Kieran Hebden and Steve Reid The Exchange Session Vol. 2

• Words: Max Herman
• Label: Domino
• XLR8R Rating: /10

On the second part of the real-time soundclash between instrumentalist Kieran Hebden and drummer/jazzman Steve Reid, these two sonic innovators manage to match the spontaneous chaos of the first Exchange Session. What begins as an ambient experience transforms into a blast of sampled horns and bleeps on track one, and then cools down into a tribal-like tranquility on track two only to re-intensify; the eerie calm of the third and final track properly closes out this exploratory union. How Reid and Hebden manage to keep up with each other here is baffling and, if anything, their inexplicable chemistry is primarily what makes these albums worthwhile.