David Moss – Full House (CD2088)

One drummer, eleven partners, nineteen duets. On Full House, percussionist and vocalist David Moss meets the cream of New York’s downtown scene of the early 1980s, one at a time: John Zorn, Fred Frith, Bill Laswell, Arto Lindsay, Christian Marclay, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Phil Minton, David Van Tieghem, Fred Maher and Tom Guralnick. The album was recorded in October 1983 and January 1984 at Martin Bisi’s studio in Brooklyn.

Every piece was composed by Moss together with his duet partner, and every piece is a short, sharp sound study. Moss plays drums, percussion, electronics and found objects and uses his voice like an instrument. The partners bring guitars, saxophones, bass, turntables, voices and more. Zorn’s reeds and game calls, Marclay’s scratched records, Lindsay’s noise guitar, Tacuma’s funk bass and Minton’s wild vocals: improvisation, noise, groove and performance art come together in a constantly changing collage.

Full House is considered a landmark of the New York downtown movement. This is the original Moers Music CD. Released on Moers Music. When you buy here, you’re buying directly from the label, and we only sell originals.

The Side Story

David Moss was born in New York in 1949. He studied percussion, learned South Indian drumming with Tanjore Ranganathan at Wesleyan University and studied composition with free jazz pioneer Bill Dixon, whose ensemble he played in during the early 1970s. In the early 1980s he played on the first album by The Golden Palominos and recorded Cargo Cult Revival with cellist Tom Cora.

Full House was his first album for Moers. A year later came Dense Band, where Moss brought many of these musicians together as a full band. Both albums are seen as key works of the downtown scene. In 1991 Moss moved to Berlin with a DAAD fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship, and he has lived there ever since. He later won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik twice.

There are lots of connections to other Moers releases. Martin Bisi also recorded North America by Curlew (CD2080), with Fred Frith on bass. Jamaaladeen Tacuma appears on Sound Symphony (CD2082) and with Linda Sharrock (CD2078).

Tracklist (duet partner in brackets)

1. Trade-Ways (Tom Guralnick) – 4:00

2. Shout & Twist (Arto Lindsay) – 0:42

3. 3-Way Switch (Bill Laswell) – 3:00

4. All the News (Phil Minton) – 3:00

5. Husk When Time (John Zorn) – 1:49

6. Amendment 5 (Christian Marclay) – 1:12

7. Full House – 1:55

8. Impound This Touch (Fred Frith) – 3:04

9. Tunes (Bill Laswell) – 2:37

10. State of the Whirled (David Van Tieghem) – 3:57

11. Heads Up (Arto Lindsay) – 1:54

12. The Man with the Rain-Colored Legs (Jamaaladeen Tacuma) – 3:05

13. Hand Tech (John Zorn) – 2:41

14. Possible Fruit (Arto Lindsay) – 1:48

15. Fashion Like Edges (Christian Marclay) – 1:34

16. Liquids of Choice (Phil Minton) – 1:06

17. Drum Men (Fred Maher) – 3:48

18. When I Was 18 (Christian Marclay) – 2:09

19. Drastic Fishers (Fred Frith) – 3:21

Each piece composed by David Moss and his duet partner. Total running time: approx. 47 minutes

Personnel

• David Moss – drums, percussion, voice, electronics, sound objects

• John Zorn – reeds, saxophones, game calls

• Fred Frith – guitar

• Bill Laswell – 6-string bass

• Arto Lindsay – guitar, vocals

• Christian Marclay – turntables, manipulated records

• Jamaaladeen Tacuma – electric bass

• Phil Minton – voice

• David Van Tieghem – percussion

• Fred Maher – drums

• Tom Guralnick – saxophones

Details

• Format: CD (original Moers Music edition)

• Label: Moers Music

• Catalog no.: CD2088 (originally released on LP as Moers 2010, 1984)

• Recorded: October 1983 and January 1984, Martin Bisi Studio, Brooklyn, New York

• Price: €14.00