With only the most vague grasp of the avant music scene in the Netherlands, I would still venture to categorize Michel Banabila among its most captivating members. Also one of its most prolific collaborators, having recorded with Machinefabriek, Pierre Bastien, Stijn Hüwels, Jeff Greinke, Bill Laswell, Robin Rimbaud, Dave Liebman, clarinetist Gareth Davis, trumpeter Eric Vloeimans, among many, many others. He is a stylistic chameleon, having delved into jazz and electronica, ambient, pop and music for stage, screen and dance with equal aplomb over a forty-year career.
Hidden Patterns is a compilation that emphasizes his quieter side – the “non-rhythmic (ambient/minimal)” side, he writes, and it is abundant with tranquil pieces mostly culled from the late teens and early twenties. Resonant piano pieces “Little Boy” and “Hope” breathe the same air as Eno & Budd and several tweaked, ethno-futurist excursions divulge an affinity with Jon Hassell. “Zooming In” is a sun-kissed meadow of pastoral contentment, while the somber “Secunde (CJD Mix)” is chilling audio-film noir. Chamber pieces, some quite short, flash Banabila’s innate lyricism. At the end, the album ebbs gently away with the extended ambient contemplation of “One Moment in Time.”
Elsewhere on his Bandcamp page, Banabila has compiled Breathe, a digital primer “for recent new followers, with a focus on classical orientated tracks.” Together, these collections offer a deep dive into a rich and accomplished oeuvre.
Stephen Fruitman
Avant Music News 