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bubblesandgutz · 5 years ago

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Every Record I Own - Day 464: Goat Commune

Here’s the bio I wrote for Sub Pop for Goat’s Commune album:

There is no direct association between mysterious Swedish psychedelicists GOAT and revered Argentinian master of magical realism, Jorge Luis Borges. Yet their mission appears to be the same. Borges generated his ideas from historical curiosities across the globe—gaucho knife duels on the South American plains, Middle Eastern heresiarchs plotting treacheries in secret libraries, Chinese pirates waging wars against the Emperor—and twisted them into fictions that blurred the lines between fortified footnotes and outright fantasy. GOAT’s sound is the sonic manifestation of this principle, as evidenced in their aptly-named debut album World Music, which incorporated elements of Nigerian afrobeat, German krautrock, Anatolian funk, and a host of other global micro-niches into a hallucinatory cultish celebration of rock’s diverse manifestations. Deprived of the requisite band biography, early experiencers World Music’s electrified tribalism and lysergic compositions had the inevitable questions regarding the origin and timeframe of the recordings. The truth only became knottier every time the elusive GOAT collective provided their cryptic answers.

GOAT’s sophomore album, Commune, continues on with World Music’s acidic grooves, hypnotic incantations, and serpentine guitar lines. And the individual identities involved with the records remain shrouded in mystery: GOAT spokespersons maintain that the group is merely an ongoing multi-generational collective of musicians from the isolated Swedish locality of Korpilombolo. Located north of the Arctic Circle, the town is a junction of native Sami people, Scandinavian settlers, and the rare infiltration of wayfaring outsiders. GOAT’s recorded output is a fermentation of the region’s traditional songs, which are a conglomerate of outside influences culled over the course of the last century. Beyond that, GOAT is willing to divulge very little. The secrecy of the individual members and the dearth of information on Korpilombolo do little to substantiate or refute GOAT’s claims. It’s almost as if GOAT are taking cues from Borges’ short story “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”, wherein a clandestine enclave of intellectuals attempt to create a new reality by inserting articles on a fictitious foregone state and its puzzling culture into modern encyclopedias. Borges’ secret society wanted their heretical ideologies to infiltrate common thought through an invented past; GOAT wants to revitalize the communal experience of rock music by creating an alternate origin story.

Starting with the layered percussive groove, Eastern guitar flourishes, and convoking vocals of “Talk To God”, Commune re-establishes the trance-inducing rhythms and exotic blaze of guitar that characterized World Music. That spellbound pulse delves into darker and more propulsive territories on “Words” and “Goatslaves”, while “Goatchild” veers towards the transcendental pop of ‘60s Bay Area rock. The vintage psychedelic vibe permeates through songs like “The Light Within” and “To Travel The Path Unknown”—tracks that suggest that these rural Swedes operate on the same wavelength as the Turkish psych-folkies recently rediscovered by reissue labels like Finders Keepers. Commune reaches its apex when GOAT’s hymnal invocations meet a heavy doze of proto-metal fuzz on “Hide From The Sun” and “Gathering of Ancient Tribes”. Given the band’s lexicon and choice of iconography, it’s tempting to project pagan ritualism onto the sounds conjured by the collective, but the band asserts that the album seeks a more universal spirituality. “Goat is mainly a symbol of sacrifice. To sacrifice the individual for the collective good. To become one with the rest of humanity and universe,” said one unnamed GOAT co-conspirator in a rare piece of correspondence.

“We often talk about how all music is world music and all other genres are old fashioned,” the collective member continued. “All you can hear is the universal similarity between all music. The music from some old cult in northern Sweden can be the same as the music from wherever.” And with that philosophy, GOAT is propagating their crossbred music and mysticism by sharing Commune with the entire world via Seattle indie stalwart Sub Pop Records and touring the globe relentlessly into 2015. And while we’ll never see GOAT’s faces on the cover of a glossy magazine, their intoxicating conjurations are poised to infiltrate our collective psyche with the subversive magical allure of a Borgesian fable.

#goat #everyrecordiown

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midnightiscoming-kasabian · 5 years ago

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Nine Songs: Serge Pizzorno [1/2]

Kasabian’s Sergio Pizzorno talks Maddy Smith through the songs that have soundtracked his hit-filled career, and why he’s taking on an escapist solo project with The S.L.P.

“I always think that there’s a Japanese take on western culture. One where you can get a different eye looking at society. It’s a cartoonish way of looking at the world.”

A shaven leopard print fade, suede tiger print shirt and cheetah print jacket is not the typical get-up of someone who takes themselves too seriously. Kasabian’s creative force Sergio Pizzorno is just that - a character with a unique view of the world. As we sit down to chat in a London café, Pizzorno’s laid-back demeanour is somewhat at odds with his aggressively loud attire. Discussing his approach to song writing he reflects on a career that spans two decades riddled with no. 1 albums, and he stresses the importance of comedy and light-heartedness in a world that can often take itself too seriously.

“It’s all very visual and imagery is really important, I like to set little scenes in my lyrics, and humour as well. I think there has to be a little twist, or a little darkness, like in ‘Vlad the Impaler’. Calling a track that is ridiculous, so there’s a cartoonish nature to it as well. But ‘Underdog’ actually is about the love of the underdog and ‘Fire’ is about when you keep rolling sixes, when you just can’t miss. ‘Thick as Thieves�� and tracks like that are little stories. I think films and cinema are important, I feel like a lot of my ideas come from that world.”

With five no. 1 albums, a Glastonbury headline set and a wealth of worldwide tours behind him, Kasabian’s guitarist and songwriter meets me in the run up to a new challenge with the release of upcoming solo album, The S.L.P. Featuring Little Simz and Slowthai, he explains the reasons behind his solo venture. “I wanted to make an album where I can collaborate and it’s easier to do that when it’s with a different project. It was almost to create a world that you can visit every now and again. It gives you total freedom; you can be in the studio with anyone, see what happens and that’s really exciting.”

From his tongue-in-cheek dirgy, paleontological lyrics, zesty fashion sense, to the left-field tracks in his nine songs, it’s clear to see an eclectic pattern emerge; a comical twist on the everyday but also on life’s darker tangents. Catching a glimpse of the luminous socks peeking out of his shoes (which are emblazoned with a product available in Amsterdam coffee shops - you know the ones) I inwardly chuckle as I’m reminded that all too often we get caught up in cynicism, and think back to those infamous words from ‘Vlad the Impaler’ where Noel Fielding rigidly terrorises unassuming locals in ‘80’s horror movie fashion through barren fields. “Get loose, Get loose.”

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“Dragonaut” by Sleep

“There’s a wicked film called Gummo, have you seen it? This song is on the soundtrack and it’s got that Sabbath thing going on, which we were looking for around our second album. The first album sort of blew up and we were quickly becoming quite big. We went in to record the second album with that in mind, we wanted to have heavy guitars for the live sound, that tone and that evilness, that heavy sort of drone in ‘Dragonaut’ - we just wanted to create some of that.

“It was a big contrast to what the first album was. It was becoming this band on this escapade, so we fell into that and life just got insane. We wanted to make a really heavy record to reflect that, the guitar was at the forefront because we played live every night, so we wanted to take that attitude and capture it in the studio.

“This track has that dirgy sound that I love, for me that will go to a lot of different areas but at the core, groove, flavour and flow is so, so important. We used to call it “The push” because if it pushes, it’s laid back behind the beat.

“It’s funny, because if you know that a musician has got it or a band has got it, it’s like you’re in that clique - ‘I know why you like that, because it’s got that flavour.’ You can listen to a hip-hop tune or a heavy metal tune and somehow get it. I think that was the appeal with making Empire, it was to retain that, ‘Okay, it’s going to be heavy and it’s going to be distorted, but we still need to retain that flavour and that push.’”

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“Revenge of the Black Regent” by Add N to (X)

“I love their album Avant Hard, it’s way, way ahead of the game. It must have been the late ‘90s when I discovered it, around ‘98 or ‘99. I used to work in a clothes shop when I was about 18 or 19 and in the square where the shop was there was a record store. We got on with the guy there and he told me I’d love this record. So on the Monday, when the new records would come out, I put that on instantly and thought ‘What is going on here?’

“They were really ahead of the curve with ‘Revenge of the Black Regent’. Add N to (X) were using all these synths that I’d never heard of, that’s when I started to really research and get into the synth world and I became a complete synth nerd.

