''Dondestan'' is the fifth studio album by

Robert Wyatt Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is an English retired musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...

, released in 1991 on

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

. The title is a phonetic rendition of the Spanish expression "Donde están", translated as "nowhere" and "where are they". The cover art is by Wyatt's wife,

Alfreda Benge Alfreda "Alfie" Benge (born 1940) is an Austrian-born British lyricist and illustrator. She is the wife of musician Robert Wyatt, and the two have collaborated for more than fifty years. Benge has illustrated album covers for Wyatt and other music ...

. In 1998, the album was re-released on

Hannibal Records Hannibal Records was a British record label and one of the first to work with the World music genre. Hannibal was started by Joe Boyd in 1980. Boyd had produced records by artists such as Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band and Fairport Co ...

with a new mix and track order under the title ''Dondestan (Revisited)''. This was deemed necessary as the original project had gone over budget and had been mixed and released in "an exhausted rush".Wyatt, Robert - ''Dondestan (Revisited)'' liner notes

Music

''Dondestan'' fuses such genres as

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

, and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

; remote from the contemporary trends. The songs are minimalistic, sometimes featuring slightly brushed

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...

s and a

snare drum The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...

, as well as elementary keyboards, piano, and organ. Lyrically, AllMusic review divided the album into a more abstract written by

, while the other compositions went into a more politically oriented direction, "dealing with concerns such as

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, privatization, and the Communist Party", as well as abstract reflections on

postmodern Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting the wo ...

life ("N.I.O."). Wyatt delivers his lyrics with a "understated melancholy and subtle humor".

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Richie Unterberger deemed ''Dondestan'' to be "appealing enough that it may take a while for the subversive lyrical ideas to make themselves apparent". Thom Jurek, the AllMusic reviewer for the revisited version, remarked on the "fiting" change to the tracks order, which placed Hopper's and Benge's more poetic songs in the middle of the recording, acting as "bridges to Wyatt's political notions". When comparing the two versions, Jurek concluded that certain tracks, such as "Sight of the Wind", "Worship", and "Lisp Service", has been improved in the revisited version, gaining "ambient textures that were all but inaudible on the original, .making something already somewhat ethereal into a work almost ghostly with its hovering presence." Jurek considers the album to be a "great work of art a sublime one". In a mixed review, Ira Robbins, writing for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'', thought ''Dondestan'' takes "homey minimalism to the brink of creative indolence". Robbins liked the album's instrumental, written mostly in minor key and bringing "gentle gusts of melancholy bearing a chilly afternoon drizzle". However, Robbins didn't feel the lyrics written by Wyatt evoked "equal or even corresponding resonance", describing them as leaning "effetely Marxward, into vague musings like 'CP Jeebies', a wan consideration of Communist party factionalism, and 'Lisp Service', a gentle pox on imperialism". On the other hand, Robbins praised Benge's lyrics painting a "tableaux of nature and religion" and engaging the music as "sounds rather than visions". She singled out "Shrinkrap" as her highlight, an entertaining "whimsy about the cost of analysis, in the style of

Ian Dury Ian Robins Dury (12 May 1942 27 March 2000) was an English singer, songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the late 1970s, during the punk rock, punk and new wave music, new wave era of rock music. He was the lead singer and lyricist of Kilburn ...

". She summarized ''Dondestan'' as "crude juvenilia in an oasis of intelligence and understatement". Douglas Wolk of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', comparing ''Dondestan'' to Wyatt's previous album ''

Old Rottenhat ''Old Rottenhat'' is the fourth studio album by Robert Wyatt. It was released in November 1985, and in 1993 it was reissued in its entirety as part of the CD '' Mid-Eighties''. The album was produced and performed solo by Wyatt, and is dedicated ...

'', felt that both of them suffered from "on-the-fly production and chintzy keyboard presets", which made them sound like a "preliminary demo rather than something meant to be listened to". The problem that "redoubled on ''Dondestan''", however, he felt that some of the songs are "a bit livelier than ''Old Rottenhat''". Both Wolk and Robbins considered the title track to be tedious with "a nagging piano melody" layered with lyrics "Palestine's a country or at least used to be" repeated "ad nauseam".

Legacy

According to ''Pitchfork'', this album is partially responsible for inspiring "the practice of 'Wyatting'"—using public "jukeboxes and playing something that totally kills the mood".

Track listing

#"Costa" (Robert Wyatt,

) - 4:39 #"The Sight Of The Wind" (Robert Wyatt, Alfreda Benge) – 4:58 #"Catholic Architecture" (Robert Wyatt, Alfreda Benge) – 5:10 #"Worship" (Robert Wyatt, Alfreda Benge) – 4:50 #"Shrinkrap" (Robert Wyatt, Alfreda Benge) – 3:52 #"CP Jeebies" (Robert Wyatt) – 4:04 #"Left On Man" (Robert Wyatt) – 3:31 #"Lisp Service" (Robert Wyatt, music:

Hugh Hopper Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands. Biography Early career Starting i ...

) – 2:10 #"N.I.O. (New Information Order)" (Robert Wyatt) – 6:35 #"Dondestan" (Robert Wyatt) – 4:49

Revisited listing

#"CP Jeebies" – 4:04 #"N.I.O. (New Information Order)" – 6:37 #"Dondestan" – 5:01 #"Sight Of The Wind" – 4:57 #"Shrinkrap" – 3:51 #"Catholic Architecture" – 5:02 #"Worship" – 5:52 #"Costa (Memories Of Under-Development)" – 4:09 #"Left On Man" – 3:31 #"Lisp Service" – 2:13

Personnel

*Robert Wyatt - tracks 1, 2, 3, 9 *Wyatt (music) and

(lyrics) - tracks 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 *

(music) and Wyatt (lyrics) - track 10

References

Notes

Citation

External links

* {{Authority control 1991 albums Robert Wyatt albums Rough Trade Records albums