Invisible System - Punt [Album]
 

Invisible System offers an eclectic fusion of trance, dub, and world dance music with “Punt.” “Punt” is almost autobiographical of musician Dan Harper. Styles picked up from his days of electronica, on through his humanitarian work in Ethiopia, can all be heard on “Punt.” As varied in contributing musicians (Mahmoud Ahmed, Captain Sensible) as it is stylistically, “Punt” can at times feel like the rantings of a jet-set, schizophrenic raver. However, the overall vibe is one of trance-fusion, peaceful, groovy, and otherworldly. Never mind the occasional guitar wail, it doesn’t bite.

'I’m Worried He’s Moving' opens the album with a little dubstep. Vocalist Desta Fikri, featured prominently on "Punt," beautifully accentuates the flowing bass, and worldly ritti on this track. An excellent opening track, 'I’m Worried He’s Moving' showcases world style instrumentation, the vocal work of Fikri, and the dancehall / electronic rhythms that we find all through "Punt." Few of the tracks step too far away from this groove. Notably we have 'What Have I Done Wrong?' (a strong rocker), the hip hop influenced 'Gondar,' and 'Dance City Boy,' a track heavy in break beats. On 'Dance City Boy' we also hear some respectable guitar work from Captain Sensible of The Damned. Moderately thrashy in comparison to rest of the album, 'Dance City Boy' lands somewhere between gabber and rock.

It's clear that Harper is led by his compassion. He's managed to illustrate the process of identification between an English sound and the music of this African nation. Ethiopia is generally considered the jumping off point of human migration. A starting line for mans expansion. With "Punt," Invisible System has managed to bring us all back home.

Re: Invisible System - Punt
 

Interesting concept. So was this actually recorded in Ethiopia?

Re: Invisible System - Punt
 

Yes it was! I built a studio into an outhouse of 3 rooms out the back of my house. They would have formerly been ‘servant or house maid’ living quarters for the aid of a wealthier Ethiopian family. Although the house itself was just a small bungalow but that is better than how many people live over there.

We had a control room, live room for vocals etc and a corrugated iron room for some percussion!

A corrugated iron roof with false ceiling as well and you could hear at times rats scuttling around and of course the rain hammering down in rainy season.

I used mostly valve pre-amps and mainly my own Harper Diabate Ribbon and Valve Microphones (www.harperdiabate.com). Also a few bog standards – SM57 etc.

The album was created from improvisational sessions. Me jamming and inviting a real mix of Ethiopians over to jam within them ranging form many unknown singers I heard in odd little clubs around Addis (like Desta) up to Ethiopia’s main man Mahmoud Ahmed.

It was however finished in the UK (Frome to be precise) as I returned following 3 years in Ethiopia aid working and 4 years previous to that aid working in the middle of the desert in Mali! My family (Malian wife and half Malian daughter) now live in Frome with me. The album was finished there in my re-built studio with many of the UK guests as listed below contributing. Some recorded in my studio, some in theirs on my portable gear and/or theirs then I chopped and mixed the improvisations and mastered it, started the label, designed the CD and promoted it from home. All very DIY as the old punk, dub, indie nature is. Also very tiring on top of other full time work and being a dad etc ;)

There is another more upbeat album on the way with a Jamaican vocalist and there are enough jams for another Ethiopian one at some point. Have also started a punk/psy/garage kind of band with Eat Static / Ozrics Merv and Bos (Warp) on bass that may come out one day!!

