagorean Lambdoma” (Burger likes his titles a little out there), which has an obvious classical touch and even feels like a movie soundtrack – the sound is heavily orchestral, packed with instruments that weave together beautifully. It also has enough “spacy” and psychedelic bits to keep it relevant to the album. In “Galaxii Nuncius” Burger decides to dig into the psychedelic space elements from before, and creates a proper trip through the cosmos. The 10-minute track builds up slowly, and its biggest asset is the great guitar passages, which show exactly which instrument Burger feels most at home with.
The title track “Nonrenormalizability” is the centerpiece of the album, not least because it’s also the longest. Once again Burger shines with great guitar solos and riffs, brilliantly backed by drums and assorted percussion (you mostly hear the sound of a marimba). Sadly, this track also lacks a foundation, a melody to drive it forward, and instead it kind of jumps around, looking for the right path. So it doesn’t stick in the listener’s ear, because you just can’t fully follow it. With “Bagudzinishinabe”, Burger returns to experimental sci-fi sounds, which probably represent the takeoff of an alien spacecraft. It’s a great track with a kind of jungle beat, great guitar solos and riffs, and the odd break that just spices everything up. That’s exactly why “Bagudzinishinabe” is one of the album’s highlights.
“Fifteen Billion Nanoseconds In Hell” is a collage of space sounds, an intro to an epic odyssey through the cosmos called “Alien Television”. Another great psychedelic track, it features an incredible bass line, making this second-to-last piece one of the few where the bass guitar actually stands out. At the same time, Burger finds a concept and sticks to it, whether through guitar or keyboard sounds. The final landing, “Into The Fourth Density”, is more of an ambient creation built on great guitar work. If you like the results of Eno and Fripp working together, you’ll definitely enjoy this last stretch of the album’s adventure.
With “Nonrenormalizability”, Robert Burger has made yet another great solo album that anyone can dig into without a problem. The guitar parts stand out the most, of course, and they’re truly unmatched, but Burger proves he’s an excellent composer too. The Gak Omek could certainly do even more with more members, each a master of their own instrument, though it’s true that’s no guarantee of success. Going solo is working out great for Burger, so a move like that would be premature for now.
Lineup
Robert Burger – guitars, programming
Production
The Gak Omek
Tracklist
1. The Tunguska Event (6:16)
2. The Pythagorean Lambdoma (7:26)
3. Galaxia Nuncius (10:00)
4. Nonrenormalizability (15:16)
5. Bagudzinishinabe (4:00)
6. Fifteen Billion Nanoseconds In Hell (0:15)
7. Alien Television (5:59)
8. Into The Fourth Density (8:14)
