Reissue of this 1999 release and out of print since a long time. Some reviews at the time of release : « After a tentative opening consisting of damp harmonic scrapes, the piece takes off like a single-engined light aircraft when Maranha kickstarts his four-motored piano effect and then starts to tease single notes from the bubbling background with his bow. This is a great and physically affecting slab of sound, where the slightest minimal shift causes tectonic plates to groan. It’s gravy train stuff for fans of Maryanne Amacher, Arnold Dreyblatt and - perhaps Maranha’s major influence - Phill Niblock. » David Keenan - The wire (aug. 99) « David Maranha, one third of Osso Exotico, recorded a hauntingely beautiful piece in New York, using four motors and a violin bow to play the grandpiano. The motors create rich textures of overtones that slowly go in and out of phase and make unknown harmonies audible. The bow plays something like the melody off and on. There is a very special thanks to Phill Niblock and if you know his music, then you know what to expect as it fits his tradition of minimal music very well. » Frans de Waard - Vital weekly
“Cai-Bem” is a splendid addition to the already extensive discography of David Maranha. It is also the first full-length vinyl LP in Tanuki Records’catalogue. There is a story behind this new album, although you would not guess what it is, unless told. Keen to explore new ways of playing, as he has done during his whole career since he began playing with his band Osso Exotico in the 1980’s, Maranha suggested that they should all play other instruments that their regular ones. He himself switched his organ for the drums, Manuel Mota is on bass, Margarida Garcia on the organ and Miguel Abras on a fostex 4 track tape recorder and voice. Crafting their music as acoustic drone compositions, Maranha and his ensemble play primarily with time. Their compositions are less about inventing new structures every time, than about the paradoxical challenge of building a stasis retaining the forcefulness of a forward motion. In this case the unusual and eerie sounds they coaxed from their newfound instruments adds new layers to the psychedelic power of this great record. (bd)
Margarida Garcia – Organ. Miguel Abras – Multitrack magnetic cassette tape deck, voice and shruti box. Manuel Mota – bass. David Maranha – Drums and shruti box. Recorded at Violante do Céu by David Maranha on the 20th of April 2017. Mixed by David Maranha in Violante do Céu, between 8th and 14th of May 2017. Mastered by Tó Pinheiro da Silva in Oeiras on the 17th of May 2017. Cover art by Allon Kaye. 250 Copies