“What’s interesting is what people can hear compared to what you’re actually listening to. Say with our first album, when people said it sounded like Primal Scream or Happy Mondays and all this, we were actually listening to Add N to (X), that’s where we were getting that sound you can hear on the first record. It’s almost like they didn’t dig deep enough to realise what we were into, and where we were getting our inspiration from.

“‘Revenge of the Black Regent’ is really minimal, there’s hardly any layers and the girl’s voice is amazing; ethereal and floaty, it’s so good. The synths are amazing and the flavour’s there again that I love. There’s a horror to it as well, a darkness to it. It celebrates that feeling of discomfort or like you’re feeling a little on edge. It looks like there’s a thread to these tunes!”

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“A To G” by Blackalicious

“That’s going back! For me, the lyrics from Gift of Gab - who’s part of Blackalicious - have such an amazing wittiness and humour about them. Blackalicious are so good at that, combining cleverness and wittiness with that melody and production on the track.

“My friend used to DJ in Leicester as a hip-hop DJ and he used to get me all of these albums. He played that out to me one time, it was that wordplay and the artistry in connecting words and meaning that grabbed me, and the flow on ‘A to G’ blew my mind.

“There’s humour in the song and I feel that’s also important. At the forefront I think humour plays a big part of my taste; there’s humour in all these tracks - even in ‘Revenge of the Black Regent’ and ‘Dragonaut’. I find something quite absurd about them, but I think if you’re writing something that’s a bit weird and wacky it’s really important for people to be in on the joke.

“We actually managed to work with Blackalicious and get a remix done of ‘Take Aim’ by them. We’re going to get that on YouTube at some point, which is amazing. That was great.”

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“Plateau” by Meat Puppets

“I came late to the game with grunge. At the time I was a bit young, the rave scene had a massive effect on me and grunge was so far from what I was into. I think back in the day you didn’t tend to like everything, you’d say you were more into grunge, or into hip-hop, or a certain scene; it was very tribal.

"So I couldn’t really connect the dots to Nirvana and grunge, and at the time I missed the wave of grunge. But then when I got into guitar music later on - maybe in the late 90s - I found Nirvana. I heard Kurt talk about Meat Puppets, I think they covered them on MTV’s Unplugged? “Again, it’s the vocal on this track - “And an illustrated book about birds” - you can’t not smirk at that, it’s so far off. It’s the brittleness of the sound, it feels like at any point it’s going to fall to pieces - and I just love that, I like broken stuff. In the studio I play with guitars that are really old and have got one string on them, so I feel like I really connect with this ramshackle, rustic sound and I just want to be in that band. I want to be in the Meat Puppets - I feel like they operate in a whole other world.”

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“Six Days” by DJ Shadow

“I’ve spoken about ‘Organ Donor’ quite a lot, but with this track I think the words are really powerful, especially with everything that’s going on at the moment. He talks about “Tomorrow never knows until it’s too late.” It’s a very powerful message and it’s where the world is right now.

“DJ Shadow has always been a massive inspiration and I cite him as the reason that I make music now, because of how big an impact that first album Endtroducing..... had on me and how it made me look at music. He combines a sort of psych/folk with a beat with more of an electronic focus.

“As long as there’s people willing to experiment with synths and electronic influence in rock music - and I like to think there is - I think it will stay popular. Those waveforms must do something to some people’s ears. It’s funny when you hear people getting synths really wrong though, because it’s very obvious. I think you should have to have a licence. There’s certain synths that I hear on records that are so bad, it’s ‘Put that away! Please stay away from pre-sets and do some research if you want to get involved in experimenting with synths. Don’t just pull out a keyboard and start to make music.’ You’ve really got to do your research.”

The Line of Best Fit | Words: Maddy Smith | 23 August 2019

#kasabian #sergio pizzorno #the s.l.p.#interviews #interviews 2019

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happymetalgirl · 5 years ago

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Batushka - Hospodi

I went into this album quite like many others aware of the shadiness involved in its culmination, ready to hate it and deride Krysiuk for his leechcraft against Drabikowski and bastardization of the Batushka name and legacy. And I think a lot of people are letting the indeed disturbing context surrounding Hospodi’s release really influence their perception of the album, which I’m not saying they don’t have the right to take into account when listening to it and deciding whether or not to financially support the apparent thievery at play here. But I think most of the vehement disdain for Krysiuk’s version of Batushka would have you think he was just some random trickster who walked in and snatched the rights to the band name like a phantom from out of nowhere. It seems like a lot of people forget that he was indeed part of Batushka since 2015, and part of the highly acclaimed Litourgiya; even if Drabikowski was the driving artistic visionary, Krysiuk was there and very much part of the band and immersed in their sound for a long time. So it would make sense that he be at least somewhat capable of rehashing the band’s aesthetic without Drabikowski’s assistance.

I should explain that I’m not saying this to vindicate any of Krysiuk’s unethical actions, more to provide a perspective from outside the tribal mindset that this ownership dispute has formed. It would be easy if the bad guy who stole the rights to the band was also terrible at his masquerade and obvious in his inauthenticity. It would be easy if it sounded like it was an obvious rip-off. But maybe Krysiuk isn’t as inept as so many of those critical (and justifiably so) of his sinister deception would like to see him as being.

I bring this up because so many people seem to be basing their criticism on this album being audibly distinguishable as inauthentic when I don’t think that will appear to be the case to those outside this whole debacle who might see the criticism as baseless and shrouded in bias. And I completely agree with the criticism of this album not being separable from the theft that spawned it and that needing to be addressed, but I think letting that criticism of artistic integrity spill carelessly into criticism of the art itself is inaccurate and potentially irresponsible. Again, it would be easy if it was obvious Krysiuk was a crook; Metal Blade maybe wouldn’t have signed him if they thought he couldn’t reproduce Litourgiya’s aesthetic at least superficially. It’s just one of those things that can be tempting to treat as black and white, good and evil, when (at least on the musical front) it’s probably best to treat as being a bit more nuanced.

Also, just before I get into the content of this album, I would like to clarify, just in case I came across as condescending to those who have expressed their hatred for this album, I’m not trying to act holier than thou or put words in your mouth, I bring this up because I can closely sympathize with your position. Like I said, I went in ready to hate this album, but the level of competence I heard here caught me off guard and forced me to re-evaluate my approach to assessing this contextually complicated album. From what I’m hearing, to argue that Bart is clearly not the rightful owner of the Batushka name because he’s making some kind of amateurish mockery of the name that anyone can hear is just not convincing enough. I'm not trying to act all high and mighty or be a dick, I promise. With that, I suppose it’s a good time to get into what the hell is actually on this album.

What the teaser tracks from Hospodi suggested of it being (kind of a combination of standard ambient black metal, symphonic black metal, and Batushka’s signature choral chants) are indeed representative of the album, and it’s this use of blackgaze-y tremolo picking and more build-up-focused post-metal song structures that many have pointed out as kind of the smoking gun that proves this album to be a half-baked attempt by a con artist to fraudulently recreate something that was never his to create. And I would agree that the long-winded and sometimes dragging and unfulfilling builds are the most notable difference between Hospodi and Litourgiya (and Panihida). The lengthy shoegazy guitar drones on songs like "Dziewiatyj Czas" and "Polunosznica" aim for the traditional post-rock/metal crescendo but don't really pay off or even get there and seem to serve as time filler to possibly mask a lack of other ideas of how to build anticipation. Indeed, Krysiuk seems to only have one or two ideas of how to do that crescendo when he gets there.

But just because Hospodi doesn't sound like an unaltered continuation of Litourgiya doesn't mean it sounds like complete trash. In fact, the production on here is pretty well-done with fine attention paid to the choral vocals to help them sound as lush as possible. Along with the sinister groove it transitions into, the choral backing over the rapid double-bass of "Wieczernia", while not as dynamic as similar sections on Litourgiya, is certainly a bright spot. As far as other highlights go, the incantation of the choirs that open the song "Utrenia", along with its uncharacteristic palm-muted chugging section are some of the better implementations of the choral metal sound, as well as the ethereal highs of the choir on "Szestoj Czas".

