Ipsissimus is the fifth installment in
John Zorn's
Moonchild project -- which he began in 2006 -- dedicated to
Antonin Artaud,
Aleister Crowley, and
Edgard Varese, and the places where their works intersect his own aestehtic. The group was founded as a trio with vocalist
Mike Patton, drummer
Joey Baron, and bassist
Trevor Dunn. On subsequent recordings, it was augmented in various ways, with
Jamie Saft and
Ikue Mori, as well as
Zorn helping out on
Six Litanies for Heliogabalus, for instance.
Zorn appears here too, as does guitarist
Marc Ribot.
Moonchild is, at present,
Zorn's most extreme music unit. He carefully writes for the group, but leaves room for them to improvisationally ratchet up the intensity to bone-shaking levels.That said, this is also what makes
Ipsissimus such a curious offering. Containing nine compositions, the album is made up of duos, trios, and quartets. While there are the usual moments of innovative and controlled jazz-rock-classical intensity -- the opening
"Seven Sigils" has the trio interacting with
Zorn, who appears at specific moments -- and the gorgeous
"The Book of Los" (inspired by
William Blake) is even more powerful, with
Ribot replacing his saxophone in a more rockist (and raucous) manner. There are three numbered
"Apparitions" sequenced at carefully delineated sections of the recording. All are trios without the presence of
Patton or
Zorn, and closely reflect the latter's card file method of composition-versus-improvisation.
"The Changeling," between the duo of
Dunn and
Baron, is one of the more satisfying pieces here -- even if it is not one of the more imaginative -- because it displays in spades the intuitive dialogue between the players.
"Warlock" moves from a ballad structure with intimate melodic work by
Ribot and then gives way to an ensemble assault involving
Dunn's overdriven, distorted bass,
Patton's howling, and
Baron's rim shot, cymbal, kick drum, double-time beat. This is an eclectic offering even by
Moonchild's standards; one that feels far less focused and looser than anything else they've released. It bears many of
Zorn's signature traits from the past without pointing a direct way forward. This is not a complaint, necessarily, but merely a new way to encounter the familiar. ~ Thom Jurek
