Kenneth James Gibson: Further Translations

On the face of it, it’s a brave person who opens the door for others to rework their songs. But of course, from an artist’s point of view, it’s an exciting prospect and perhaps no different to a novelist seeing their story play out at the hands of someone else on the big screen. A fresh perspective on something the said artist has spent years agonising over. As they say, once art is out into the wilderness, no longer is it solely the creator’s.

If any artist across the experimental landscape is going to see their work undergo a facelift of sorts, then I can’t think of anyone better than Kenneth James Gibson. A purveyor of both composition and more conventional songcraft namely as the chief architect of Bell Gardens, no artist has amalgamated country-tinged gospel dreamscapes and esoteric sound worlds quite like Gibson.

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Opening up the door to friends and long-time collaborators, Gibson brings us Further Translations. A series of reworks from some of the world’s finest experimental talent, who have tinkered and refined Gibson’s work from Kompakt releases, The Evening Falls (2016) and In The Fields Of Nothing (2018), and last year’s Groundskeeping, which was released via his own Meadows Heavy Recorders label.

Opening the album is the Los Angeles-based duo, Awakened Souls with their rework of the gorgeous The Art of Forgetting Yourself. It’s apt considering James and Cynthia Bernard are at the console for this countrified reimagination, as it feeds into the spiritual ambience both are well known for. In some ways, it’s a beautiful continuation from their latest release, unlikely places.

From here things take a turn where the mood sinks. Firstly with Jack Dangers’ rework of David’s Pass and later with the Scanner rendition of Small Triumphs and Disappointments. Both pieces with an added layer of dread, tapping into the dark corners of the deep listening sound world. Even Gibson’s own reworks of In the Fields of Everything and Small Triumphs and Deep Disappointments reveal a new, sinister edge; a bleak winter system of sleet and deathly chills, and it’s as dark as anything we’ve seen Gibson produce before.

There’s plenty of moments of defiance, however, and the contrast is fascinating. With Poured Semi Silently Upon You, the Christopher Wilitis rework, and Chuck Johnson’s reshaping of The Groundskeeper, these are moments that provide those expansive sun-over-the-horizon lifescapes that imbue hope.

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And speaking of, it’s no surprise that the pinnacle moment of Further Translations arrives with Brian McBride’s rework of Far From Home. Gibson’s right-hand man in Bell Gardens, it’s perhaps fitting that the late Stars of The Lid man worked on this track, and given its title, while some may see this as a moment of eerie prescience, whichever way one decides to view it, McBride’s version of Far From Home is a stunning swansong from an artist who has left us far too soon.

Then there’s Unblinded. Harnessed by the strings-heavy majesty of Less Bells, it’s a track likened to a ghost passing through the room; it’s one-two grandeur alongside McBride’s version of Far From Home something you can’t help but revisit at least twice a day.

Further Translation finishes with Konstantin Gabbro’s version of Lateral Decomposition – a cascading drone with heavenly ambience and subtle jazz-infections, it’s a composition for barren landscapes and comfortable solitude, encompassing the Further Translations experience.

The aim for all remix albums is to breathe new life into songs, however with these reworks occurring at different times throughout different places, such as the nature of the release, and it’s surprising just how seamless it is. For those new to the world of Kenneth James Gibson, as strange at it sounds, Further Translation isn’t the worst place to begin.

Further Translations is out now via Meadows Heavy Recorders. Purchase from Bandcamp.