But it is certainly the choirs that carry this album and its noticeably less imaginative lead guitar work and drumming, to the point of being a crutch for the atmosphere of the traditional metal instrumental to lean on and quite possibly to provide cover for a certain artist's lack of confidence in his own ability to represent the Batushka sound at every angle. And even then, often the choirs aren't enough to prop the songs up in their barest sections, which are many.

As immersive and dicey as the whole conflict surrounding this band is, this is certainly just the beginning of it, as hardcore day-one fans, largely aligned with the legally stripped Drabikowski, will support him in any kind of square-up he gets into with the Metal Blade and Polish court-backed Krysiuk. And as interesting of a situation as it will be to see unfold, it's also a profoundly sad and disgusting one, one where it seems like a prominent metal label cosigned and thereby endorsed artistic, and therefore monetary, thievery and a subsequent miscarriage, or at least unfortunate procession, of justice. I know I was tempering the vitriolic reactions to this album's music in my intro, but after sitting with these two albums (Panihida and Hospodi), it's clear that Panihida is a more natural expression of what what at the heart of Batuska on Litourgiya, while Hospodi plays like an expensive, but distinguishable replica of the real thing. Despite Drabikowski being pressed for time to release his project, Hospodi is the album that sounds rushed. I mean if this was just some new band trying to blend the Eastern orthodox elements of Batushka with the sounds of American blackgaze and this was their debut album (which it kind of is), I wouldn't have any problem rating this a 6 or something and hoping for future refinement of the prototypic sound and artistic progress, but being that this is supposedly Batushka itself, this feels off. Krysiuk might claim artistic evolution for the significant change in sound, but this sounds like senseless regression at best, but more easily explained by it being a borderline amateur imitation rather than the real thing. And I can't help but see what so many other Batushka fans see in this conflict: a true artist robbed of his creation and unable to get it back except perhaps by the potentially futile fight for it through the continued output of music itself. And it's tempting to view that in a kind of romantic light, but again, I definitely don't want to downplay or understate the gravity of the injustice of the situation in the seemingly very likely case that Drabikowski is telling the truth, as his music suggests he is. For that reason, it being very likely that it was created through highly unethical means, as much as I might not hate the sound of it as much as most Batushka fans, I can not endorse this album. For all this terrible situation's dicey facets, at the end of it all at least one thing is left very simple. When the desire to hear the beauty of Batushka's music arises and presents a choice of listening to either Hospodi or Panihida, at least the most likely ethical choice is also the most pleasurable one. At least that part of all this is easy./10

#Batushka #Hospodi

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myrecordcollections · 6 years ago

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John Martyn

Inside Out

@ Mid 80s Germany Re-issue

*****

Of all the musicians who attempted to marry modern jazz/rock ideas with traditional British folk in the late '60s/early '70s, John Martyn was the most challenging and aggressive. He had others giving him a run for his money, sure -- Richard Thompson attacked the guitar with Sufi focus and clarity; Bert Jansch often employed a sharp, metallic edge in his work; and John Renbourn was capable of guitar maelstroms -- but when it came down to it, no one was as out-there as Martyn, as experimental in their approach, or as violent in their vocal delivery. Martyn could coo with the best of them, but he seemed more at home howling, growling, and slurring his lyrics over wildly distorted -- and Echoplex-laden -- guitar work. And while his early work with wife Beverly often rocked gently like American contemporaries The Byrds or national kin Fairport Convention, his solo albums, starting with 1968’s London Conversation, found him blending American blues, jazz, and world music to startling effect. 1970’s Stormbringer! introduced the Echoplex to his sound, and by 1973’s Solid Air and Inside Out, it had defined it; both albums bare little resemblance to what was going on in contemporary music, let alone folk at that time. But while Solid Air maintained significant footing in folk standards, Inside Out did not. This is Martyn cut loose: long stretches of distorted jazz punctuated by funky drum kit work, Danny Thompson’s slippery, singing double-bass, washes of saxophone, and Steve Winwood’s deft synthesizer coloring.

“It felt natural,” Martyn can be heard saying amidst studio clatter as the album starts, and it’s easy to see why the statement was included on the final recording. For all of Inside Out’s excursions and risks, the record does indeed feel “natural” -- a noted influence of the Coltranes (John and Alice) and their saxophonist Pharoah Sanders. Martyn confessed: “The only reason I bought the Echoplex was to try and imitate Sanders’ sustain on my guitar... I pursued the fuzz box and its various accompanying things just to try and get the sustain that you can get from a sax.”

Subsequently, Inside Out embraces multicultural dialog, with American, British, and African ideas all given equal footing. One of two songs not written by Martyn, “Eibhli Ghail chiuin ni Chearbhall” is the album’s most telling moment. A traditional folk melody is rendered nearly unrecognizable by the long passages of feedback and echo, bringing to mind the work of Brian Eno’s Here Come the Warm Jets. Considering the similarities, it’s not difficult to imagine Eno owning a copy of Inside Out. The second cover, "The Glory of Love," is one of the album’s sweetest moments, a poppy cut of bouncy bass and plucked blues guitar, with Martyn’s worn-in voice sounding genuine and tender.

Martyn’s originals are equally telling of his headspace at the time. Opener “Fine Lines” extols the virtues of friendship, noting the kinship Martyn felt with his collaborators, particularly Thompson, who was one of the few musicians able to keep up with his notorious drug and alcohol consumption. “Make No Mistake” makes explicit reference to said hard-living: "If I can’t be a happy man/ I won’t be one at all/ To be dead drunk on the floor/ To get up and ask for more/ If I can’t get everything I want/ I’ll just get what I can." Maryn’s reputation is legendary; the man was a brawler, prone to exploding, drink-fueled rage, and the music makes no attempt hide this. His voice is most easily recognizable as a punk rock attribute, but his guitar playing is just as defiant. On the largely instrumental “Outside In,” his playing veers from restrained to free-jazz explosive, and “Look In,” buoyed by a tribal, shifting groove, features a bevy of effects pedals, including his signature Echoplex augmented with wah-wah and fuzzed, bluesy leads.

And while Martyn’s work is often defined by its baiting stance, Inside Out is a testament to the struggle between his sneering idiosyncrasies and his desire to create truly transcendent music. “Beverly,” named for his wife, is a gorgeous instrumental, showcasing passion and grace while still incorporating the album's psychedelic touchstones. “Ways to Cry” is similarly unguarded; recalling the pastoral calm of Maryn’s friend Nick Drake, it blends the full band arrangements of Bryter Layter with the soft-focus acoustics of Pink Moon. "If I ever took another one/ I was crying for you," Martyn sings with guilty honesty. “So Much In Love With You” further states the album’s overarching message: “The concept of love is what Inside Out is all about,” Martyn said, and he sings "‘Cause I’m so much in love with you baby/ I just can’t seem to see it clear." The tension between being who you believe you should be and being who you are is ultimately what makes for such a compelling listen. Where previous album’s precariously balanced traditional forms with more experimental ones, the thrust of Inside Out is a personal balancing; the songs are fully out-there, but the spiritual tug of war is still very much occurring.

Martyn’s future work would find him performing with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, David Gilmour, and Lee “Scratch” Perry while exploring and integrating elements of electronica, reggae, and pop into his music. It’s debatable how listenable later albums like Glorious Fool are, but with an early canon containing so many undeniable gems, Martyn’s legacy is secured as one of the most electrifying, bizarrely singular artists of any genre. He passed away earlier this year, and Inside Out is certainly one of the best ways to remember and honor him. It is a contrarian, deeply personal album, featuring many of his most jaw-dropping songs.

