Chris Dowd, after leaving Fishbone released this solo album, not as the name of Chris Dowd, but as "The Seedy Arkhestra." This "Arkhestra(Arkestra?)" naming is derived from the name of the band which Sun Ra once called his own band. Sun Ra...charismatic keyboard player in Free Jazz field, Chris admired him so much and this album is dedicated to Sun Ra.
The role Chris was playing in Fishbone was very important. Crazy stage action which was almost equal to Angelo, song writings, talent as a singer...i felt very sorry when i heard of his leaving from Fishbone. But, i came to think i somehow understand the reason why he left the band.
In terms of musical elements here, such as ska, reggae, R&B, etc... are not so different from that we could see in Fishbone's sounds, but the touch of the sounds of this album is totally different from Fishbone's. Although three songs from the beggining are danceable, the rest of all songs are "lover's rock" with slow tempo. These tunes seem to show the gentle and delicate side of Chris's inner visions. Are these songs what he really wanted to play and sing? If so, it is understandable he became inconsistent with the aggressive side of Fishbone's world.
The melodic and sentimental ballads after forth in this album. Here, Chris is dramatically singing up about the painful, bitter state of mind when we're in love. Although same tasted slow-tempo songs line, they never bore us because each melody line is unique at every song.
This is an album which make us feel like being softly touched the most delicate point of mind. This has gentle, and a little painful feeling. After the release of this work, till the summer of 2003, we haven't heard about Chris' solo works at all. Many people are looking forward to his new piece, right?
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