Review

 

Residual features Peter Knight and Dung Nguyen who are both members of the acclaimed cross-cultural jazz ensemble Way Out West. In this project the pair develop unique approaches to combining Vietnamese and Western music elements in a contemporary setting employing innovative extended techniques applied to traditional Vietnamese instruments and trumpet along with spontaneous electro-acoustic composition.

Dung's instruments have a range of possibilities that are rarely explored. In particular the single string dan bau offers amazing possibilities with its indeterminate pitch and unearthly timbre. Similarly the 16-string zither, the dan tranh, has a range of possibilties rarely explored. In Residual Dung explores several unconventional tuning systems he has developed as well as a range of preparations for the instrument creating a range of tonal and percussive effects.