Jason

#John Martyn #Inside Out #Folk #Jazz #Pop #Rock #singer-songwriter

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fluidsf · 6 years ago

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Various Artists: Classics from the Bluweirdo (2015) Reviewed format: DIY Limited Edition CD package released on FULLFRIDGE MUSIC Hey everyone, it's Christmas now but as I like to be productive and do my best always even during the holiday season I'm doing another review now. This one is one of my Christmas gifts this year, it's an excellent compilation released on FULLFRIDGE MUSIC in 2015 titled Classics from the Bluweirdo. The format I'm reviewing is the rather neatly designed DIY Limited Edition CD package. The package is a cardboard sleeve that folds out with a flap that locks or opens the packaging through a die cut hole. The compilation tracklist is printed on the lower flap, whilst the album credits are spread over the left and right flaps underneath. Inside there is a card that features the FULLFRIDGE discography up until that point, as well as the CD. Now as for the music on this compilation, I was really pleasantly surprised at how different this music sounds on this compilation. From start to end this compilation has this really interesting mysterious (Middle Eastern) vibe to it that blends experimental hazy atmospheres with often very bassy grooves and is often also pretty progressive both melodically and rhythmically. While I've come across experimental bass music before, hearing these artists on this varied compilation CD as a full 1 hour 8 minutes listen was quite a unique experience that feels quite beyond club vibes but goes into pretty surreal psychedelic territory actually. First track Chantal by Lokom is a track that's mostly beatless, though there are some drum sounds in the mix. It's a hypnotic piece full of tumbling mid frequency synths, synth bells and quirky synth squelches and sounds quite like an analog modular system, there's some noise in the track too, both used as part of the composition to build an intense climax as well as background noise that reveals a likely analog production of this track. Very nice progressive electronic droning piece that introduces us into the mysterious spacy sound of this compilation, both calming as well as unsettling in a subtle way. Then we have Hangoverkill by Don't DJ, a track that's mostly focused on Tribal sounding percussion, with bassy kick sounds. It's got a relatively slow pace and sounds very "live" performed, rather than programmed, which is particularly enhanced by the reverb. Its rhythms build slowly and progressively to include various bells, woodblock, delay effects in a hypnotic pattern. It has the atmosphere of a kind of prayer ritual to it, though the delay effects also add a quirky trippy edge to the piece, very nice. How to be good and complacent by Hasan Hujairi is the next track, the track features this rather quirky high synth melody that's got some nice portamento to it, as well as some nicely abstract "flapping" synth pattern over a slow sliced and stuttered breakbeat. Quite like a sonic picture of the title How to be good and complacent, sitting in a comfortable chair in a room, just chilling, being good. The quirky synths add all these notches of daily weirdness to it, the way every day has new fun impressions in it, even though you might just indeed be chilling in a chair. Peaceful comfort, having fun on your own. Next track Titre by Ahmed Saleh starts with a cool looped vocal sample with a great Middle Eastern sound to it over a synth drone that's layered with a glitched up synth, then an organ like resonant bass moves in and the piece slowly builds to the droning distorted notes of the main melody, which gives the piece a great influence of Shoegaze, sounding quite like a blend of drone, Shoegaze and Middle Eastern folk music as the drums enter in the second half of the piece. Quite an epic sounding composition and it's great how the bass varies in the second half, adding yet another layer of variation to an excellent, entrancing and richly detailed piece of music, quite dramatic and captivating too. Then we have Interceptor by Mock The Zuma which again has Middle Eastern influences in it, the string instrument melody, bass, vocal samples and beat all carry it in themselves. Interceptor is more of a bass music kind of track that blends swing laden drum patterns with a deep atmosphere, smooth warm bass and influences of Dub (Techno). It's continually grooving but also progressive, always changing and unfolding into new sonic branches over time, great stuff. Then we have the track Indo by Bombé which feels influence quite a lot by early Aphex Twin in its heavily percussive drum programming and mixture of atmospheric pads with Techno grooves, a kind of Ambient Techno that has added "tropical island vibes" with the sung vocal samples, very nice driving beats and a lovely progression in this track again too, both club ready as well as very suitable for home listening, great music. On the following track Cos, Dogboy chops up Dub Techno synth stabs in a kind of glitchy "minimal" techno variation of that sound, very minimal yet at the same time also very deep with the stabs and progressive in the constantly changing beats and manipulations, quality stuff right here. Warned Off by A Taut Line has a more Asian sound to it, with a lot of intense percussive elements and Asian pipe instrument drones throughout the track which are mixed with totally boss electronic beats. Quite a lot of details in this intense glitchy but also surprisingly atmospheric high tech club music piece, very good. Reutrn by Lindus Phrasen moves into to my ears more recently familiar territory with an Industrial Techno piece full of really cool dubby delayed percussion and distortion clangs and bangs with thick bassy kicks. Reminds me of music from the UNIDENTIED TECHNO LABEL I reviewed some time ago, but here are also some added atmospheric stabs which make the piece more chill in a way, a great mashup of Industrial and Dub Techno vibes as well as particularly musical Industrial rhythms. The next track Broken TV (Shinigami San remix) is part of a trio of tracks that form the last part of the compilation and are the most groove and bass focussed track on the compilation, they're not quite as progressive as the pieces before but are especially great in their sound design. In Broken TV (Shinigami San remix) this especially apparent in the hollow tones, metallic tones and glitchy percussion being used that gives the track a kind of mysterious sci-fi vibe. The 808 beat has a very detroit techno kind of sound to it tho the melodic content itself is very abstract and more resonant than melodic, a great groover with a unique futuristic sound. Tron by Synaptic is very bassy and has got some excellent catchy bass music vibes in it full with tasty clap rhythms, 808 hihats and triplet synth chops, pretty simple in arrangement but very catching and enjoyable beats. Closing track Syrup by Zoltan is shamelessly "trash-fi" in its production aesthetic full with phasing and distortion effects and a massive almost distorting bass, it's however also expertly crafted and very enjoyable and brings back the Middle Eastern percussive influences, pure bangin' wild bassy fun, great closer of this compilation. Classics from the Bluweirdo is a very enjoyable and varied compilation that blends experimental bass / club music vibes with Middle Eastern atmospherics and further experimentation to create a listening experience that's both mysteriously cinematic and club ready grooving. An excellent recommended listen for both fans of experimental and underground club / bass music genres and also anyone looking for a release of some really unique and fresh electronic music from a greatly varied selection of international artists. DIY Limited Edition CD package available from the FULLFRIDGE MUSIC Bandcamp page here: https://fullfridge-music.bandcamp.com/album/classics-from-the-bluweirdo-perspectives-on-sounds-with-a-world-fi-tribe

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k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9 · 2 years ago

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Soulfly - Prophecy

#Soulfly #Prophecy #Self titled #Release date: March 30th 2004 #Full-length #Genre: Nu-Metal with Tribal influences (early); Groove #Lyrical themes: Spirituality War Violence Slavery Politics #USA

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myremains · 4 years ago

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Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero

Tracklist:

Deconstructing Self-Destruction

Dream Gone Bad

Left of Center

Inner Calm From Outer Storms

Filthy Vagabonds

From A Crowded Wound

The Great Purge

Comfort From Nothing

Animus

Dead Limbs

Reluctant Hero

What a supergroup this is, I honestly could not think of a more enterprising combination of musicians and styles. You’ve got The Dillinger Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato and the legendary voice behind Sepultura and Soulfly Max Cavalera as the founding members, they then added Mastodon vocalist and bassist Troy Sanders and Converge’s Drummer Ben Koller. Told you didn’t I, the only other group as diverse in my recent memory was The Damned Things, and they turned out to be one of my all time favourites so I’m excited. This is their second album, not going to lie I didn’t get around to checking that one out so this is my first taste of them, sorry not sorry.

There just really is something complimentary in an odd way about mixing the vocals of Cavalera and Sanders on these tracks, it’s almost hypnotic in a very rough and scratchy way. “The Great Purge” has really potent percussion that heightens that tribal feel, at one point I swore to God I heard Ozzy Osbourne singing in there too, whoever’s voice that was (and my moneys on Sanders) they did a cracking job. The end of “Inner Calm from Outer Storms” there’s a vibe of the screaming side of BFMV but when it’s laid over the top of the nitty gritty riffs and grunts it packs a punch. “Dream Gone Bad” is very reminiscent of pre Howard Jones Killswitch Engage with those Leech like vocals, chunky yet melodic tones and steady pace. “Filthy Vagabond” embraces the heavy punk influence rooted deep within all of these guys. “From A Crowded Wound” has lots of twists the standout though is the Sludge and Groove metal vibes which are very Crowbar like, the screeching screams of patricio after a melodic stint to shock the system.

Rather than a band writing an album we have more of a journey through metal as a broad genre, exploring avenues and alleyways through various different subgenres and styles utilising all the techniques to produce something to represent the genre as a whole, phenomenal stuff.

