Chris Corsano - The Young Cricketer

“Chris Corsano is fast becoming one of those musicians who needs no introduction or career summary at the start of record reviews. He’s already recently crossed over into the mainstream thanks to his work for Bjork on her Volta album, and is now quite rightly regarded as one of the very finest drummers of his generation. The Young Cricketer plays out like a showreel for Corsano’s miraculous dexterity and virtuosity as a drummer. It’s a set of recordings made during Corsano’s time living in Manchester back in 2006 utilising all manner of objects and apparatus to offset and treat his drumkit, often morphing its sound into something unrecognisable. A good example of this would be Corsano’s bizarre sticky tape/snare drum combination, in which he attaches one piece of tape to the drum surface, while stretching the other end to tension. The drum acts as a kind of amplification chamber for the resonant creaking sound made when Corsano runs his fingers across the bottom of the tape – it’s difficult to visualize but as documented here, it sounds pretty incredible. Quite at odds with the records he’s made his name on (all those collaborations with the likes of Paul Flaherty, C. Spencer Yeh Dream/Aktion Unit et al), The Young Cricketer is a beautifully recorded album, with Corsano’s expanded kit occupying a vast stereo field, and every percussive gesture allotted its own distinct place in the mix. Consequently, this is probably the most thorough representation of Corsano’s near peerless drumming yet committed to record and stands as a pretty indispensable document for all lovers of free music and percussive invention. Stunning.”

2006 THE YOUNG CRICKETER