Happy Twenties, EMBRYO !

von Joachim Ernst Behrendt

When “embryo” gave themselfes their name in 1968/9, world music was still an embryo. In the meantime, both “embryo” and world music have become that, what embryo’s usually are not yet: fertile.

“World music” really became a music of the whole world. And through the Group “Embryo” have gone more than 300 musicians - even “Dissidenten”, each of them permanently influenced by both “Embryo” and world music.

Groups generally exist only a few years. Twenty years in the life of a group is much more than twenty years in the life of a human being. Twenty years of “Embryo” - it’s like a mountain from which you can look many different landscapes: the protest of the 60s - the hard work of the 70’s - the freedom of the 80’s - and now maybe the wisdom of the 90s. And of course from the mountain “Embryo” you also look to many different countries, to Arabic and Black Africa, to the Near East, to the USA, to the East of Europe, to India, to the whole world.

All this becomes audible on the record that “Embryo presents on the occasion of its 20 years of existence. Peter Michael Hamel, Roberto Detrée and Christian Burchard are so far away from each other that hardly anyone remembers them. They set out together in 1967 in the Munich “Song Parnass” each in his own direction: Christian to found “Embryo”, the Argentinean Roberto to his own idea of music and Peter to “Kassandra”, “Organum” and to compositions, which the established avant-garde of Donaueschingen and Darmstadt (where avant-garde and establishment are not a contradiction in terms). continued to be noticeably embarrassed.

It is revealing and touching to hear how much the three of them still have to say to each other today, when they reunited on the occasion of “Embryo’s” twentieth.

At that time - 1967/68 - Christian Burchard was Mal Waldron’s vibraphonist, the pianist who was still playing with Billie Holiday and John Coltrane and now at least the Japanese have recognized him as the great musician he is. How well the alliance with Christian still can be heard on the record. It is a pity that the other great American musician, who played with who is associated with Embryo Evolution without being able to play it, is represented on this record: Charlie Mariano. Ideally he is present nevertheless when Roland Schäffer plays the nagasuram - an oboe-like instrument that Mariano learned for years in South India and played so often with Embryo - in “Velly Velly Good” one thinks to hear Mariano for a few bars, until you realize that Roland is playing it in his own way, and certainly more independent and technically more sovereign.

Probably the three most important countries are also represented on this record: Morocco by El Houssaine Kilii, Nigeria by the Yoruba Dun Dun Orchestra of Lamidi Ayankunle and India by T.A.S. Mani and the College of Percussion.

The gimbri of the Berber Houssaine is a kind of “Ur-Bass” whose originated in Gambia and influenced none other than Jimi Hendrix. The DunDun is called the “piano of the Yoruba”, and that’s how Lamidi plays it: as if it were not a drum, but a keyboard instrument with a range of more than an octave, Erin is the name of the village from which the three Nigerians come, hence “Erin in Constance”. Constance, because that’s where the recording was made.

And the Karnataka College from Bangalore with its “layers of rhythm”, its so incredibly refined and yet so loosely interwoven rhythmic layers and lines, is simply one of the most perfect percussion groups and schools in the world - as everyone in “Ramaś Seven” knows. “Ramaś Seven” - when we hear the Kali, the great Indian goddess, who is mother and fire, death and life at the same time - I could hear, I imagine she would sing like Rama Mani. And this should also be said once: If Christian Burchard and his Embryo musicians had only made us aware of the Karnataka music, already we would have to be grateful to them, but they have done this with musicians from all over the world.

I don’t think there is any group in the USA that lives world music as much as Embryo. Only then can you play it; if you live it. With the musicians. In their countries and in their cultures. Who thinks to be able to play it without this, sooner or later you will end up with that Retort music, to which the world music wave has unfortunately often led. That’s why I don’t wish Embryo another twenty years. But an “EMBRYO of the Nineties” - that’s what I wish for myself and all the many friends of this group all over the world - and most of all; I wish it to Embryo.

Tracklist

Marque’s Song (07:03
Velly Velly Good (09:52)
Pang (03:02)
Rama’s Seven (05:25)
Govinda (03:24)
Abdul (04:16)
Präperierte 20 Jahre später (11:01)
Erin in Konstanz (03:08)
Hob Ou Salam (08:18)
Barks (03:39)
Lonely Nights (13:10)