What About the Feed-Back? Posted by Kevin

The Feedback: The Feed-Back and Quasar From: S/T [RCA, 1970] Lately, I have come across earlier recordings of popular musicians such as Bob Seger, Steve Winwood and Billy Joel that easily surpass their mainstream radio hits. So you can imagine my excitement when I found out that that Ennio Morricone, the famous film composer, had a secret career as the trumpet player for an avant garde ensemble named Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza. This project allowed him to experiment with new ideas that he could incorporate into his own compositions. Crime and Dissonance, a compilation released on Ipecac records in 2005, focused on the avant-garde side of Morricone's work that was undoubtedly influenced by his work in Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza. It appears that the band changed their name to The Feed-Back for their self-titled record on RCA, but then went back to the previous name shortly after the record was released. The Feed-Back was comprised of Franco Evangelisti (keyboards, percussion) Mario Bertoncini (piano, percussions), Ennio Morricone (trumpet), John Heineman (trombone, piano, cello), Walter Branchi (double-bass), Egisto Macchi (percussion) and others on additional instruments. "The Feed-Back" opens the album with a breakbeat that is begging to be sampled. If Jay-Z and Kanye weren't so busy digging for classic soul, they might discover this gem in the experimental section during their next crate-digging excursion. While i'm listening to "The Feed-Back", I hear a fresh mix of slamming breakbeats, free jazz squalling, and electronic oscillations. It's really hard to make experimental music fun to listen to, but they have definitely achieved this from the beginning. The next track, "Quasar", continues on in the same vein, but it features a motorik groove that makes me think of the classic Faust song "Krautrock". At about the mid-point, the tempo of the song slows down to reveal the nuances of experimentaion that have been bubbling underneath. Then, without warning, the drums explode onto the scene with cacophonous trumpet and other extraneous noise leading the way. On the final track, "Kumalo", the breakbeat sound from the first track returns, providing a fascinating backdrop for the sonic tapestry of cello, sitar, electronics, trumpet and piano. Clocking in a just under 27 minutes, the self-titled album from The Feed-Back proves that you can say more with less time. There isn't a lot of information available on the Feed-back's recorded output, but as far as I can tell this is the only record that they released. It is extremely rare, but you may be able to find it amidst a pile of throwaways in the dusty bins.