ESSENTIAL by Thysenterprise
LINER NOTES BY JOHN MORRISON:
In essence, music is the act of applying form to the formless. Guided by spirit and emotion, music seeks to articulate the intangible things that we can’t touch, but can most certainly feel. These are the essentials and with these compositions, producer/multi-instrumentalist, Reinier Thijs a.k.a. Thysenterprise applies jazz virtuosity to a hip-hop sensibility to thrilling effect, but more importantly, the music here acts as a conduit for something deeper.
A singular work born out of collective effort, ‘ESSENTIAL’ combines all of the deep interplay and communication required of improvising music with the formal and textural experimentation of hip-hop and electronic production. The spirit of important jazz giants such as Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, and Coltrane permeate the music here. At times throughout the album, Reinier, his guests and ensemble meld the influence of the great jazz cannon with the rhythms of hip-hop.
While the improvisational heights that Reinier and crew reach throughout the album owe a debt to hardbop and the avant-garde, there are beats and textures here akin to the work of Karriem Riggins or A Tribe Called Quest. The result is a truly contemporary sound that plays freely within the depths of human feeling.
What are the essential things that music requires? Not the mechanical specifics by which music is defined: melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, etc. What is music really and what does a musician have to do to get to that core? Above all else, music is an expression of the inexpressible that requires that we pour our everything into it. We play for pleasure, we play to understand ourselves and the world around us, we play to celebrate and remember our loved ones. Of course, the performance and execution require years of study, practice, contemplation and analysis, but memory, feeling, spirit must also be present. Full of joy, sorrow, and perseverance, ‘ESSENTIAL’ shows us the value of music as a ritual for the veneration of life.
—John Morrison
Tracklist
| 1. | ESSENTIAL #1 | 0:46 |
| 2. | Sunday Child | 8:06 |
| 3. | ESSENTIAL #2 (ft. Benjamin Herman) | 0:25 |
| 4. | Feedback of Silence (ft. Benjamin Herman) | 4:36 |
| 5. | ESSENTIAL #3 | 0:29 |
| 6. | Heit | 3:26 |
| 7. | ESSENTIAL #4 (ft. Michael Moore) | 0:26 |
| 8. | Happiness is a Memory (ft. Michael Moore) | 5:39 |
| 9. | El Cielo | 4:26 |
| 10. | El Mundo es Mío | 2:22 |
| 11. | ESSENTIAL #5 | 0:41 |
| 12. | The Last Answers | 1:50 |
| 13. | ESSENTIAL #6 | 0:43 |
| 14. | Sounds After the Fade-Out | 3:37 |
| 15. | ESSENTIAL #7 | 0:25 |
| 16. | Cut From the Same Cloth | 1:31 |
| 17. | ESSENTIAL #8 | 0:29 |
| 18. | Now it Always Rains During Summertime | 5:40 |
| 19. | ESSENTIAL #9 | 1:44 |
| 20. | ESSENTIAL #10 | VINYL-ONLY | 0:02 |
| 21. | El Cielo (Alternate Take) | VINYL-ONLY | 0:02 |
| 22. | Heit (Alternate Take) | VINYL-ONLY | 0:02 |
| 23. | Feedback of Silence ft. Benjamin Herman (Alternate Take) | VINYL-ONLY | 0:02 |
| 24. | ESSENTIAL #11 | VINYL-ONLY | 0:02 |
Videos
Credits
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All music arranged, composed, and produced by Thysenterprise (Reinier Thijs)
Alto sax, tenor sax, clarinet, flute, piano, electric bass, and percussion by Thysenterprise (Reinier Thijs)
Recorded at Cosmic Studios, Barcelona, and BIMHUIS, Amsterdam
Drums by Nello Biasini
Recorded at Nello Biasini Studio, Rotterdam
Double bass by Joel Feldtmann Svedberg
Recorded at CvA, Amsterdam (tracks 1, 2, 9 & 24)
Alto sax by Benjamin Herman (Roach Records)
Recorded at BIMHUIS, Amsterdam (tracks 3, 4, 23)
Bass clarinet by Michael Moore (Ramboy Recordings)
Recorded at Michael Moore's house, Amsterdam (tracks 7 & 8)
Mixed by Ron Ruiten
Mastered by Micha De Kanter
Art & Design by Elies Thijs
Photography by Elies Thijs
Liner Notes by John Morrison
Released by Rucksack Records
rucksackrecords.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/rucksack_records
www.facebook.com/rucksackrecs
www.twitter.com/Rucksackrecs
THANKS TO:
Nick, Robbin, Elies, My mum, Jorien, Rutger and the rest of my family; especially my little nieces and nephews, Tatiana, Gerard Viet, Danny, Onno, Eric, Anne-Marije, Jurre, Cha, Barbara, Maycol, Carlos, Abdel, Benjamin Herman, Michael Moore, Nello Biasini, Joel Feldtmann Svedberg, Ron Ruiten and Micha de Kanter.
Never was I more proud to put the following words on our record:
“Dedicated to my dad.”
License
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The dedication of Thysenterprise knows no boundaries. On 'ESSENTIAL,' he articulates the intangible things that we can’t touch, but can most certainly feel. The Netherlands-raised, Barcelona-based musician and producer tirelessly refines his craft using a wide array of instruments at hand. A multi-instrumentalost—and no, that’s not a typo.