| Initiate | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album / Live album by | ||||
| Released | April 13, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | March 22–23, 2009 and September 3, 2009 | |||
| Venue | Cafe du Nord, San Francisco, CA | |||
| Studio | Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA | |||
| Genre | Rock, jazz | |||
| Length | 155:10 | |||
| Label | Cryptogramophone CG143 | |||
| Producer | Nels Cline, David Breskin | |||
| The Nels Cline Singers chronology | ||||
| ||||
Initiate is the fourth album by The Nels Cline Singers led by American guitarist Nels Cline which was released in April 2010 on the Cryptogramophone label. [1]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| The Guardian |  [3] |
| All About Jazz | [4] |
| Pitchfork Media | 7.2 [5] |
The Allmusic review by Sean Westergaard awarded the album 4½ stars out of 5, stating "Initiate is the most fully realized project Cline has devoted himself to yet, and extends the musical frontiers the Singers are capable of not only engaging, but conquering". [2] The Guardian's John Fordham rated the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "Don't be deceived by the name – this is really a scorched-earth metal-electronica improvising guitar band that threatens to blow you out of your window... It's pretty fierce, but a contemporary guitar buff's dreamworld". [3] Writing for All About Jazz, Matt Marshall stated "With its combination of studio precision and live energy, Initiate presents the most complete picture available of The Nels Cline Singers". [4] JazzTimes' Mike Shandley noted "The double-CD Initiate features one studio disc and one live disc, each revealing the trio’s alternating abilities to mow down listeners with brute force or gently sooth". [6] Paste Magazine's Steve Dollar observed "If a different guitarist put out such a sonic crazyquilt, they’d probably be accused of lacking focus or spreading themselves too thin. With Cline, it’s like an MRI scan of a startling and original imagination, too crammed with juicy ideas to repeat any of them too frequently". [7] Pitchfork Media's Joe Tangari stated "More than anything, Initiate shows a band whose sense of give and take and intuitive interplay is extremely well-developed. Cline is able to lead his compatriots just about anywhere his mind wants to wander, and they follow him easily, whether he's merging Frippertronics with jazz, out-krautrocking Wilco, or bringing in David Witham to play a crazy, 1960s-tinged organ solo. Cline may never reach a larger audience working under his own name, but that doesn't seem to be his goal. He's reached a place where he can do his mutant thing to his heart's content, and the results are exuberant, messy, and worth a couple of hours of your time". [5]
All compositions by Nels Cline except where noted.
Disc one: studio
Disc two: live
The Nels Cline Singers
Additional musicians
Nels Courtney Cline is an American guitarist and composer. He has been the guitarist for the band Wilco since 2004.
Julian Lage is an American guitarist and composer.
Draw Breath is the third album released by The Nels Cline Singers in 2007. It featured both abrasive musical textures and gentler compositions such as "Caved-In Heart Blues" and "The Angel of Angels," the latter of which The New York Times called one of the prettiest works of Nels Cline's career.
Scott Amendola is an American drummer from the San Francisco Bay Area. His styles include jazz, blues, groove, and rock.
Devin Hoff is an American bassist, composer and arranger. Hoff has collaborated with Julia Holter, Nels Cline, Sharon Van Etten, Shannon Lay, Cibo Matto, Kira Roessler, Good For Cows, Xiu Xiu, and others.
Tassili is the fifth album by the Tuareg-Berber band Tinariwen, recorded in Tassili n'Ajjer, an Algerian national park in 2011. The album marked a major departure from previous recordings. The producer, Ian Brennan, stated that it "was the least overdubbed, most live, band-centric and song-oriented record they have done.”
Ben Goldberg is an American clarinet player and composer.
Bahamut is the debut album by American blues/folk/world music/jazz band Hazmat Modine. The album was released on August 26, 2006 by Barbès Records. Most tracks were composed by lead singer Wade Schuman; the album also includes arrangements of traditional songs. Tuvan folk band Huun-Huur-Tu feature on three tracks with their characteristic throat singing.
Macroscope is the fifth album by The Nels Cline Singers led by American guitarist Nels Cline which was released in April 29th 2014 on the Mack Avenue label.
The Giant Pin is the second album by The Nels Cline Singers led by American guitarist Nels Cline which was released in August 2003 on the Cryptogramophone label.
Instrumentals is the debut album by The Nels Cline Singers led by American guitarist Nels Cline which was released in March 2002 on the Cryptogramophone label.
The Celestial Septet is an album by The Nels Cline Singers and Rova Saxophone Quartet which was released in March 2010 on the New World label.
New Monastery is an album by American guitarist Nels Cline performing compositions by Andrew Hill which was released in September 2006 on the Cryptogramophone label.
The Veil is a live album by bb&c, Tim Berne, Jim Black & Nels Cline, which was released in June 2011 on the Cryptogramophone label.
Dirty Baby is an album by American guitarist Nels Cline performing compositions inspired by Edward Ruscha, which was released in October 2010 on the Cryptogramophone label.
Coward is a solo album by American guitarist Nels Cline which was released in October 2009 on the Cryptogramophone label.
Destroy All Nels Cline is an album by American guitarist Nels Cline which was released in April 2001 on the Atavistic label.
Floored by Four was an American rock band from New York City. The group consisted of bassist and singer Mike Watt, guitarist Nels Cline, keyboardist Yuka Honda and drummer Dougie Bowne. They were inspired by Sun Ra, Miles Davis, Captain Beefheart and Sonic Youth among others. Their eponymous debut album was released in September 2010 on Chimera Records.
Room is an album by guitarists Nels Cline and Julian Lage which was released in November 2014 on the Mack Avenue label.
Lovers is an album by guitarist Nels Cline which was released in August 2016 on the Blue Note label. Cline stated " I hope Lovers offers something of an update of the 'mood music' idea and ideal, while celebrating and challenging our iconic notion of romance".
