R-THREE: Perceptual Distortion

R-Three

Perceptual Distortion

© 2002 Rhett Redelings (643157126720)

R-Three apply a synaesthetic sensibility to a diverse pallete of acoustic, electronic & hybrid instrumentation creating music bittersweetly poignant, with flavors both familiar & strange. Like Thomas Dolby, Brian Eno, Talk Talk, David Sylvian.

notes

"Vocally I get strong shades of Peter Gabriel's earlier albums, but this is only conveyed in three centrepiece songs. The rest is really rather mindblowing stuff." - Babbler

R-Three apply a synaesthetic sensibility to a diverse pallete of acoustic, electronic & hybrid instrumentation creating journeys bittersweetly poignant, with flavors both familiar & unexpected. Reminiscent of work by Brian Eno, O'Rang, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, David Sylvian, Russell Mills, Can, Radiohead, Talk Talk, Thomas Dolby, the Cure, Duran Duran and Neil Finn: This CD is dark, optimistic, passionate, eclectic, smart, richly textured and honest.


When asked how to describe the music of R-Three, Rhett Redelings, the only permanent member of the group takes a deep breath which somehow says he's been asked this question a thousand times. "I'm probably as reluctant as anyone to try label my own music, but probably the best genres for this album include 'post-rock', 'math rock', 'dark wave', 'prog pop' and 'ambient'. It's definitely unique and not the kind of thing the big labels are churning out these days. The key to it is that it changes over time. Every song is different and as I bring in other musicians to contribute and as my style evolves, so does the music. 'Perceptual Distortion' is like a patchwork of music to trip out to, to reflect to. It's introspective but at the same time, every song has something for the listener. It's true, and it's real, but it's not a confessional. When you buy this album, you're buying a crafted work of art, you're not buying my own personal therapy sessions put to music.

"Part of what makes R-Three music unique is that while we use club friendly beats and loops, this is not background or dance music; there's a definite pop/rock ethic at work, even in the most adventurous pieces. Music and art are meant to engage you, not rest casually in the background like hotel art or elevator music. We're using sonic pallets from all genres to tell a story and take the listener somewhere they've never been before. And make no mistake, this is NOT casual music. Of course, it's not hard work either!"

R-Three picks up where our musical heroes leave off. If you like artists like Brian Eno, Greg Hale Jones, Talk Talk (Mark Hollis), O'Rang, Russell Mills/Undark, David Sylvian, Duran Duran / Arcadia, Radiohead or Peter Gabriel, you'll probably like R-Three. But R-Three is not a sound-alike project. We're on our own mission here and if our music ends up in the same CD collection as that of our heroes, that's an honor, but it's not the goalR-Three has created an original work that has been described as a "cross genre piece of work that is neatly stitched together on a centrally themed cut of silk" (The Babbler).

The Songs:

Little bitter love - This acid-jazz-inspired tune is about wanting to leave the world a fairer, more peaceful place than I found it, but still not being able to transcend my own petty and competitive urges enough to be happy for my friends and loved ones when good things happen to them. Some days it's harder to walk the talk than on others, you know?

Secrets - "The problem is not propaganda, but the relentless control of the kinds of things we think about" - Brian Eno. Secrets addresses the hidden threads of political landscape, consumer culture, and mass media as it distorts our perception of the world and manufactures concent for unhealthy policies and cultural shifts that ultimately work against our best interests as individuals. Secrets features live drums by Bob Gaut (from Solari and Hamilton, formerly of hard rock band Velocity fame http://cdbaby.com/cd/velocity ) Secrets (Radio edit) is a radio length edit of the song featuring an additional vocal performance and a louder, deeper mix. The radio edit is featured on Perceptual Distortion as a bonus track.

The Wolf I Feed - A Native American grandfather said to his grandson, "I feel as if I have 2 wolves fighting in my heart. One is angry, vengeful, & violent, while the other is loving & compassionate." The boy asked, "Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?" The grandfather answered, "The one I feed." This infectious electropop number combines Middle and Far Eastern musical elements with rock rhythm and guitars to express a personal reaction to the aftermath of 9/11.