Some more info below on the project. All the best. Dan


INVISIBLE SYSTEM : PUNT – made in Ethiopia

Invisible System present a fusion album of Ethiopian, dub, dance, rock, drum & bass, psychedelia, electronica & live music.Traditional vocals & instruments meet the modern, electronic and brass. Recorded in Ethiopia. Live Europeans meet live Ethiopians! Guests include:

Mahmoud Ahmed & Bahta Gebrehiwot (Ethiopiques)
Hilaire Chabby (Baba Maal)
Justin Adams (Robert Plant & Strange Sensation, ex-Jah Wobble’s Invaders)
Tsedenia G.Markos, Mimi, Terermeg, Feleke, Desta, Tewabe & Sami (Ethiopians post this album signed to Realworld Records as Dub Colossus)
Joie Hinton (ex-Eat Static & Ozric Tentacles / Here and Now / IGV) Martin Cradick (Baka Beyond/ex-Outback)
Captain Sensible (The Damned)
Ed Wynne (Ozric Tentacles / Noden Inctus) Simon Hinkler (The Mission) Dubulah (Transglobal Underground, Temple of Sound, Natasha Atlas) Perch (Zion Train)
Juldeh Camara (Justin Adams, Realworld) Elmer Thudd (Loop Guru) Gary Woodhouse (The Rhythmites)
Boswell / Warp (Junkwaffle & Bristol Graffiti Artist - Los Mutartis)

A brief run-down with the most recent reviews (more to come e.g. Uncut, The Word, Q etc):

5 star reviews e.g. Financial Times and LA’s The Place – Los Angeles Magazine 4 star reviews e.g. Rock N Reel / R2 Magazine, World Music Network, allmusic etc

‘sturdy Ethiopian vocals are matched against backing that veers from wailing psychedelic rock to trance, trip-hop and dub, it's an impressive achievement.’ - The Guardian, Robin Denselow

'New rave goes global. The rave crowd may love such deranged energy.' - Uncut, Nigel Williamson

‘some of the album’s tracks have a brooding intensity which make them as compelling as anything I’ve heard this year ‘- Songlines, Howard Male

‘you can imagine this becoming a mind blowing rave classic, pushing the envelope beyond Ethiopqiues nostalgia.’ - MOJO, David Hutchenson

‘there are moments of electrifying mystique’ - Fly Global, Tim Woodall

’there's a pleasing headiness to its rough charm’ - The Independent, Andy Gill

‘a startlingly original combination of Ethiopian roots and pop with dub, electronica and psychedelic rock’ - fRoots, Jamie Renton

‘this wonderfully strange and slightly otherworldly album’ refuses resolutely to be pigeon holed. One of the most startlingly original musical adventures of the year giving a whole new meaning to the term ‘fusion music’. - R2 / rock N Reel, Dave Haslam

‘like an exotic mythology flung into outer space‘ - World Music Network, TJ Nelson

‘an unhinged sense that anything could happen, it grows with each listen’ - fRoots, Jamie Renton

‘It’s an album that, to its credit, solidly defies easy description. It needs to be heard several times and each reveals a new delight’ - AllMusic.com, Chris Nickson

‘Each time you hear the songs, you hear something different as this will be the longevity of this world class fusion CD’ - LAsThePlace.com, Los Angeles

'The DIY feel of the arrangements suits the brooding other-wroldliness of the Ethiopian vocals far better than many more expensive productions.' - The Telegraph, Mark Hudson

'I encourage everyone to check it out, but not try to capture it..just feel it.' - Max Benkole Jarrett, BBC World Service

‘Brings together a fine mix of musicians to create a festive-sounding album recorded in Ethiopia’ – New Internationalist

Live Review A recent review wrote : HYPERLINK "http://www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/18360" \t "_blank" AfricaNews - Music stars delighting Addis Ababa - Tom Posted on Tuesday 20 May 2008 - 06:27 Congratulations to the organizers of the 7th Ethiopian Music Festival, which was a resounding success and brought great sounds to Addis Abeba. The only show I caught, due to overload, was Dan Harper. His work is astounding, bringing together house/techno beats both slow and fast with beautiful Ethiopian singers singing traditional songs and melodies to ride over his beats. World fusion taken to another level and maybe another musical revolution in the making? Definitely a memorable night.

Re: Invisible System - Punt [Album]
 

Sounds interesting indeed - I will try and check this out. Thanks for popping in to explain it all a little more.