[10/10]

#Sepultura #Mastodon #Converge #the dillinger escape plan #max cavalera #Troy Sanders #Greg Puciato #Ben Koller #Reluctant Hero #MyRemains #Reviews #Albums #2020 #Metal #Rock #Music #Killer Be Killed

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doomedandstoned · 3 years ago

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Cassius King Drums Up Hard Driving New LP, ‘Field Trip’

~By Tom Hanno~

In the doom/stoner metal circles, the name Dan Lorenzo has become synonymous with his Vessel of Light project, but there is more to this prolific guitarist than just that band. From his days in Hades to Non- Fiction to Vessel of Light, Dan has laid his trademark work to many albums, and now he presents us with an album of original music from his latest project, CASSIUS KING. 'Field Trip' (2021) will be out next week and is, in my opinion, a must-have album.

For a bit of historical context, I want to add that Dan has been using the Cassius King name for years, from his debut solo album to his endless cover song CDs with various lead vocalists; but it wasn't until 2021 when Lorenzo decided to make an all-original album with vocalist Jason McMaster (Watchtower, Dangerous Toys, Broken Teeth, Howling Sycamore, Ignitor). This decision stemmed from the Covid-19 pandemic keeping Vessel of Light from touring in support of their Last Ride album, with Dan also feeling that fans weren’t ready for a fifth VoL album without touring the last one.

Ironically enough, the song “Join the Exodus”, which we’ll talk about later in this review, was originally written during the recording/writing sessions for the second Vessel of Light album, Woodshed. Dan tells me that, “I actually recorded the music to the song Join the exodus for the Vessel of Light album Woodshed. I wrote so many songs that Nathan forgot about it. So then Ron ended up playing on it, and it just sat there for two years until Jason sang on it. It’s probably one of my favorite songs on the album.”

Despite the connection to Vessel of Light, I don't recommend jumping in thinking you're getting music that is just like them; there's obviously going to be a comparison because of Dan, but it's not an overly large one. Cassius King is less doom, even though there’s a definite Black Sabbath sound, and Jason McMaster has more in common with singers like Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth and Dio, than he does with Nathan Opposition; who, as you know, provides his own awesome vocal style to the Vessel of Light albums.

Jason McMaster explains further, by saying that "It was the kind of material I had been wanting to do for a long time. It feels a bit like Ozzy and Dio playing poker over some leftover Sabbath material. The melodies came to me quickly, as well as some of the lyrics. Things I already had fit the visions I had upon first listen and it all flowed immediately. I would not call it a full "doom" application of terms, but its heavy, it reminds me of what I love about Sabbath and Dio songs."

Now that we have an idea on what we’re getting into, let’s begin talking about the best tracks on the album. We'll start with the aforementioned song, “Join the Exodus.” This is the one track where I will draw that direct line to Vessel of Light, and I had thought so even before Dan shared its origins with me.

Beginning with a heavy intro, with the guitars playing a stripped down version of the main verse riff, and Jason singing:

TEARS ON THE TRACKS IN A RACE, EMOTION GLEAM AROUND THE BEND I TASTE THE RAIN DROPS AS THEY TRICKLE DOWN MY FACE AGAIN REMINDS ME OF THE SAND FALLING FROM THE HOURGLASS TIME DISAPPEARS WITHOUT A TRACE.

Jason’s vocals are performed with such conviction, such power, that you can get the idea that he’s really really feeling what he’s saying, which helps make the song seem more honest than it would if he was just “phoning it in.” This goes without even mentioning the Dio influences in the lyrics themselves, and in certain areas of his performance here.

Musically speaking, this track is heavy, with a strong groove, which really makes sense because of the era of its beginnings. Woodshed had that heavy groove throughout the album. As always, Dan has a phenomenal guitar sound, and even if you didn’t know it was him on this, you’d still know that it was him within moments after hitting play.

Towards the end of the album, we find a song that is titled, "Six," which had a working title that Dan told me came from the way the intro guitar part had sounded to him.

"And I didn’t tell anybody else this," he confided, "but the working title for the song 'Six' was 'Randy,' because I thought that opening riff sounded more like Randy Rhoads than me! Not sure if you agree, but just a little bit of knowledge on the track."

I can definitely hear that Randy sound in the intro riff, but, in my opinion, it doesn't really sound like that iconic guitarist as we get much further into the track. In all honesty, I hear more of a Kiss meets Black Sabbath vibe once the riff opens up for the verse.

Jason really brings in that Dio vibe with his vocal performance, and it shows exactly why Dan partnered up with him for this album. Between Jason, Jimmy Schulman, and Ron Lipnicki, Dan put together an immensely talented band for this album, and they all absolutely crushed it on this track.

One of my favorite tracks is titled, "Apocalyptic Nations," which just so happens to be my favorite song on the record. This tune opens up with some tribal influenced drumming, and is a perfect way to bring in the album. I think of Judas Priest's Painkiller when an album opens this way. Lyrically, this song could be about many things, but I catch a Stephen King influence in there, with his book The Stand.

TRASH MY NAME ACROSS YOUR SEAS YOU CONTROL MY DESTINY BRINGING FATES UNKNOWN TO ME LEGENDARY, WHEN PEOPLE USED TO DREAM ANCIENT STORIES OF THE TRAVELIN' MAN YOU WILL BELIEVE

If you've ever read The Stand, you'll know that the villain, Randall Flagg, is known as "The Walking Dude" and that he is hell bent on destroying civilization through terror, violence, and death. The lyrics really could be about this "Man in Black," as he's also called, but it could just as easily be about a government that is just as hell bent on the same things as Randall.

As per his usual modus operandi, Dan pours his all into the riffs contained within "Apocalyptic Nations." They create the power needed to propel Jason’s vocals into the stratosphere, while also leaving the perfect amount of room for the other instruments to shine through.

The last track that I'd like to bring up is "Below the Stone," and is one of my two top picks from this album; with the other being "Apocalyptic." The riffs have a sweet little groove to them, and are, once again, the perfect vehicle for the vocal work. I'm unsure of what the lyrical content is about, but the execution, and the arrangement, makes this song shine, really standing out from the others. This chorus section really exemplifies what I mean:

OH, OH, OH, WE PRAY FOR THE LIGHT WE MAGNIFY ALL HOPE AND THE SEARCH WILL BEGIN BELOW THE STONES THE SECRETS LIVE AND BREATH OH, OH, OH, WE PRAY FOR THE LIGHT

Field Trip will be out in digital format July 23rd, with compact disc and vinyl due out this October. The CD will include two bonus tracks, a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Out on the Tiles" (Dan actually plays the bass and guitar on this cover). and Cheap Trick's "Big Eyes." The other ten tracks are all original tunes. I have an earlier Cassius King CD that Dan sent me, which is full of cover songs, and hearing them attack these originals is really great for me.

To sum it up in one short sentence: you need this album. Pre-orders will be announced soon via Nomad Eel Records, so get ready for that and I'll see you in the next review really soon. Enjoy!

Follow The Band

Get Their Music

#D&S Reviews #Cassius King #Dan Lorenzo #New Jersey #metal #heavy metal #Tom Hanno #Nomad Eel Records #Doomed and Stoned

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dustedmagazine · 7 years ago

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Dust Volume 4, Number 3

Dark Blue covers the Anti-Nowhere League in this edition

Another few weeks of accumulated dust spans genres from classic jazz to no wave skronk to guitar-centric country blues. Dusted writers including Isaac Olson, Bill Meyer, Jennifer Kelly, Justin Cober-Lake, Patrick Masterson, Ian Mathers and Jonathan Shaw write about the near-famous and the purposefully obscure. We hope you’ll find something to intrigue you in this mid-March collection.

Advertisement — This Is Advertisement (Self Released)

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Successful revolutions enable freedom, including the freedom of salvaging what is worthwhile from what was overturned. There’s been a smattering of punk bands recently who, thanks to the death of rock as a driving force in global pop culture and the enabling of increasingly omnivorous tastes by the internet, are doing away with old tribal notions of taste and proudly tracing their lineage to both Sticky Fingers and Damaged. Seattle’s Advertisement, on their debut tape, This Is Advertisement, follow in the footsteps of fellow travelers Milk Music in stripping Thin Lizzy and Crazy Horse for parts and wiring what they’ve found to a lean, hardcore-influenced sound. This day-drunk, punks-on-a-road-trip sound is increasingly fashionable, and at this point, Advertisement isn’t doing anything that, say, Sheer Mag hasn't done before, but the two best songs here, opener “Past is Alive” and closer “Cryin’ Wild” fuse the joy of the unironic guitar solo with the joy of the mosh pit successfully enough to be optimistic for what they’ll do next.