Elsa Green - Deliberately understated, intimate vocals, melancholy piano and subtle rhythms set the tone for this intoxicatingly off-beat ballad urging a former lover to love herself instead of continually damaging herself against the men who can't. Any woman who believes she needs the approval of her man to be whole, beautiful or strong, this song is for her.

Celluloid Erosion - Beginning with sampled film hiss and a musical fragment from Jean Cocteau's film 'Blood of a Poet', Celluloid Erosion is "Incredibly melodious in parts and brilliantly dissonant in others. It grooves, it trips and it seriously warps your head. I can't help feeling that this is what Fred Frith or John Zorn would come out with were they to jump on the electronica bandwagon. A bandwagon that suffers from a lack of originality in most cases. Well, if you thought that applied to most electronica, here is one of those wonderful exceptions that fiercely sticks its fingers up at authority and rips the rule book up." -Gordon Bell, Babbler Online

Perceptual Distortion - Inspired by the groundbreaking works of electronic/ambient pioneers Karl-Heinz Stockhausen and Brian Eno, the title track of the album explores the "...distorted perceptions that are promoted by our success driven, consumer oriented, possessive minded society." - Kerry Dennis

Lazy I is an electropop tune that grooves along for the sake of the groove. No message, just the love of good music.

Breathe Memoria - Appearing in a much abridged form in the original score for the film "Holocaust in my Body", Breathe Memoria is an ambient journey utilizing samples from the film, a Theremin, and a shortwave radio in addition to a bed of synths and guitars, that begins with Steve Sisgold's experiences as he "confronts the shadows of the past; embracing deep feelings of anger and sadness while visiting a men's barracks at Birkenau (Auschwitz II); co-healing in Berlin with the son of a World War II German officer who still suffers from the effects of the Holocaust and cleaning up an abandoned Jewish cemetery near where his grandparents lived in Warsaw" and ends with a quiet questioning about the nature of God; whether we are entitled to having our expectations fulfilled or if "God" isn't better understood another way.

The Golden Center - Skot Travis was blindingly talented, yet only ever completed a handful of poorly recorded demos that do little justice to his musical and vocal brilliance. He was tender yet abusive, self destructive and supportive, full of life and dead by 35. This song was written for Skot, who died too young by accident/on purpose. There's something in his story for the rest of us, relevant for every person who buys "the right car", the "right brand", takes "the right drug" or hangs out with the "right crowd" in order to feel attractive and complete. The Golden Center isn't a song about death; it's a song about life.

Prelude to Silence - A cyclical mantra featuring a medley of song elements that reinforce and echo the themes pervading the album. Why do we have to learn the same lessons over and over again?

---

'Perceptual Distortion' invites the listener who's ready for something new to "...drift into this celluloid technicolour extravangaza for the ears. A real recommended trip it is indeed." (The Babbler Ezine)

If you enjoyed ground-breaking albums like "Kid-A", "Amnesiac", "Us", "Up", "The Flat Earth", The Magical Mystery Tour", "Amused to Death", "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", "On Land", "Tago Mago", "Laughing Stock", "Spirit of Eden", "Rain Tree Crow", "The First Day", "Plight and Premonition", "Disintegration", "Medazzaland" or "Try Whistling This", you will enjoy "Perceptual Distortion".

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • relax and enjoy!
    author: drd952

    This album was recommended by a friend. I was not disappointed. The hauntingly beautiful instrumentals appear to become more complex with every listen. The tv/radio bulletins in the background of several of the songs really add to the overall experience. It reminds me of the scene from Pink Floyd The Wall when Bob Geldof was in his easy chair during "one of my turns". It is subtle but adds to the depth of the message being portrayed. Speaking of which, the lead singer's vocals remind me of Bob Geldof as well. Imagine the Boomtown Rats with more passion and darker undertones. This material is deep and more on the dark side, but you only notice it if you are paying close attention. I am aware of the lyrics yet find myself just listening and relaxing to the music. My favorite tracks would probably be Breathe Memoria and The Golden Center, yet I like the work as a collective whole. I look forward to future releases, messages, and passion. To me this story is not complete.

