Album Review/ Jazz : Marc Soucy’s ‘Antartica - Live’
Marc Soucy is a master music arranger. He is an incredible producer with a vision that is expansive and sophisticated. Not just that, he takes you deep into the human feeling of things. The connection never becomes lost and there’s vibrancy in the way he explores themes. For his latest release, ‘Antartica Live’, he takes his musical exploration to a whole new level. He burrows into an electric rock plane and creates tunnels into jazz worlds, electronic ambiguity, and psychedelics.
It’s like you’re back in the wild wild countries of 60s rock music, where bands were going where the wind would take them. Where artists were not bound by the mundane understanding of things. It's a musical exploration for the sake of deeper understanding. The passion is there. The zeal is there. And the spirit is all over. The album features the instrumentals and brilliance of Jeff Carano (bass) and Ray Lavigne (drums).
‘Mayhem in Antartica (Live)’ opens the album. It opens on a mellow plane, light and playful. It’s thoughtful, ambient. The progression, then takes off to hypnotic and serpentine jazz rooms. It’s like a wild trip with imagery and visuals that keep shifting and changing into many things. The jazz here is used to compel a chaotic momentum, a warping reality where anything can be anything.
On the other hand, tracks like ‘Charlie Backwards - Live’, ‘The Out Cats - Live’, and ‘Accelerator - Live’, you feel the camaraderie and the presence of the band as they’re performing. They’re dynamic, ever changing but united by the spontaneous moments of jazz. They have impulse and exploration and take you through some scenic frames.
Then there’s tracks like ‘The City - Live’ and ‘Clem’s Cakewalk - Live’. Tracks that have a hustle to them, a whole life that is vibrant and colorful. The textures are constantly evolving and the rhythms growing. It’s playful, expressive and built with creative ideas and imagination. Sometimes it feels like you’re going through a spell whilst under one. And just like that, each track has its own energy and inclinations. The artists just generously bestow you with these landscapes and you can keep diving in and out of it. Listen Now!
The album is available for streaming on popular sites like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music!
You can listen to ‘Antartica - Live’ by Marc Soucy here -