Isaac Olson

Jaap Blonk & Terrie Ex — Thirsty Ears (Terp)

“Are you listening?” Those are the first words you hear from Jaap Blonk on Thirsty Ears, and he poses the question with full knowledge that the question will be definitively answered before the track is done. He goes on to describe the process of listening, catalogs sounds quite like the ones you will hear throughout this record and then describes the vanity of trying not to hear him. “You block your hearing but it won’t work,” he crows. Rest assured, you will either give this record your full attention or turn it off; there is no middle ground. Blonk is a master sound poet, his voice an elastic instrument that can groan, croon, gargle, or articulate so flexibly that he could have voiced every machine and critter in contemporary non-live-action Hollywood if he would only consent to being told what to do. But he is a free man, abetted here by another man just as free. Terrie Ex is equally unwilling to be boxed in, even by his own extensive history of free, punk and African-derived music making. He matches Blonk’s utterances and ultra-theatrical speech with detuning adventures that make his guitar sound like a time-lapse documentation of a the sounds of a suspension bridge’s slow deterioration in the centuries after the humans clear out.

Bill Meyer

Boneshaker — Thinking Out Loud CD/LP (Trost)

Thinking Out Loud by BONESHAKER

Boneshaker does not want to keep you in the dark. The trio includes Chicago free jazz veterans Mars Williams and Kent Kessler plus citizen of the world Paal Nilssen-Love. The band’s name tells you what they aim to do, and album’s title tells you how they do it. Their collective cv includes work with Peter Brötzmann, Ken Vandermark, Otomo Yoshihide and Hal Russell; these guys have learned from the best about how to shiver timbers, and given they longevity of their involvement with high energy improvisation (the Americans are in their 60s, Nilssen-Love is in his 40s), they’re teachers too. The ability to blow as hard as Albert Ayler, to launch a percussive barrage that’ll stop a bus and to propel the whole affair with resonant bass patterns is necessary, but not sufficient. You also have to think while you’re doing it, so that soul and exhilaration come together with coherence and logic. Listen and learn.

Bill Meyer

Dark Blue — Fight to Love b/w For You (12XU)

Fight To Love by Dark Blue

“Warning: This song is going to be rubbish.” That’s the first thing you hear on John Sharkey III’s latest single, a young boy managing expectations for, most likely, his dad. But no need for that, because the a-side is a grand and gothy guitar fest, with giant arc’ing chords and fizzing smoke-pot riffs that sound more like 1970s radio metal than anything punk. Sharkey sings, as always, in a hollowed out baritone that’s somehow snide and doomedly romantic. The second side is a cover of the Anti-Nowhere League’s 1982 single “For You.” Even the original was far less scatological than the band’s big hit “So What” but Sharkey has turned it into an existential anthem, slower, more echo-ridden and full of frustrated longing. No rubbish here, just a reminder of how good Dark Blue can be.

Jennifer Kelly

Ravyn Lenae — Crush (Three Twenty Three)

Totally unhinged and memorable ululations herald the arrival of many great songs, and Ravyn Lenae's at the beginning of "Sticky" ranks among them. Not just that, but syrupy organ and snappy guitar capture the total abandon and carnal pleasure in getting sticky, however you might please. Inventiveness, especially experimenting with texture, is de rigueur in R&B lately, and Lenae and producer Steve Lacy explore their own sound through layered vocals, punchy but smooth production and unexpected key changes. Lenae attempts to sustain the magic of the EP's opening number throughout, but both of Lacy's vocal turns are distractingly blasé, and the unique pose of first sound never surfaces again as assured. There are enough creative risks here to suggest that 18-year-old Lenae could further develop this sound into something that can be better sustained. For now the abandon of "Sticky" and the music that follows is like diving into an ice-cream on a hot day: It feels great to let loose and let the sugar drip all over, but after that there's nothing much special about having sticky hands.

Bryan Daly

The Lovely Eggs — This Is Eggland (Egg Records)

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“Wiggy Giggy” is maybe the most exuberantly silly song you’ll hear all year, from its chanted backbone of “wiggy, wiggy, giggy,” repeated ad infinitum, to its giant clanging guitar riffs, to its sweetly demented vocals, courtesy of Lovely Eggs diva Holly Ross, who is married to David Blackwell, the band’s other half. The song is so much fun, and so ridiculous, that it could only have come from a band completely unconcerned with public reception – a band, perhaps, the records and releases its material completely on its own. And this, in fact, is what we have here, a band that has completely immunized itself to popular opinion and can consequently do what they like. What do they like? Think of the Breeders joyful riffery, crossed with Imperial Teen’s way with a hook, with a bit of Flaming Lips spliced in, and you’ll be close. The Lovely Eggs don’t care if you like their music, but if you have any fondness for psychedelically tinged pop rock, you will. Marc Riley does, and think how many DIY bands he has to wade through on an average work day.

Jennifer Kelly

Nick Millevoi’s Desertion Trio w. Jamie Saft — Midtown Tilt (Shhpuma)

Midtown Tilt by Desertion Trio with Jamie Saft

Desertion? Hey, why not? Anyone playing western-themed music in Philadelphia probably has some kind of evacuation in mind. But even the desert’s likely to be left behind when this combo gets cooking. Guitarist Nick Millevoi kicks off Midtown Tilt with a skirling line bold enough to light up a dune-studded horizon. His lead, however, is more of an anchor than a spotlight. Drummer Kevin Shea’s pummeling attack seems bent on blowing the music off course, and guest organist Jamie Saft’s references are more storefront church than arid vista. And that’s just the first tune.

Lucky for Millevoi, bassist Johnny De Blasé has a healthy respect for the pulse, because he’s often the guy holding the center. Sometimes he can lure Shea into the pocket, but Saft takes full advantage of his guest soloist role to detour around and redirect the guitarist’s stark melodies at every opportunity.

Bill Meyer

Meshell Ndegeocello—Ventriloquism

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If someone told you that bad-ass bassist Meshell Ndegeocello was covering Prince on her next album, the last track you’d expect her to revisit would be “Sometimes It Snows in April,” a strummy, acoustic ballad from Under the Cherry Moon that sounds, for the Purple one, downright folky. Yet her soft-focus cover of the Artist Formerly Known As’ least funky cut is just a taste of the chilled out vibe Ndegeocello brings to formerly nasty grooves including TLC’s megahit “Waterfalls” and George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog.” The covers on Ventriloquism share a bleached out vibe that comes partly from Ndegeocello’s soothing voice, but also from cool temperature arrangements that favor pastel tone-washes over slap and pop. Maybe that’s why Ndegeocello sounds the most comfortable in reservedly powerful “Private Dancer” or, once the silly spoken word is over, Sade’s quiet storm classic “Smooth Operator.” Yeah, maybe a little too smooth.

Jennifer Kelly

Overmono — Rinse FM, Boiler Room live sets

What is it about Overmono’s sublime blend of junglist memories, lead foot techno and airy ambient that puts them a cut above their contemporaries? The latest answer to that question comes in the form of these two live sets just days apart, the former in support of Derrick Carter in Moscow (ably assisted by Irish up-and-comer Or:la, also worthy of mention here) and the latter on Hessle Audio’s usual Rinse slot. Starting with “U-Plastics” from the mammoth #savefabric comp, I can say with confidence that there’s nothing I’ve enjoyed more consistently over the last year and a half than London-based brothers of a single mother Ed and Tom Russell, aliases Tessela and Truss, who have been reliably plying their trades in the orbit of R&S, Poly Kicks and Perc Trax for years now. As the Arla triptych on XL and Water the Planets giveaway mix demonstrated, Overmono is a collaborative leap from the marginalia of heady British rave investigations into the wild blue yonder of open-ended rhythm, noise and melody — a less seamless but altogether more fascinating affair on every level. It’s a poor dancing experience but a great listening one, in other words, as they guiltlessly ransack genre and era alike with equal fervor. It’s also without equal in this sphere right now.

