The economic barriers to art making have been getting increasingly frustrating for years; getting a project to the finish line feels like a miracle these days, and that makes an album like Absolutely (Spring 2025, Carrier Records) so much more powerful. The first album by Dem isn’t just six improvisations – it’s a testament to building and supporting community, with each track featuring a guest vocalist. Look no further than the song titles: “Perhaps,” “Maybe,” “Probably,” “Possibly,” “Weather Permitting,” and “Stoughly.” Each song asks the question, “Can we make this happen?” and the sum of the record answers back: “Absolutely.”
The trio at the center of Dem (a slanted way of saying “them” – or is it short for “Democratic,” as in the democracy of making choices together in real time?) is made up of Cenk Ergün and Jeff Snyder on electronics and Jason Treuting on drums. All three are composers and improvisers, and it shows in the music; there is just as much attention paid to form and function within each piece as there is to each individual sound.
“Perhaps,” while featuring vocals by composer Samita Sinha, really shows off Treuting’s non-stop, energetic drumming. For my money, I’d be very happy to just listen to Treuting play frantic break beats on his own, but there’s so much texture with the full group. Single spoken syllables from Sinha are reinterpreted by the electronics and processed into bubbling metallic waves, at times syncing up with the drums, and at others, creating a tense push and pull that propels the track forward. The rare moments when Treuting suddenly injects space or drastically changes a beat for a second are extremely infectious, making “Perhaps” a great “leave them wanting more” opener.
The drums are much more in service to the electronic soundscape on “Maybe,” featuring active syllabic vocal improvisations by composer and singer Charmaine Lee. The track illuminates how nothing is ever truly 100% improvised – improvisers are drawing, at least in part, from a lifetime of sound exploration, techniques, and previously learned songs as a method of creating space for experimentation. There are moments in this sea of non-pitched sounds and electronic waves that feel so powerfully orchestrated, but that doesn’t take away from the magic of the music: it’s either an improvised moment from a rehearsal that the group returns to as a landmark, or it’s a great moment of spontaneity – an argument for the value of improvisation.
Charmaine Lee–Photo courtesy charmainelee.bandcamp.com
“Maybe” seamlessly transitions into “Probably,” an ambient soundscape with sandpaper-like electronics that give the piece a rhythmic energy missing from later ambient explorations. The transition between tracks is actually easy to miss; if you’re not paying close attention, “Probably” feels like a natural left turn halfway through the preceding track. Vocals on “Probably” are provided by the Berlin-based countertenor Rupert Enticknap, and the trio is fully in service to constructing sounds around the high-register airiness of his voice.
Charmaine Lee returns for “Possibly,” the standout track on the record. Treuting’s deep grooves are bursting with energy, while a bass line – filtered to the point of being unpitched – is either a complicated polyrhythm or just out of time. Meanwhile Lee’s vocals are processed into guttural moans and bird-like pops. The form of “Possibly” more or less repeats halfway through, but with a different electronic soundscape, suggesting that the trio is working off some sort of map. Any part of Absolutely would be interesting to hear live, but a track with a more defined form like “Possibly” would be fascinating to hear in a less controlled environment.
“Weather Permitting” is Dem at its most ambient. Siren-like swells and irregularly timed electronic stabs are complemented by cymbal screeches and occasional feedback. Around the 2:30 mark, Cansu Tanrikulu begins a vocal melody that prompts a nice fake out: a flurry of activity from the electronics signals that Dem is about to get extremely loud and frantic, but just before they hit a breaking point, the trio quickly fades into silence.
Leila Adu — Photo by Leon Dale
“Stoughly” concludes the album with vocals by Leila Adu, which feature a few spoken words that are hard to fully make out with the aggressive filtering, but “What’s up?” definitely jumps out of the texture. The drums, which to this point have sounded unprocessed, are fully electronically processed here. It’s a driving beat, aided by additional electronic sounds, both percussive and sustained, that makes for an energetic end to an overall electrifying album.
The sense of collaboration on Absolutely is one of the album’s strongest elements, weaving instrument features and ensemble work into a cohesive and exciting listen. The addition of the guest vocalists enhances the already intriguing improvisations, although at times, there’s so much electronic processing happening on the vocals that it’s unclear who’s responsible for what. But Dem’s insistence on energy makes Absolutely stand out from a lot of other experimental improvisation projects. The group and their collaborators succeed in creating pieces full of interesting and individual sounds that are imbued with a sense of urgency; even the most serene, ambient soundscapes are filled with forward momentum. Absolutely is the feeling of going over the crest of a rollercoaster in the best way.
I CARE IF YOU LISTEN is an editorially-independent program of the American Composers Forum, and is made possible thanks to generous donor and institutional support. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author and may not represent the views of ICIYL or ACF.
You can support the work of ICIYL with a tax-deductible gift to ACF. For more on ACF, visit composersforum.org.
