Catalytic by Sameer Gupta & Ben Tyree

There have been many catalysts for the musical partnership of percussionist Sameer Gupta and guitarist Ben Tyree. The pandemic, for one; suddenly, the fact of being near neighbors in Brooklyn’s Prospect Heights neighborhood took on a profound new significance. Then there were the national protests that arose in the wake of racial violence, which prompted a sense of mission. Both of those factors provided a sense of urgency to the duo’s exhilarating 2020 debut, Unruly Neighbors.

Aside from those weightier issues, however, there’s simply the spark that these two creative artists find in playing with and off of one another, that same (al)chemical reaction that is the essence of any musical success story. That feeling is captured in the title of Gupta and Tyree’s mesmerizing second album, Catalytic. The suggestion of a potentially explosive reaction is vividly realized in the sonic explorations crafted from Tyree’s alternately piercing, ephemeral and corrosive fretwork and the questing, chameleonic rhythms of Gupta’s hybrid tabla/drumkit.

That the title of Catalytic (due out December 6 via Tyree’s Sonic Architectures imprint) stems from a casual conversation on the February day when the session was recorded at Gupta’s home doesn’t diminish its significance. In fact, the scraps of inside jokes and dialogue that titled the five improvisations on the album point to the easy camaraderie shared by the duo, a shared sensibility that shines through the music they create together, even at its most fraught and abstract.

“There's so much freedom in this project to explore and be as spontaneous as possible,” Gupta describes. “Ben and I are very open with each other, so we can tap into our life experiences when we work together and have an open door as far as what's informing the things that we play. It develops as a continuous story, with each piece becoming a snapshot in time along our continuum. For me, that development is always compelling.”

The bristling energy of Unruly Neighbors was all the more remarkable for having been recorded remotely, familiar now as a necessary evil of the COVID era. Catalytic was recorded in person, a situation that vastly expanded the possibilities of this singular collaboration.

“We channeled a lot of the energy of the pandemic into the first album,” Tyree says. “We really drew on that sense of the unknown, feeling emotionally raw but wanting to be proactive artistically. Being able to finally get together in person for Catalytic turned out to be really cathartic and allowed us to use far more colors from our palettes.”

Gupta and Tyree had previously worked together as part of much larger ensembles, including Burnt Sugar: The Arkestra Chamber and Brooklyn Raga Massive, but recognized the potential in fusing their two voices. Unruly Neighbors comprised a combination of structured ideas, including a transportive rendition of the 15th century Scottish folk song “The Water Is Wide,” along with back-and-forth improvisations. Catalytic is entirely improvised in real time, and thrives on the instantaneous reaction generated by sharing ideas in the moment. There is both a greater sense of space as well as a scintillating combustibility in this date as compared to its predecessor.

Opener “Atoms and Steam” takes its name from a Simpsons reference, but the title captures the elusive airiness of the piece, built on Tyree’s keening, evanescent drone loop. Gupta adds tabla rhythms, at first tenuous and probing, then buoyant, as Tyree launches into a spiraling, serrated solo. Gupta’s switch from tabla to traps accelerates the outing into a blistering torrent.

Gupta begins “Rift” with an insistent drumkit rumble, to which Tyree responds with shimmering, metallic guitar swells. An agitated tension is maintained for nearly the first half of the ten-minute improvisation, before tabla eases the tumult. “Only Wrong Answers” echoes a popular social media meme, but in isolation the title suggests a shared love of the unexpected. Not that any of the duo’s reactions ever seem “wrong,” especially as Tyree lays down skronky funk lines over Gupta’s infectious tabla groove, but each successive invention makes for a jolting new twist in the tune.

The transcendent, borealis-like “Love Ancestral” was the one piece undertaken with some prior intent, as the duo decided to reflect on the losses they’ve incurred over the past few turbulent years. In particular the track is dedicated to the late critic and bandleader Greg Tate, whose Burnt Sugar Tyree worked with for a number of years.

It takes album closer “Squall” a hefty chunk of its eleven minutes to live up to its tempestuous title, but the roiling, simmering quality generated by Gupta’s staggered, unpredictable rhythms and Tyree’s gnarled lines feel like the uneasiest of calms before the storm.

What makes the partnership of Gupta and Tyree so thrilling is their moment-to-moment sense of discovery, something that the listeners to Catalytic can feel themselves sharing with its creators as these spontaneous compositions unfold. “We knew we wanted to dive in on the deep end with this album,” Tyree says, “and that takes a lot of surrender and trust.”

“That's one thing that connects us in this music,” Gupta adds. “There's a sense that we can jump off and wherever we land, we're going to find some music.”

by: Shaun Brady

Guitarist Ben Tyree is a performer and composer of virtuosic ability, infectious groove, and eclectic tastes. These elements are placed on stunning display on albums released by his Sonic Architectures label (re:Vision - 2010, Thoughtform Variations - 2012, Burn It! LIVE - 2014, Lifelines - 2020, Sameer Gupta + Ben Tyree = Unruly Neighbors - 2020, & Sameer Gupta & Ben Tyree: Catalytic - 2022).

bentyree.net