Patrick Masterson

Parasight — At Leve Som Hvis der Var et Håb (Indisciplinarian)

This first full-length release from Danish d-beat band Parasight sends a number of provocatively mixed signals. Not musically — Parasight plays straightforward metallic punk, driven by the signature rhythm Discharge canonized in the early 1980s. Occasionally the band experiments with a breakdown, as in “Grådigheden Selv,”or a more mid-tempo intro, as on “Håbløst.” On the whole, the songs are well structured, passionately executed and compelling. The more interesting stuff operates at the level of suggestion. Unlike a lot of European bands that play heavy music, Parasight insists on composing lyrics in their native language; they up the ante by not offering translations on inserts or on Bandcamp. In interviews they’ve suggested a desire to position themselves in the tradition of Danish heroic poetry. All that sounds pretty nationalist, which isn’t great news if one is looking for the leftist stance that has always dominated d-beat and crust. But the album art references the tragic drowning of a Syrian Kurdish boy, Alan Kurdi, rendered internationally infamous through a series of photos of the recovery of his tiny body on the Turkish shoreline. The title of the record translates, “To live as if there is still hope.” All of that begs the question: what forces have eradicated hope? Where can we find the resources to continue living? What does Alan Kurdi have to do with it? It’s the sort of conundrum that our instant, digitized and indiscriminate access to art and information makes painfully evident. The way the pun in the band’s name focuses those issues — am I seeing clearly? — in its English presentation only increases the provocation.

Jonathan Shaw

Preening — Greasetrap Frisbee (Ever/Never)

Greasetrap Frisbee by Preening

Erratic rhythms jitter manically, bass and drums punching out dance figures for odd numbers of flailing, electro-shocked limbs. Free jazz sax splatters in skronky blotches during the intervals between inscrutable chants. Preening, trio out of Oakland, churns a no wave noise just playful and rhythmic enough to incite a St. Vitus dance. (Members go by single names, but a little googling reveals that they are music critic Sam Lefebvre on drums, Max Nordile on saxophone and Alejandra Alcala on bass.) On a limb, I’d call “Associated Press” the catchy single, its off-tempo drum and bass racket punctuated by frantic reed abuse and chanted madness. See-sawing “Face On” serves as the crowd pleasing hit, as it teeters on tipsy bass, skitters to speed in double-time nervous attacks and earns a round of live applause. “P.O. Box,” which is literally about a band member’s mail receptacle, channels Preening’s unruly energy most effectively, but things are always apt to fall apart, never more so than on the title track, a collection of bleats, drum crashes, spoken asides and inchoate noises pieced together out of studio outtakes.

Jennifer Kelly

Sonny Rollins — Way Out West (Craft)

Sixty years after Way Out West’s release, the cover still makes it look like a gimmick (and it's still hard to tell if it's best read as camp, kitsch or subversion). When drummer Shelly Manne opens the album with a hoof beat rhythm, the strangeness continues, but as soon as Sonny Rollins' saxophone begins, it's clear that there's no joke here. The album marks the first jazz album of a sax-bass-drums trio (ditching the piano and its chords), a startling shift away from the work Rollins had just done on Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners and a forerunner of his later unaccompanied experiments.

If the album marks a pivotal moment, it should also be remembered on its own terms, hence the 60th anniversary two LP reissue. Rollins remains amazing, and the record catches him in peak form. Bassist Ray Brown, unfortunately too low in the mix, keeps up, but this set is Newk's show, his tone rich and his melodies — whether in the playfulness of “I'm an Old Cowhand” or the increasing heat of “There Is No Greater Love” — surprising. The bonus record, among other tracks, includes a couple unreleased takes, and the extra-hip extended version of “Way Out West” feels most necessary of this material, all of which makes for as inspiring a current listen as it does a historical study. Cowboy hats are optional, but beneficial.

Justin Cober-Lake

Chris Smither — Call Me Lucky (Signature Sounds)

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It's a little strange that a songwriter's album would be most notable for a cover and for reworkings, but not necessarily a bad thing. In Call Me Lucky. Smither reworks Chuck Berry's “Maybellene” as a deep blues number, changing the song from a teenage bit of hilarity into something truly dark and sad, recasting the entire narrative. The performance is less a gimmick and more an insight. Smither follows it with “Down to the Sound,” a complex number full of realism, hurt, and a taste of unlikely optimism. Even the upbeat country-blues of “Nobody Home” reveals the loss of human connection in our culture, whether in a neighborhood, a church, or the public square.

Smither's tight songwriting drives the album, but Call Me Lucky comes with an unusual second disc that includes one Beatles cover (“She Said She Said”) and five new versions of originals from the first disc. It feels a bit like a bonus disc, but these versions are fully fleshed out. In the context of Smither's songwriting and his covers, the new performances provide a look into the way small decisions (or large ones in the case of “Everything on Top”) can shape the experience of a song, and helping to differentiate between terms like “song,” “track,” and “performance.” It doesn't need to be a heady experience, though. After all, they're just good songs well-executed, sometimes twice.

Justin Cober-Lake

Tangents — Stents + Arteries EP (Temporary Residence)

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As the title suggests, this release from Australian group Tangents is concerned with matters of the heart a little more literally than most, the pulse and thrum of that muscle inside all of our chests whether it’s racing or soothingly steady. Comprised of two new tracks plus an extended version of soon-to-be-album track “Arteries”, the EP blends together varies threads of jazz, electronic and post-rock music so effortlessly and compellingly that it might take a couple of listens for the boldness of their approach to really sink in. You can catch hints of influences, everything from the Necks to Can to IDM, but what makes this EP such a joy to listen to is how Tangents make their sound simply their sound, and how natural it feels. More than anything else, the 20 minutes here indicates that June’s New Bodies is going to be worth waiting for.

Ian Mathers

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happymetalgirl · 6 years ago

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Soulfly - Ritual

Max Cavalera and his main project since his departure from Sepultura need no introduction at this point. Eleven albums in, Max's prolific output often seems to go unnoticed, rivialing even the mighty Devin Townsend. But Max's constant outpouring of music through Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, and other side projects like Killer Be Killed does lead to the natural drawback of him being spread so thin that he doesn't seem to really perfect any album he's working on. He just gets it to the level that has come to be expected of him and then moves on to the next one. He's exceeded those expectations a few times like on the tribal nu metal classic, Primitive, and most recently on Soulfly's return to Max's death metal foundations on 2012's Enslaved. But aside from a few stacked gems, the reasonable expectation for most of Soulfly's output has been generally average basic groove metal, especially since the band's move away from their one unique element around the time of Dark Ages: the tribal music influences. Consequently, I'm not surprised that Max opted to tease a return of Soulfly to his tribal roots (slash Sepultura's tribal Roots). It was going to happen eventually, but Ritual feels like such an incomplete reintroduction of that approach, with some of the residual Behemoth-imitation from 2015's Archangel leaking into this project, and the band only sprinkling a few moments of Roots-esque material in a couple of places. On one hand I'm glad Max didn't just try to lazily rehash Prophecy or Primitive, but Ritual is still plagued by a deep sense of unoriginality, and hardly the concentration of tribal sounds Max had teased.

The chant on the opening title track is something so annoying I can't fathom how Max thought to let this get pressed to the album, much less give it the responsibility of lead single.

Randy Blythe's feature on "Dead Behind the Eyes" really makes the already NWOAHM groove of the song sound like such a transparent imitation of Randy's band.

"The Summoning" is a more tangibly furious performance from the band with some tempo-dynamic guitar rhythms establishing infectious, head-nodding grooves. And with Max reaching into his upper shouting register and the triplet riffing across the song, it sounds almost, dare I say it, Meshuggah-inspired.

"Evil Empowered" is a pretty uneventful death/groove metal standard cut for Soulfly, featuring a perplexing half-committed attempt at the sort of hardcore breakdown Code Orange have made so repopularized lately.

Ross Dolan's feature on "Under Rapture" is perhaps the only thing spicing it up during its first half, as the band coasts through a rather basic triplet palm-muted riff-driven two-section movement until the death metal breakdown of sorts at the end.

The eerie acoustic intro of "Demonized" takes me back to albums like Schizophrenia and Arise. The rest of the song reverts rather quickly back to

The tribal percussion and chanting makes its quick appearance on the first few and last few seconds of "Blood on the Streets", but the thrashy death metal it weirdly sandwiches isn't some of the band's most inspired.

The on-off riffing, quick pull-off soloing, and harmonic accents of "Bite the Bullet" are nice, novel features for the album, but not enough to lift the song's unimaginative structure and the chorus' titular refrain above overall mediocrity.

