Tuu - Mesh

Debuting in 1992, TUU has hit their stride on Mesh with a musical intelligence that is both accessible and uncompromised.

Slowly evolving clay drum rhythms, layered keyboards, exotic Asian flutes and sounds spun from ancient bells and bowls are their signature soundsTo Mesh is to interlock, and the music of TUU brings together the natural and the synthetic in a vivid hybrid relating the programmed sounds of high-tech keyboards and the warm element of human players with live instruments. Despite the shimmering electronic aura enveloping each piece, the overall sound is very organic, and it is this feeling which has deeply impressed listeners in Europe and the U.S.

Working from a modern ethnoambient template, the British trio delve into the collective unconscious, conjuring up timeless, primeval aural worlds. On the surface the music is deceptively serene, but restless undercurrents churn below. MARTIN FRANKLIN says that at some concerts, audience members - inspired by the effect of slowly evolving drum rhythms, layered keyboards, and seductive drones - describe recollections of deeply buried memories and images from their early lives. Coalescing gracefully in a liquid ambience, the music stirs as it soothes, provokes as it placates.

In an interview with Italian critic Gino Dal Soler for the book Trances & Drones, Franklin lists the inherent polarities in his group's music: drones and the possibilities of sound surrounded only by space; harmony and the possibilities of dissonance; repetition and the freedom of each event to happen only once.

The tracks "Mesh" and "Migration" fuse these polarities into a rich kinetic flow propelled by earthy clay pot rhythms. On the minimal side, "Four Pillars" consists of just three elements: keyboards, Tibetan bells, and gongs. It intelligently contrasts the high frequencies of the bells with the low tones of the gong and synthetic whispers, while the elongated electronic drones act as the base for the ever-evolving percussive elements.

On the rhythmic side, "Kalpa Taru" interweaves slow-moving, low ambient tones with mesmerizing flute and slowly cycling bells. "Crack Between The Worlds" explores the possibilities of end-blown Turkish ney flutes and ambient keyboard layers. The windy flutes, which open the piece by dramatically cutting through the air, are slowly engulfed by the ethereal electronics. In "Stone to Sand" the keyboards dominate, contrasting distinct melodies with notes resting suspended in the air as an intermittently struck gong and quiet Tibetan bells provide rhythmic punctuation. The album ends with "Great Wheel," an hypnotic work shifting in slow motion, where the slow decay of a repeatedly struck singing bowl hangs suspended over lush keyboard atmospheres.

These are aural paintings mixing shades of light and dark which cannot be separated. TUU's music inspires an authentic sense of mystery and wonder, diving into ambient depths without becoming too immersed in the darkness, extracting from the deep the elements it feeds upon for its power while also keeping an eye to the light at the surface for balance. Mesh will have much to offer connoisseurs of dark ambient and space musics while also drawing listeners who might prefer more traditional forms of electronica. As thunderous electronic dance music seeps into the 90's mainstream, TUU offers a tranquil, atmospheric antidote.

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