Downland is for that small minority who might be on the lookout for an album which bridges the 17th and 21st centuries.
The title is a play both on Dutch lutist Jozef Van Wissem's Lowlands home and the Renaissance composer John Dowland who, rumour has it, was born in Ireland.
One of Van Wissem's objectives is to shake off the dry, academic image of the lute and make the instrument sexier. With this in mind. he takes Renaissance and Baroque forms and adds contemporary touches like electronic effects and processed field recordings.
He is particularly drawn to minimalism, being fascinated by how listeners experience repetition without any comforting linear progression. This experimental leaning has led him to collaborations with prestigious underground artists such as James Blackshaw, Smegma, Jim Jarmusch , Keiji Haino and, now, United Bible Studies (UBS).
This latest collaboration came about when, in late 2007, UBS were part of the bill for Van Wissem's first Irish concert. A mutual appreciation resulted in Van Wissem recording tracks for UBS to overdub and a postal collaboration began in 2009.
The Dutchman was particularly taken with Paul Condon's bass playing and eventually wrote a piece specifically for him. This became the ecstatic and celebratory Come Holy Ghost which is a the album's most strikingly immediate track.
Despite this group's name, UBS , who are mostly based in Ireland, has more of a pagan spirit in the psych-folk tradition of Incredible String Band or Current 93. They started life as a duo but have evolved into a constantly shifting collective of like-minded musicians.
With UBS's other releases, they have tended to edit songs out of longer improvised pieces so working with Van Wissem's distinct structures meant they were obliged to change their modus operandi.
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The album features two different versions of the same instrumental composition: 'Downland' and 'The Seas Have Lifted Up Their Voice'. The former is gently hypnotic piece with Áine O'Dwyers harp playing blending with the lute and added squalls of non-intrusive electronica. The latter incorporates chimes, electric guitar and wordless choral harmonies to create a denser and more sinister atmosphere.
Van Wissem wrote the lyrics of Altars Of Brick (The Day Is Coming) for Alison O'Donnell to sing; this is expanded from the instrumental version he recorded on his Ex Patris solo album. It is like a slow death march and inspired Gavin Prior to write Í Rith na h-Óiche in Gaelic which mirrors the song's ominous tone.
These, and free-spirited instrumental with the curious title Trade Boys For Prostitutes Sell Girls For Wine, have a strong Wicker Man quality.
The other track on this thirty minute, seven-track mini-album is Seven Tears, a courtly romance researched and written by O'Donnell and named after a well-known John Dowland song cycle.
As you might imagine, Downland is an unconventional record but one to be applauded for its uncompromising dedication to mystery and strangeness.
United Bible Studies on Myspace
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