TROPICAL MODERNISM by KEITH BERRY

R E V E I W S
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In recent years, I reviewed various albums by Keith Berry, which were all about “generative music systems, simple rules that can create complex music, the process being just as interesting as the product”. The results were quite ambient, in a sort of melodic Brian Eno kind of way. Last time (Vital Weekly 1406), I wrote, “not easy to find new words describing what he does.” I am convinced reviewers have little influence on the musicians they review, especially in the little Vital Weekly corner. Still, this new album is an exciting break in his catalogue. The cover looks like a piece of pp art, with a palm tree waving, pills and needles (the connection eludes me), but let’s take the word ‘tropical’ seriously. The music is now laid back and jazzy; think cocktail lounge music with exotic percussion. I have no idea if this music is also made with generative systems and simple rules. For all I know, this might have been made by one of those AI machines, and the prompt was ‘create Keith Berry’s music as if he was sipping a cocktail on a faraway beach’. It’s hard to say. I applaud any change and all developments, but there’s also a downside. Let’s say, if someone went from click n cuts to heavy metal, I welcome the change and don’t understand the music, and subsequently it’s not something I can easily review. That’s also the case here. I enjoy that Berry’s music sounds quite different than before, but it’s not music I feel any connection to. I seldom sip cocktails in bars at beaches or feel I need to bring some sunshine into my home with this kind of music. Topped with the fact that this album is nearly 80 minutes makes it even harder for me. I enjoyed it as long as I didn’t give it too much attention. The book I was reading was a page-turner, so the need to get up and concentrate on the music wasn’t there, fitting Eno’s ambient dictum ‘ignorable and beautiful at the same time’, but at one point, I felt I was done with it and moved on. (FdW)

https://www.vitalweekly.net/

"With Viable Systems 1 Eno himself might deem it the best ambient album he never produced"

"Some highly atmospheric music, transport the listener to an altered state of consciousness"

"The music resembles the generative experiments of Brian Eno, in concept more than in sound: Overall, the atmosphere is light: these are obviously good-natured musical system"