| Aether | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2000 | |||
| Genre | Improvised music | |||
| Length | 63:49 | |||
| Label | Fish of Milk | |||
| The Necks chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Aether is the sixth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2001 and later on the ReR label internationally. The album features a single hour-long track, titled "Aether", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Allmusic reviewer François Couture stated "Aether is simply their best release, a wonderful album that breathes at its own pace. The trick is the same as usual: start on something and play for an hour applying only gradual changes. What is different this time is the tempo -- very, very slow -- and the attitude" calling it "their most mature, captivating album. Strongly recommended.". [2]
BBC Music's Peter Marsh said "Aether is a totally immersive experience. Though they're playing with just a single chord, subtle nuances, additions and subtractions tease out new beauties within it throughout the piece. By the end, it's possible to believe that it's the only chord that ever existed, and any other music sounds hopelessly verbose. Aether's 64 minutes pass by with the ease of seconds but each are as elemental as the phases of the moon. Brilliant". [3]
On The Quietus Nick Southall called it "their ruminative, ambient masterpiece, as minimal and repetitive as Basinski's Disintegration Loops but somehow more alive, unburdened by the weight of association. It starts with tremulous reverberation, which gives way to chiming percussion and meandering, somnolent piano". [4]
In 2012, the album was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry, becoming the first recording from the 21st century to be listed. [5]
All compositions by The Necks.
The Necks are an Australian avant-garde jazz trio formed in 1987 by founding mainstays Chris Abrahams on piano and Hammond organ, Tony Buck on drums, percussion and electric guitar, and Lloyd Swanton on bass guitar and double bass. They play improvisational pieces of up to an hour in length that explore the development and demise of repeating musical figures. Their double LP studio album Unfold was named by Rolling Stone as "one of the top 20 avant albums of 2017."
Sex is the debut album of improvised music trio, The Necks, originally released on the Spiral Scratch label and later rereleased on Fish of Milk and Private Music in the US. The album features a single track of just under an hour in length performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck improvising over a two-bar motif. On this album the band overdubbed the instrumentation of piano, bass and drums in a dual take creating a "hypnotic repetitive piece".
Aquatic is the third album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released on the Fish of Milk label in 1994 and reissued on the Carpet Bomb label in the US in 1999. The album features two tracks, both titled "Aquatic", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck with the addition of Steve Wishart playing hurdy-gurdy on the second.
Silent Night is the fourth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released on the Fish of Milk label in 1996 as a double CD. The album features a two tracks, titled "Black" and "White", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Piano Bass Drums is the fifth album and first live album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released on the Fish of Milk label in 1998. The album features a single track titled "Unheard", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck recorded in concert at The Basement in Sydney, Australia.
The Boys is the sixth album and first soundtrack album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks originally released on the Wild Sound/MDS label in 1998 and later rereleased on Fish of Milk. The album features music recorded for the Australian motion picture The Boys (1998).
Hanging Gardens is the fifth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks. It was first released on the Fish of Milk label in 1999 and the ReR label internationally. The album features the single, hour-long eponymous track, improvised by the trio.
Athenaeum, Homebush, Quay & Raab is the ninth album and second live album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2002 as a 4-CD set. The album features 4 live performances by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck recorded in Melbourne, Sydney and Raab. The album was nominated for the ARIA Music Awards Best Jazz album in 2003.
Drive By is the seventh album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2003 and later on the ReR label internationally. The album features a single hour-long track, titled "Drive By", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Mosquito/See Through is the eighth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released as a 2-CD set on the Fish of Milk label in 2004 and later on the ReR label internationally. The album features two hour-long tracks, titled "Mosquito" and "See Through", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Chemist is the ninth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks, which was first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2006 and later on the ReR label, internationally. The album's three tracks, "Fatal", "Buoyant" and "Abillera", were written, performed and produced by the group's members: Chris Abrahams on piano, Lloyd Swanton on double bass and Tony Buck on drums and guitar. It won the ARIA Music Awards Best Jazz Album category in 2006.
Townsville is the fourteenth album and fourth live album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2007 and on the ReR label internationally. The album a single track, titled "Townsville", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck recorded live at the Riverway Arts Centre in Thuringowa, Northern Queensland.
Photosynthetic is the tenth album and third live album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released on the Russian Long Arms label in 2003. The album features a single track, titled "Photosynthetic", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck recorded live at DOM Cultural Center, Moscow on 29 March 2002.
Silverwater is the tenth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2009 in Australia and on the ReR label internationally. The album features a single track, titled "Silverwater", performed by Chris Abrahams, Lloyd Swanton and Tony Buck.
Mindset is the eleventh album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2011 in Australia and on the ReR label internationally. Their first album to be released on vinyl, Mindset consists of two contrasting pieces titled "Rum Jungle" and "Daylights", the former propulsive and jangling and the latter more ambient in nature.
Open is the twelfth album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks, first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2013 in Australia and on the ReR label internationally.
Body is an album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2018 in Australia and on the Northern Spy label in the US.
Unfold is an album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Ideologic Organ label in 2017 as a double LP and download.
Vertigo is an album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks first released on the Fish of Milk label in 2015 in Australia, on ReR Megacorp in Europe, and on the Northern Spy label in the US.
Three is the twenty-first studio album by Australian improvised music trio The Necks released in 2020.
