Ubiquity Records to Release the Sophomore Effort of Chris Brann's P'taah Project, "Staring at the Sun" on March 18, 2003

Ubiquity Recordings is proud to release Staring at The Sun - the sophomore release from Chris Brann's P'taah collective which follows the critically acclaimed debut 'Compressed Light' and remix set 'Decompressed Light'.

Featuring the appropriately dazzling breakout single (and title track) Staring At The Sun, P'Taah's sophomore release soars beyond the densely theoretical convolutions of 'Compressed Light', creating delicious soundscapes at once deceptively easy on the ear and truly, radically progressive. For those who have followed Chris Brann's musical journey through his other projects (Ananda Project, Wamdue) this is the logical and essential next step; for those new to his world(s) it is an introduction of shocking, intoxicating brilliance.

“The thing about 'Compressed Light' was that I was intellectually charged to see if I could do it," Brann explains. “To break all the rules that I had set for myself doing more house-related projects. It was, in a way, a reaction to [those] limitations. I think with 'Staring At The Sun' I've reached a different paradigm in that I've turned off that action/reaction mechanism and am now able to cultivate things in a more honest way."

You could call this music fusion, or future jazz, or avant-something or abstract-something else; whatever you call it seems to rein in its limitless possibilities. Just as Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim and Stanley Clarke (all acknowledged Brann influences) aimed to further fan the flames of Miles Davis' rock/jazz explorations, and to bring visionary jazz to the receptive ears of progressive rock audiences, Brann's P'taah project folds clubbier textures into jazz abstractions (with Brazilian influences), classical composition and cosmic soul, allowing a multi-layered hybrid of ideas. This is reflected in cuts like 'Become Who You Are', 'Nobody Knows', 'Hold You Close' (previously featured on Naked Music's 'Carte Blanche 3' and Ubiquity's 'No Categories 5') and 'Staring at the Sun' itself.

Brann: “I think the album covers some different angles of my influences. The Chick Corea, Herbie [Hancock] vibe, [is there] especially in the Rhodes sounds. I'm fascinated with early Return To Forever, with Airto [Moreira] and Flora Purim... this really sums up so much of my emotional influence and it truly represents 'fusion' music. There is also the more esoteric ECM overlay that creeps up as the album progresses away from the more club-oriented sound; Keith Jarrett, Steve Tibbetts and Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays are definite influences."

Perhaps surprisingly (then again, the joy of Brann's muse is its ability to surprise) Brann will happily admit he's not a natural clubber. “I relate to the club experience in more of a 'macro' level. But no matter how much I say I can't deal with hanging out in clubs or bars, it's still a part of my cultural upbringing. I feel I must approach it on my own terms. Sometimes when I'm working on a track I'll just be thinking about a real high moment I've had DJing or throwing a party or whatever; ultimately trying to uncover that primal feeling that all of this music is based on. Ideally the music can be a source of transformation that can convert the mundane to the spiritual. It's all about fine-tuning the right elements into the right space and time."

With him on that spiritual quest are vocalists Terrance Downs (who contributed to 'Compressed Light'), Marta Gazman, rhodes and moog virtuoso Julius Speed and new star Sylvia Gordon, from the NY-based group Kudu, who along with [drummer] Dee Parks is also part of the P'taah live outfit. “She has a real focused, precise character to her voice," Brann enthuses, “her writing and her presentation. I have a high regard for the level of clarity that she brings to her work...she has a lot of fluidity, yet it's real earthy too... and she's an incredible bass player."

“It's taken along time to cultivate the songs for this new album," Brann explains. “I basically take a pool of ideas and then look for a thread to follow. Once I find the connecting line it's easy to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle. On 'Staring At The Sun' I was going through a lot mental 'self-trickery,' thinking to myself that none of the songs I had could relate to each other... but then something clicked and it came to together quickly and in an unconscious/intuitive sort of way."

Intuition is the key. Brann's inspirations - the lushly melancholic sound worlds of David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Stanley Clarke's bass odyssey, Eumir Deodata's sensual, sensurround fusion - aren't obvious bedfellows. And who would have thought that Norwegian contemporary jazz pioneer Bugge Wesseltoft would turn up in a DJ booth? (Remember though, Sylvian worked with jazz guitarist Steve Tibbetts; the clues are there.)

Also threaded throughout Staring At The Sun are Kima Moore's 'Meditation' pieces, which add Enoesque ambient/world textures. The spiritual, visionary fusion going on here is one that's central to all forward-looking music. Just as Ray Charles invented soul by taking gospel out of the churches, so (in reverse) Brann's explorations recast the dancefloor as a sacred space.

Staring At The Sun will move you. It will also make you move. It's a ticket to the future that feels natural and true. And as we all know, of course, the truth will set you free.

Website: www.ubiquityrecords.com