George Stavis

Labyrinths

★★★½

Recommended to me, most likely due to my recent Fahey listens. And this release is also featured on the Vanguard label, which issued one of my favorite Fahey albums, The Yellow Princess. Like Fahey, Stavis is a member of the American Primitivism movement which was blossoming during the sixties into the seventies. That can also be somewhat inferred from the album cover. It absolutely resembles spray can cheese. Something I could come across at a yard sale or thrift store and toss aside, and not even bat an eye. But if I do actually come across this record, I'll make sure to pick it up. While the geeky Dungeon and Dragons looking Stavis might seem harmless, in reality he brings a world of flavors into action that I did not expect coming into this. A mix of jazz, Indian raga, country and Appalachian banjo playing, and components from his psych rock days with the band Federal Duck. Speaking of that band, the percussionist Tim Ackerman on here is also a member of that short lived band.

The percussion is sparse and used very effectively when required. In some ways it reminds me of Kayhan Kalhor's album Scattering Stars Like Dust with the tombak player Pejman Hadadi. I would consider Hadadi's role to be larger and more extensive than anything Ackerman does here. "Winter Doldrums" best represents a duo at work, evened out and fiery. It's an opener that is quick and stunning like a torrential downpour and mudslide on what was recently a clear spring day. This element makes it a song that stands out among the rest of the crowd here, and for some maybe that's a false flag for what's to come as the record progresses. “Finland Station” is a nationalistic folk ballad that makes me think of a group of partisans fighting off an invading army up in the barren and grey mountains. It’s proud and confident but displays an inner conflict that is yet to be resolved. Constantly in a state that balances between victory and defeat. 

Right when you think you’ve figured out his style you are moved into “My Favorite Things”. An extremely jazz and improv oriented song that is articulate and careful at every step of the way. There are some callbacks to the very popular John Coltrane recording of the song too. You might even believe that he’s reached a trance-like state in playing this song, as it flows directly from his consciousness. The smoking and boiling track “Firelight” is molded and shaped towards a specific atmosphere. That being a traveling rider on his horse and miles of clear plains ahead of him; constantly on the run. The percussion serves as the horse’s gallop while the banjo is the heartbeat, wind, and breathing of the rider and mount rolled into one. “Cold Spring” seems like a continuation of that scene for me, but with a tragic and resentful ending that feels like a bad omen. 

In all, this was a very energetic and well thought out album that I didn’t see coming from a mile away. Stavis has transformed the banjo into a more worldly and educated instrument than what I, and many others, are accustomed to. He’s definitely unique in that aspect and almost could be considered a pioneer for taking this route. I have a few problems with the album, one being the recording quality. It’s a bit thin and sometimes gives too much space to the percussion which should be considered secondary. And I keep thinking to myself, what would be a reason to come back to this. Especially when there’s so much Fahey out there and many other primitivist musicians from this period to explore. It’ll probably be a while until I come back to give this a full listen but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. To me, it was a much needed breath of fresh air into the genre that Fahey spawned and controlled for his entire life, and even in the afterlife. It’s refreshing to see a new spin on things.

Favorite Song: Finland Station