  • Curiouser and Curiouser, if Alan fell down the rabbit hole...
    author: Josh Gowan

    Seriously eclectic, even eccentric. This is not an album which fades easily into the backround. If keening were tabulation, this one runs rampant. Distress, modulated, molded into bubbled stained glass. Hope weaves and bobs through the lyrics. This is music for the thoughtful who wants something to tug at them from the inside. This is a bit of a musicians' montage, while smooth, tis definately complex enough to cause deeper study. Hopefully more folks will give this a good listen to, thrice, just to let it soak in, give it a chance to rake across their conciousness.

  • Cinematic, Passionate, and Challenging
    author: Kevin J. O'Connor

    Perceptual Distortion is one of those rare albums that takes time to appreciate. Unlike most of today's pop music, which aims to grab the listener on first listen, this disc's reach goes beyond the superficial level on which most pop records attempt to communicate. Musically and sonically, as one of the reviewers below notes, Perceptual Distortion has a cinematic quality about it, particularly in its use of world music elements and club-friendly rhythms. Lyrically and vocally, the songs are almost nakedly passionate, their protagonists struggling to maintain a sense of hope in a world gone awry, where war, hunger, and disillusion are the order of the day. You'll never hear Britney singing about any of this stuff, that's for sure. The disc, which I've owned since last summer, has taken time to grow on me. On the first couple of listens, I really liked the instrumentals, but cringed a little at the songs, which initially sounded too earnest to these ears. On further listening, I've come to appreciate the album more and more, though, to be honest, the last three tracks still don't do much for me. Oddly enough, "Elsa Green", the song that I liked least on first listen, is now probably my favorite - or at least it's now the song I most identify with this album. In any event, R-Three clearly are not content to simply entertain; they want to engage the listener on a deeper level. They want you to care as much as they do. The choice is yours...

  • Perpetually Contorted Most Satisfactory
    author: Gordon Bell, Zurich, Switzerland

    Boy oh boy... this is one eclectic cross genre piece of work that is neatly stitched together on a centrally themed cut of silk. It's probably the most interesting work I've heard in the past year. The number of instruments on it speak volumes for the experience you're going to have listening to it. Keys, Vocals, drums, Percussion loops, samples, Theramin, Radio, Guitars, Loops, Violin and more. It definitely has parts that remind me strongly of Roger Waters' 'Amused to Death' which was probably my favourite and most listened to album of the 90s. Not only in it's sound - lush arrangements mixed with static bursts of pointed radio excerpts - but also in it's central themes. These being man, religion, civilization and just how messed up everything really is but not without a dash of humour. Vocally I get strong shades of Peter Gabriel's earlier albums, but this is only conveyed in three centrepiece songs. The rest is really rather mindblowing stuff. I kept getting reminded of Stanley Kubrik's 2001. You know the bits that have that great big monolith lurking menacingly and enigmatically. It's a highly cinematic soundscape with strong leitmotifs throughout that give all the tracks a strong omnipotent coherence. They all blend with each other exceptionally well while not being the same. The delivery appears suprisingly easy given the complexity. With the mixing of styles, the sheer detail in the textures and the lush depth that is presented here, this an album that serves as something of a masterclass in production values. It's a seriously hard album to pinpoint to any particular genre with the eclecticism contained in it. World, jazz, rock, electronica, dance, pop, ambient, classical: it seriously knows no bounds, but the crucial thing is that R-three really pulls it off masterfully in a way that few artists could. I suppose if I were to create a genre for this it'd have to be 'cinematic' as it definitely goes a long way further than soundtrack music in the fact that the visuals are so contained in the music itself. Go grab yourself a copy, lay down in your cozy armchair and let yourself drift into this celluloid technicolour extravangaza for the ears. A real recommended trip it is indeed.

  • great sonic adventure
    author: René

    Perceptual Distortion is a great sonic adventure on which Rhett Redelings and his bandmates take you through all kinds of music-styles. Progressive rock, ambient, classical music, nu-jazz, trip hop, you name it, it's all there, without sounding like a record from 20 different bands. R-Three has an own voice, in which sphere is more important than solo's (which are hardly there). Something between Roger Waters and Parallel Or 90 Degrees, with Holger Czukay & Brian Eno helping out, or something like that. And when you order this CD you get the chance to download some free extra tracks, which show another side of Redelings. Don't miss it!

email

Please log in to email this artist.