reviews for "multitude, solitude"
"...into completely new horizons similar to nothing you've heard before... captivating, hypnotic, and attractively exotic music" - All Music Guide
"... has a deft touch when it comes to molding silence and drones into rich celestial balladry. The subtleties of the new multitude, solitude are a nifty confluence of George Lewis's dreamscapes and Miles's Lonely Fire, and while it's a record that invites you to watch the embers glow, it does its fair share of shooting off sparks."
- The Village Voice
"each song appears to sound like it has its own story to tell... and the album as a whole has direction, not stuck sounding like an “electrazzic” album because putting one out is the new fangled thing to do." - Jazz Times
"Simply put, ERGO is an electronic atmosphere band, NME is an acoustic blowing band and both revealed a profound though dissimilar rock influence. Harris, taking the place of Carl Maguire, played Rhodes, synth and piano; Sroka, seated in a chair, molded sound with trombone, a laptop rig and pedals; Baltazor gave the mournful, ethereal and at times spooky music a beating heart of rhythm."
- All About Jazz NY (live review)
""...part of a generation for which Autechre and Sigur Rós are as pressing a concern as Armstrong and Sun Ra. The band continues to support its latest release, Multitude, Solitude, a spacious collection of ambient soul" - Time Out, New York
"... this atmospheric collective, which
takes full advantage of electronic programming and cross-genre
appropriation... performs in celebration of its intentionally
spooky new album, "Multitude, Solitude" - New York Times
"quite beautiful and moving in places, a bit like Sigur Ros meeting Sun Ra uptown." - Terrascope
"Multitude, Solitude's 50 tranquil minutes ebb and flow with stunning realism in a landscape of otherworldly textures." - All About Jazz
"... their panoply of noises sounds like an entire company of artists at work, so outwardly sensate is the entire recording." - The Squid's Ear
"Ergo dares poetic austerity" - Kunstencentrum BELGIE
"L'approccio alla materia musicale di Brett Sroka e compagni è rilassato e circolare, circospetto e mai impulsivo." - All About Jazz, Italy
"Neste disco o jazz vai mais além, adoptando um carácter ambiental que lembra algumas opções do chamado pós-rock e de um grupo como os Sigur Rós. A coisa podia não resultar, mas funciona." - Críticas - Novas
"...un exuberante bloque sonoro electro-acústico de encuadre post-moderno con una alusión lateral a aspectos provenientes del romanticismo" - El Intruso
"Ergo pull you in gradually and continually and before you even realize it you are hooked... One of the best releases from the prolific Cuneiform label in quite some time!" - ZNR
"eine unglaublich intensive und spannende Atmosphäre aufzubauen, die den Hörer regelrecht unter den Kopfhörer fesseln kann." - Babyblaue-Seiten
"the lead 'bone work, which cuts through the dreaminess of the keys and digital refractions." - Exclaim
Reviews and Citings for "Quality Anatomechanical Music Since 2005"
"Ergo's trombonist Brett Sroka, keyboardist Carl Maguire and drummer Shawn Baltazor are all part of a generation for which Autechre and Sigur Ros are as pressing concerns as Armstrong and Sun Ra. That's certainly evident in the band's timbral sophistication, spacey contours and slinky grooves."
Steve Smith, TIME OUT, NEW YORK
". . . atmospheric collective, which takes full advantage of electronic programming and cross-genre appropriation."
Nate Chinen, THE NEW YORK TIMES
"An Ellington fiend who likes to get his computerized space-dub on, the trombonist has lots of sound sculpture in him. His rather dramatic art music is both texturally rich and compositionally engaging."
Jim Macnie, THE VILLAGE VOICE
"Brett Sroka has found a way to turn the trombone into the coolest instrument since the bass clarinet. He plays in a band called Ergo, which blends blip-hop electronica with jazz. This trio consists of drums, keyboards, and Sroka's unruly trombone."
Christopher Muther, THE BOSTON GLOBE, editor’s picks
“The city has always been known for its under-the-radar jazz talent. This gig — happening tonight only — is a great example of how substantial that talent can be… Here's a great chance to check Sroka’s dynamic and distinguished ideas in action, while catching a glimpse of the underground."
John McCormick, FLAVORPILL.NET
". . . explores the intersections of electronic music, Jazz improvisation, and smart Rock bands like Radiohead or Sigur Ros. . . Sroka has huge ears and catholic tastes, using these to good effect on
this moody and memorable recording."
Jason Bivins, CADENCE MAGAZINE
"Solid musicianship and a vision are what ERGO is all
about, and they absolutely are on to something very
special."
Steve Caputo, INSIDE CONNECTION MAGAZINE (read the full article)
". . . the music crosses that indefinable frontier, teeming with intuitive experimentation, probing jazz dialogues and EFX-drenched avant-garde stylizations. Uncannily cohesive and an enormously compelling listening experience"
Glenn Astarita, EJAZZNEWS.COM (read the full article)
"You are entering a sonic universe, but more importantly, a music which reveals itself as most definitely structured and well thought out. As much as you can just revel in the sounds on this record, a little close listening will uncover memorable themes which develop over time.
Each track has a life cycle which carries it forward, so rather than just spacing or tripping out for the duration, this music can be followed and appreciated."
Budd Kopman, ALLABOUTJAZZ.COM (read the full article)
Review and interview from the spanish website
El Intruso
Year end citings:
"2006 playlist: We listen to a lot of music, privy as we are to advance releases and publicity teases, so narrowing the field down to our
most-played 30 albums is actually quite a winnowing. . . Here's what filled our ears this year. . . Ergo – Quality Anatomechanical Music Since 2005 (Actuator) Experimental electronic music from Brooklyn by way of Sun Ra. Band goals include "trying to reconcile the 600 years of technology between trombone and computer.""
Roberto Friedman, BAY AREA REPORTER (San Francisco)
"BEST DEBUT: Ergo Quality Anatomechanical Music"
ALL ABOUT JAZZ-NEW YORK, Best of 2006 List
"Two strong showings by pianist/keyboardist Carl Maguire: the quartet release Floriculture (Challenge) and the experimental electronica of the trio Ergo"
David Adler
Budd Kopman's Best of 2006