Ten years ago in 2011, a couple of percussionists from Italy named Claudio Scolari and Daniele Cavalca began a collaboration that changed my understanding of what kind of music is possible coming out of group improvisations. Color of Red Island stood out because led by double drums, it is so melodic and groove oriented, full of wide sonic spaces that allowed both of those attributes to breathe.
The two didn’t stop there and have made four more records – including one out earlier this year – incorporating other family members in the process. They’ve expanded the sound but the basic plot remains the same.
But maybe after a decade, it’s a good time to go back and revisit the album that started it all. Dan Cavalca sure thought so, he’s done a track-by-track reimagining of Color of Red Island with a slightly altered title: Lights of Red Island.
Cavalca is a technology-minded multi-instrumentalist, engineer and producer, capable of undertaking a project like this without any help, and he does. Obviously, the creativity of making up strains on the spot is gone since this is a remake, so Cavalca relies on his arranging acumen and studio smarts to breathe new life into these songs. With his first solo long player Cinematic, we know his unique imprint and how it differs from Scolari’s. The primary difference is that Cavalca leans harder on technology to sculpt his sound and applies the bulk of his creative juices in that direction.
Therefore, even though Colors of Red Island hasn’t really dated, Lights of Red Island is clearly more modern sounding.
Freewheeling guys like Scolari and Cavalca don’t wed themselves to particular idioms, but it’s probably safe to state that there’s less jazz and more electronica on Lights. And since the improvisation component is largely replaced by exotic, digitally-driven sounds and beats, these fresh castings are a lot more succinct, i.e., shorter running times. But remember, there would be no point in remaking an entire album if it were to be done the same way. That was the challenge before Cavalca and he rose to it.
“Colors of Red Island,” like most of the tracks, has a little nu-jazz/downtime vibe to it but retains the trumpet-led theme in whole. The other thing retained is the sparse, airy sonic imagery. Cavalca’s vibraphones returns for “Movement Inspiration” but he also condenses the song into a tidy two and a half minutes.
In several instances, the melodies are much better defined and sometimes even adjusted. “Variation of Movement” goes heavier on the groove while altering the main theme slightly. The piano part of “Electric Light Over Water” is also reprised, retaining its fragile harmony and adding a little more shape to it. “Winds of Metamorphosis” adapts the main vamp to interlocking synth programs mated to a danceable, mid-tempo beat.
“Dialogues Night” in original form is entirely percussion but Cavalca creates a melody with no timekeeping for the new rendering. “Emotion Appearance” is likewise chord-less in the original form but the new form, there’s a single chord riff and it’s transformed into an EDM tune.
Even though the drums aren’t as organically played as before, the rhythms are artfully constructed all the same. Cavalca eschews the heavy, dual drumming and conjures up interesting percussion flourishes for “Earth Dances Explosions.” He reprises his vibes riff for “Improvised Sentimental Song” but replaces the rhythm element with a programmed beat.
“Hymn of The Inventions” is a ‘bonus track,’ a brief, now original that’s tacked to the end which continues in the same kind of groove as the rest of the album.
Originally gaining notice as a key collaborator with Claudio Scolari, Dan Cavalca has stepped out with his own style in recent years. Ironically, his own growth as an individual artist becomes most apparent by covering an entire album originally led by his old mentor.
Lights of Red Island is out now, via Principal Records.
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