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Banish any thoughts of Lawrence Welk schmaltz or endless choruses of Peg of My Heart from the squeeze box when contemplating Swiss accordionist Jonas Kocher’s Archipelago (Bruit Editions BR 17 bruit-asso.bandcamp.com/album/archipelago). Divided into seven parts, the unpredictable improvisation slides among tempos, pitches and emphasis as Kocher uses bellows glissandi plus button pressure and release to outline the narrative. At points allowing largo drones or repeated shakes to confirm the ongoing exposition, his sudden staccato jabs or pinpointed accents break up the sequences enough so that inserts including treble key tension, sudden stops and pulsing almost-electronic shrills are constantly associated. As likely to winnow chords as to ascend to pipe-organ-like chordal augmentations, Archipelago contains its own wood slapping percussion and responsive jiggles while maintaining logical horizontal ambulation.
Archipelago