Album: Subterranean: New Designs on Bowie's Berlin
Artist: Dylan Howe
2014 Motorik Recordings
CD: MR1004
Dylan Howe: drums (all), synths (5, 8, 9)
Mark Hodgson: double bass (1-4, 6, 7)
Ross Stanley: piano (all), synths (1-4, 6, 7)
Julian Siegel: sax (1-4, 6, 7)
Brandon Allen: sax (2), sax solos (1, 3, 4, 7)
Nick Pini: double bass (5, 8)
Steve Howe: koto (9)
Adrian Utley: guitar intro (7)
Produced and directed by D Howe
Edit/mix/master: Will Worsley
Executive producers: Elli McIlhany, Juan Arcas, John Kuehne,
Cristiano Massaro
Graphic design: Marc Bessant
Photos: Zoë Howe, D Howe, Victoria Harley
Tracks:
1. "Subterraneans" (8:23) [David Bowie; arr. D Howe]
2. "Weeping Wall" (7:05) [Bowie; arr. D Howe/Stanley]
3. "All Saints" (10:04) [Bowie; arr. D Howe]
4. "Some Are" (6:29) [Bowie; arr. D Howe]
5. "Neukoln - Night" (5:00) [Bowie/Brian Eno; arr. D Howe]
6. "Art Decade" (4:41) [Bowie; arr. D Howe]
7. "Warszawa" (11:08) [Bowie/Eno; arr. D Howe/Stanley/Allen]
8. "Neukoln - Day" (5:29) [Bowie/Eno; arr. D Howe]
9. "Moss Garden" (6:23) [Bowie/Eno; arr. D Howe]
Notes: (*****) Ross Stanley and Dylan Howe form the Steve Howe Trio
with dad Steve. The main other players on this album have worked
regularly with Dylan in recent years. The project dates back to
2007. As Dylan Howe and the Subterreaneans, demos of four pieces
("Art Decade", "Warszawa", "V2 Schneider", "Some Are") were recorded
in Mar/Apr 2007 and could be heard online. "Warszawa" was also
included on Dylan's Translations 2 solo album. Produced by
Dylan, those recordings featured a quintet of D
Howe/Stanley/Allen/Chris Hill (double bass)/Quentin Collins
(trumpet), with Adrian Utley (Portishead), Gilad Atzmon (alto sax),
Ben Davis (cello), Nalyd Ewoh (vocals on "Some Are"). There was a
"work in progress" launch in Nov 2007 in London with a line-up of D
Howe, Stanley, Hill, Robbie Robson (trumpet), Sam Crockatt (sax)
with Utley, Atzmon, The Solid Strings (Sonia Slany—violin, Stuart
Hall—violin, Steve Tees—viola, Nick Cooper—cello), Tim Dickinson
(vocals), plus Hugh Cornwell (ex-The Stranglers) as featured guest
vocalist.
The project then developed over some years, with Dylan launching a
Kickstarter campaign in 2013 to fund the editing, mixing, mastering
and release of what he had already recorded. This had various
options (including the executive producer credits seen above), with
a digital version of the album sent to supporters in December 2013
and physical copies of the album shipping February 2014.
The result is fantastic, a beautifully constructed album, sometimes
contemplative, sometimes hard bop, as Dylan and team explore
re-imagine the instrumentals from David Bowie's 1977 albums Low
and "Heroes". (HP, 12 Feb 14)
Return to Home Page