Z Sides

Z Sides is a 2024 studio album by Fred Frith's United States experimental rock group Cosa Brava. It comprises a sound collage of extracts from live mixes of the band's musical improvisations performed on tour between March 2008 and May 2012.^[1][2]

Z Sides
Studio album by Cosa Brava
Released	September 23, 2024 (2024-09-23)
Recorded	March–May 2008, May 2012
Genre	Experimental rock free improvisation
Length	46:39
Label	Klanggalerie (Austria)
Producer	Fred Frith
Cosa Brava chronology
The Letter (2012) Z Sides (2024)

Background

Z Sides was conceived by The Norman Conquest (aka Norman Teale^[3]), Cosa Brava's sound manipulator who created soundscapes for the group's music, and live mixes during their concerts.^[3] Cosa Brava's live songs often contained segments of improvised music, and The Norman Conquest assembled a collection of extracts from these improvisations performed in concerts between March 2008 and their last European tour in May 2012. Using these extracts, Fred Frith and The Norman Conquest built a sound collage to create "an imaginary stand-alone performance"^[1] that they called Z Sides.^[2]

Reception

Cosa Brava's two previous albums were generally well received by critics,^[4][5] with All About Jazz describing their music as "somewhere between folk, Celtic, modern chamber, Latin, funk, Eastern, and prog-rock".^[4] Eyal Hareuveni at salt peanuts* noted that Z Sides is very different from Cosa Brava's two studio albums and their "genre-defying" songs. She wrote, "Z Sides distills and reimagines the infinite musical imagination of Cosa Brava and proves that beauty is indeed an elusive and strange thing."^[2] A reviewer at Squidear wrote Z Sides "captures the group's dynamic interplay and remarkable inventiveness".^[6]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Cosa Brava.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Vinljubo"	6:24
2.	"Stagraink"	2:57
3.	"Vivial"	3:30
4.	"Zueberi"	3:40
5.	"Genevial"	2:21
6.	"Koegra"	2:45
7.	"Nuregra"	5:25
8.	"Veniena"	4:27
9.	"Bolnunium"	2:30
10.	"Oklanial"	3:24
11.	"Bezuinbonur"	5:30
12.	"Boljana"	3:46

Source^[1]

Personnel

• Fred Frith – guitar, bass guitar (2008), voice
• Matthias Bossi – drums, voice
• Carla Kihlstedt – violin, voice
• Zeena Parkins – keyboards, voice
• Shahzad Ismaily – bass guitar (2012)
• The Norman Conquest – creative live sound

Source^[1]

Recording and production

• The Norman Conquest – concept, editing
• Fred Frith – editing, production, photography
• Lisa Robotka – layout

Source^[1]

Recording locations

Improvisations used on this album were extracted from the following Cosa Brava concerts:^[1]

• March 20, 2008 – 21 Grand, Oakland, California
• April 7, 2008 – Porgy and Bess, Vienna, Austria
• April 8, 2008 – Cankarjev Dom, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• April 9, 2008 – Teatro Fondamenta Nuove, Venice, Italy
• April 17, 2008 – Rote Fabrik, Zurich, Switzerland
• April 19, 2008 – AMR Jazz Club, Geneva, Switzerland
• May 16, 2008 – Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV), Victoriaville, Quebec
• May 11, 2012 – Hall Toll, Stavanger, Norway
• May 12, 2012 – Norrlandsopernmusicbox Black Box, Umeå, Sweden
• May 13, 2012 – Stadtgarten, Cologne, Germany
• May 14, 2012 – Tafelhalle, Nuremberg, Germany
• May 15, 2012 – Generalmusikdirektion, Graz, Austria
• May 16, 2012 – Progr, Turnhalle, Bern, Switzerland
• May 18, 2012 – Treibhaus, Innsbruck, Austria
• May 18, 2012 – The Moods, Zürich, Switzerland
• May 19, 2012 – Teatro San Leonardo, Bologna, Italy