STEF.IN

ICTERUS II

Barnyard Records

Stefan Hegerat, drums/composer; Robyn Gray & Patrick O’Reilly, guitar; Mark Godfrey, bass.

Drummer, Stefan Hegerat, is a Toronto-based Canadian musician.  His group is called ‘Stef.in’ and is composed of two guitars, a bass, and Hegerat on drums.  The quartet blends jazz with Rock music and electronics to create their own, very unique sound. This is their second album release.

This is improvised music, with electronic, Avant-garde roots that push the boundaries of jazz into a more unpredictable arena. Powered by certain ecstatic elements, I found some of these  compositions to be confusing in terms of melodic composition and form.

Track #2, “Here’s to Circle” is an ethereal piece of music.  It begins very dark and mysterious and stays that way. The band seems to often wrap itself around the tenacious bass of Mark Godfrey.  I hear this clearly on Track #3, titled “Aku San Zan.” Hegerat crashes cymbals and pounds the drum rhythm into place during this arrangement.

“Mark is our rock, holding down jagged, rhythmic vamps and anchoring the whole thing firmly to the ground,” explained Stefan Hegerat. However, for the most part the guitarists carry Stefan Hegerat’s original music, using their instrumentation to create melodic passages and rhythm. This is experimental music, enhanced with electronics, incorporating various rhythms, and soundscapes that create music for an acquired taste.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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