With all the free-form drums, guitar and bass heard on Tau Ceti, one could be forgiven if they were to think that the music originated from Chicago, Oslo or the downtown NYC scenes. But the experimental supergroup of Lisa Cameron, Tom Carter and Ingebrigt Håker Flaten is actually based in a music center best known for (just about) every other kind of music, Austin, Texas.
Cameron is the one who is the long-time fixture on the Austin scene, stretching back to the early 80s playing in bands like Glass Eye, Roky Erickson and the Lotions, back when she was known as Dave Cameron. Carter is one of the premiere experimental rock guitarists out there, probably best known for his work with the outlier band Charalambides, which he co-founded with Christina Carter in the early 90s. He’s been in Texas since 1985 and nowadays calls Houston his home. Håker Flaten nowadays calls Austin home but hails all the way from Norway. He first caught my attention as the bassist for the Scorch Trio and later helped to form other notable free improv combos such as Atomic and The Thing.
So there’s a worldwide breadth and veteran depth brought to this trio, and what’s particularly nice is that all three are comfortable just being themselves because the combination of their distinct musical characters makes for an interesting whole. The album is divided into two virtual sides (or actual sides if you buy the cassette): acoustic and electric. Since Carter plays electric guitar throughout, this is really referring to the kind of bass played by Håker Flaten.
“Chronosphere” sets the table with a drone-y backdrop for Håker Flaten’s aggressively woody bass. “SETI” is way more unsettled, Cameron’s anything-goes percussive sounds at times resembles the sound of someone picking up and dropping shit. That’s not a criticism; what she does finds a lot of common ground with Håker Flaten’s darting bass playing while Carter’s distant, treble-y guitar trembles and chimes in contrariety.
“We Are Not Alone” is conversation of some depth going on between Håker Flaten and Carter, Cameron easing back to provide coloration. At some point the tides comes in and the soft patter aspect of the song turns into crashes onto the shore; Carter’s murmurs turn into a fuzzed-up roar.
Carter’s rise at the end of “We Are Not Alone” is a precursor for what is to come on the ‘electric’ side of Tau Ceti. We hadn’t said all that much about Tom Carter at this point because so far, he’s mostly blended into the background. That all changes with this track: “Daath (The Abyss)” opens up with Carter’s craggy wailing given more heft by Håker Flaten amplified bass. What was previously atmospheric is now stratospheric. Carter’s deft use of the wah-wah pedal is at the Hendrix level but his playing style isn’t a copy of Jimi; here he works slight shards of melody into imposing, extended drones, turning a long guitar lead into something of a religious experience.
Cameron’s churning drums lay the foundation for the Sun Ra nod “Traveling Spaceways,” where Håker Flaten and Carter make a lot hay off of a single chord.
Make no mistake, Austin does have an avant-jazz/improv music scene that’s just not as well known outside of town. With more records like Tau Ceti, that should all change.
Tau Ceti is coming out on April 24, 2020 courtesy of Astral Spirits. Pre-order your copy from Bandcamp.
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