MATERIAL

HALLUCINATION ENGINE

  1/  Black Light                                (Laswell,Shorter)             7.33
  2/  Mantra                                     (Shankar,Caroline,Laswell)    8.44
  3/  Ruins (Submutation Dub)                    (Laswell)                     8.54
  4/  Eternal Drift                              (Laswell,Skopelitis)          7.35
  5/  Words of Advice                            (Laswell,Burroughs)           3.58
  6/  Cucumber Slumber (Fluxus Mix)              (Zawinul,Johnson)             7.30
  7/  The Hidden Garden/Naima                    (BL,Shaheen,NS/Coltrane)      13.00
  8/  Shadows of Paradise                        (Laswell,Shankar,Skopelitis)  9.45

          Recorded at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, New York, Platinum Island, NYC,
            Krypton Studio, NYC, Media Arts, Madras, India
          Engineers: Robert Musso, Oz Fritz and Martin Bisi
          Mixed at Greenpoint Studio, Brooklyn, New York
          Engineer: Robert Musso
          Track 2 engineered by Oz Fritz
          Assistant: Imad Mansour
          Produced by Bill Laswell
          Mastered at Masterdisk by Howie Weinberg
          Administration for Material Inc.: Tracy McKnight
          Axiom: Peter Wetherbee
Bill Laswell: basses, beats, loops, samples, etc.; Wayne Shorter: soprano and tenor saxophones; William S. Burroughs (5): voice; Liu Sola: voice; Simon Shaheen: violin, oud; Nicky Skopelitis: acoustic and electric six and twelve string guitars, coral sitar, baglama, Fairlight; Bernie Worrell: electric piano, Hammond B-3 organ; Bootsy Collins: space bass; Shankar: electric violin; Sly Dunbar: drum kit; Jeff Bova: synthesizers; Jihad Racy: ney; Jonas Hellborg: acoustic bass, fretless electric bass; Zakir Hussain: tabla; Trilok Gurtu: tabla; Vikku Vinayakram: ghatam; Fahim Dandan: voice; George Basil: qanoun; Michael Baklouk: daff, tambourine; Aiyb Dieng: chatan, congas, percussion.

          1994  -  Axiom/Island (UK), 518 351-1 (Vinyl)
          1994  -  Axiom/Island (Germany), 74321 18190 2 (Vinyl)
          1994  -  Axiom/Island (USA), 314-518 351-2  (CD)

REVIEWS :

Bill Laswell has been the driving force of Material for about ten years now. Heavily involved in the NYC scene, Laswell has become a highly respected producer, On Hallucination Engine beats and breaks abound and the production Is seamless, but Laswell breaks no new ground. This Is disappointing too, considering the vast number of world class musicians on "Hallucination Engine". Unfortunately, the music on "HE" takes no real chances, and the synth parts are relegated to sparse arpeggios and textures. Keyboard players should Find this a dismal listening experience, not one synth solo! There are some engaging moments however, supplied most notably by Wayne Shorter's saxophones, Laswell's intense bass, and the violin of Shankar.

On the first track, "Black light", Shorter blows the melody line with the authority and grace that endeared him to so many Weather Report fans, while the percussion percolates over Laswell's bass lines. The breaks are tight, with Shorter supplying some classic modal solos. The end result is a highly accessible (a.ka. danceable) crossover of jazz and hip-hop, dub and world music. Shankar's provocative violin melodies conjure up visions of exotic Indian landscapes, especially an the last track "Shadows of Paradise". Laswell, Shankar, and Nicky Skopelitis shine on this track. Shankar's eastern scales contrast Skopelitis' West African tinged guitar melodies, while Laswell grooves mightily, allowing for some inspired jamming by all three. Tracks two through seven are fairly generic Laswell dubs which totally groove, and each tune has redeeming moments when guest musicians interject their ethnic elements into the mix. Laswell cops some seventies bass lines (personal favorites ?) from Billy Cobham's "Red Baron" on "Words of Advice". Weather Report's "Cucumber Slumber" Is sampled and rearranged, yet oddly enough Wayne Shorter does not play on this tune.

This kind of assemblage lacks the urgency, Iconoclasm, and spontaneity of the previous Material and Golden Palominos music, however If you want to study polished audio production techniques, definitely check out Hallucination Engine. If you are a diehard progressive snob, avoid this One. If you don't own any Material, but want to check it out, start with "Memory Serves".

Dan Baught (courtesy of the The Expose Reader website)

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This offering from the Bill Laswell collective takes ambient dub and translates it into their idiom of jazz, funk, and various world musics. Though the beats are very trance-oriented, the songs all have an edge to them, and it's impossible to describe the difference that real instruments make to this kind of music. The playing is all first-rate, with most of Laswell's usual suspects in tow: Bootsy Collins, Nicky Skopelitis, Zakir Hussain, etc. And William S. Burroughs does a spoken-word piece over one tune. A consistently interesting album.

Brett (courtesy of the Garden of Arcane Delights website)