You never know quite what The Necks are going to play. And here’s the thing – they are not sure either. “Organic” is a pretentious way of describing how artists work. It’s a term that has been somewhat devalued.
Yet this is how The Necks work. This revered avant-garde jazz trio is quite unique and has a cult following. Fans will be thrilled to hear they have a new album out, Bleed (I have listened to it and it is beyond cool).
Also, they’ll soon be touring again, starting in Byron Bay on January 24, followed by a show at The Old Museum in Brisbane on January 25, then playing dates across the country before winding up at the Auckland Arts Festival in March.
I went to their last gig in Brisbane at Brisbane Powerhouse in February. It was an absolute happening. The Powerhouse Theatre was packed with fans that this group has developed over decades.
A gig by The Necks is an experience in itself. As one critic puts it, describing their new album: “The Necks transmute a procession of simply stated moments into something transcendent”. Right on.
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Their new recording is, according to Necks bassist Lloyd Swanton, “the stillest album we’ve ever done”.
Bleed is their 20th studio album and features, in true Necks style, a single 42-minute composition.
From humble beginnings as a private jamming project in Sydney more than three decades ago they are now in high demand around the world. Recently, they were on tour in Europe, where their cult thrives.
The Necks in concert is special and unusual. I’m a recent convert to this cult, seeing my first Necks gig at Brisbane Powerhouse. It was Bohemian dreamscape … with music.
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Chris Abrahams (piano), Lloyd Swanton (bass) and Tony Buck (drums/percussion) take to the stage with no prior preparation. They then embark on an exploration of a simple musical idea, gradually evolving their pieces – extending to an hour or more – conjuring textures and aural illusions that defy easy description.
Before their last Brisbane show I spoke to Abrahams about what we might expect. “If I came into the dressing room before the show, what would you be discussing?” I asked.
“Politics or whatever,” Abrahams replied. “We can be talking about the most mundane things and then we just walk on stage and play. It’s not a free for all, but we would never talk about what we are going to play. It’s so complex.”
The Sydney-based trio don’t even know who is going to start the piece, which will, like most of their pieces, last about an hour. They are unique in the Australian music landscape for their organic (there’s that word again), improvised jazz fusion performances.
“We want to get away from the idea of structure,” Abrahams told me. “We literally don’t look at each other. We don’t have any signals or anything. We just hit on this way of playing and we go with it.
“We all know how it is going to end, however. Invariably, we all kind of finish. Part of our ethos is that we don’t get in the way of the music.”
Bleed is available on vinyl, CD and digital. To purchase the album and for tickets to their shows, go to shop.thenecks.com/tour-dates