The last heavy track, "Feedback!" takes it back to the party thrash of 1983, which was similar to the refreshing choice Machine Head made with "Razorblade Smile" on Catharsis, but here it just feels like it disrupts the flow of the album.

As per Soulfly tradition, the cooldown track, "Soulfly XI", ends the album on a serene, instrumentally unique note. Featuring a savory sax lead and soulful acoustic picking backed by hand-drummed bongos and echoed choir vocals, it's a satisfying continuation of the Soulfly tradition that makes sense and good use of the album's title.

As much as I like Max, I wasn't expecting this album to blow me away, and due to some clunky, if not recycled writing it didn't really surprise me. On the plus side, though, Soulfly sound more intentional than they did on Savages, and less copy-cat-ish than they did on Archangel. The production on this album is certainly some of the most flattering Soulfly has had as of late, with the instruments all coming through clearly and highlighting the tightness of the band's performance at high speed. Speaking of respectable performances, Max must be one proud-ass dad, with Zyon making a notably assertive presence behind the kit. I'd say this is probably Max's best release since Enslaved, between this and his other bands. All in all, I'm pretty much just as pleased as I was hoping to be with this one, not more, not less.

#soulfly #ritual #death metal #groove metal #metal #heavy metal #new music #new album #album review

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richhybrid · 6 years ago

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Sepultura Roots February 20th 1996 Track Of Choice: Ratamahatta 23 years ago Sepultura released their final album with Max Cavalera on vocals. I know that some dispute it but for me Sepultura died later that year after he quit following their Brixton Academy show. This album is one of those building blocks of late 90s metal. It was produced by Ross Robinson (Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot) who made it raw and ragged but the band were also making music that drew on their south American heritage and its tribal rhythms. Metallic groove, raw and emotional production, political lyrics, unique instruments, guest vocals from Mike Patton and Jonathan Davis and a collection of songs that drew on metals past, firmly lodged it in the present and influenced it's future. I'd never call this Nu Metal but it's certainly part of the Nu Metal story of the 90s. #bathtimerecord #vinyl #vinylporn #vinyljunkie #vinylcollection #vinylrecords #records #recordcollection #recordcollecter #albumart #coverart #analogue #oldschool #33rpm #lp #longplayer #nowspinning #nowplaying #twelveinch #wax #albums #instavinyl #instamusic #sepultura #roots #1996 #metal #numetal https://www.instagram.com/bathtimerecord/p/BuHVf3KA6Rn/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=8gxhy3ondiny

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trevorbailey61 · 7 years ago

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Mostly Jazz, Funk & Soul Festival

Moseley Park, Birmingham Sunday 9th July, 2017

Just outside Stafford off A518 that leads to Uttoxeter lies New Bingley Hall. It was a road I travelled a few months ago and passing it now it looks like what it is, a big shed that forms part of the county showground. The deserted pens and parade grounds indicate that it still provides its main agricultural function but there was no activity on this day leaving it a ghostly hulk at the side of the road. This was a journey I did a few times many years ago where the hall I sped past would have been my destination. This was because before the NIA, before the NEC, before the Ricoh Arena or before any of the other places that those artists would play who had grown to big for clubs or theatres, this was the main large venue for the West Midlands. Instead of rushing past, I maybe should have left the road, left the car in one of the car parks that always took hours to get out of and searched for an open door that would lead me into its cavernous interior. Then, stand quietly and listen to echoes of shows that were held thirty, forty years ago still reflecting off the hard unforgiving surfaces. A few lyrics from “No Woman No Cry”, the familiar tone of a voice persuading us we could be “Heroes”, the pulsating synthesised rush of “On The Run”, so many legends and such poor acoustics.

Aside from the sound, the main problem with Bingley Hall was that it was virtually inaccessible by anything but a car; a few coaches would run from Stafford or Birmingham but that still left the problem of getting back home having been dropped off around midnight.This meant that by the time I was able to travel there myself those iconic figures had already been and gone. My experience of the place was therefore of being surrounded by beery sweaty blokes listening to other beery sweaty blokes play heads down heavy rock. Thin Lizzy were possibly a little past their peak but still put on a great show, Motorhead were absolutely at theirs for the “Ace of Spades” tour whilst only Dire Straits matched the level of boredom I reached watching Rainbow; six songs in 90minutes including a twenty minute, a TWENTY FUCKING MINUTE, Cozy Powell drum solo. My first visit, however, was during the summer of 1978 and was for something quite different. This was a couple of years after the supposed punk tsunami had washed away the last vestiges of the old music but the problem with the musical tribalism of the 70s was it was all from a white, mostly British and almost entirely male perspective. We would argue over the merits of glam, prog, heavy metal and punk but none of these trends would feature during a night out at a school disco or later at night clubs. Here it was the girls who were in charge and the music they wanted to dance to was bright, optimistic and carried along by a beat that never wavered. This was what I, with a group of friends, travelled to Stafford for, disco, funk soul, we were there to see the Commodores.

It is difficult to think now just how funky The Commodores were in their early days. Just before I saw them, they had scored their biggest hit with “Three Times a Lady” and in trying to repeat this they became lost in a series of weak ballads smothered in so much syrup it made your teeth hurt. Live, however, the energy was still there through “Slippery When Wet”, “Brickhouse” and “Machine Gun” so that when Lionel Ritchie sat down at the piano to serenade us, we took the opportunity for a toilet break. The nonsense about new and old wave may have been playing out in the press and common rooms but away from that artists, mostly American, were producing the music that would go on to make the 80s something of a golden age for soul. Some established singers suddenly found a new audience that was receptive to their work, Bobby Womack produced some of the defining albums of the decade, his brother Cecil made the the superb “Love Wars” and Ritchie himself contributed the sublime “All Night Long”. Shalamar made you feel good, Anita Baker brought “Sweet Love” and for Luther Vandross it was “Never Too Much”. Then there was Chaka Khan. What she could add was an extraordinary voice, built on the gospel traditions of the deep south, it is singing that displays power and versatility, hitting highs that stretch the limits of human vocal chords whilst also plunging into deep resonant bass. She may be older now but for Chaka Khan the range is undiminished, in her first song she releases a melody at ear straining pitch and ferocious power which audience cheer wildly; this is what we are here for, something that only a few of extraordinary talent can pull off.

It was “Ain’t Nobody” that introduced me to Chaka Khan. It is one of those songs that always takes me back; just hearing the fluid bass introduction brings on a wave of nostalgia, the slow build of staccato chords and shimmering keys before Khan’s vocals starts; the melody, a little unsure of itself at first increasing the anticipation before finally finds its home. It is a perfectly constructed song that grabs you from the start and holds you as each new layer is added. The effect of hearing it performed on a warm July evening is simply magical, its powerful effect working its way around the audience as everyone, young, old, even myself, were able to sing along, word perfect. Khan needed to do little other than introduce the song and the audience would do the rest, and at times this is just what she did, but her presence was what made it so special. “Ain’t Nobody” followed “I Feel For You” and “I’m Every Woman”, a flurry of 80s glam soul few could match that finished the day on an incredible high. The band effortlessly slipped into the groove whilst also adding brilliant flourishes and her three backing singers could almost rival the star for power and dexterity. The early part of the set saw some of the early 70s songs that she originally performed as the singer with the band Rufus, with whom she also recorded “Ain’t Nobody”, that allowed her to demonstrate her impressively high register on "Do You Feel What You Feel” and “Tell Me Something Good”. There was also a lovely ballad in “Love Me Still” that saw her seated with the sheer force of her delivery silencing the chatter in the crowd. She did, however, seem to be pacing herself, the band had already performed one song before she made her entrance and she went off for another break midway through the set. By the time that bassline introduces “Ain’t Nobody”, however, that is all forgotten.

Introducing her Craig Charles, who has done much to establish this festival, listed the acts that have been brought to Moseley before describing Chaka Khan as the biggest. It is undoubtedly what she would have wanted to hear and she certainly drew a big crowd including many who would not have been born when “Ain’t Nobody” was soaring up the charts. Rumours soon began to circulate, however, that looking after a star this bright came at a price and that she had been very high maintenance, demands apparently included a toilet solely for her use and being driven across the park to the back stage area. It fits the diva persona that is so easily applied to singers, particularly those approaching the twilight of their career, but her performance shattered the impression that her gilded life meant that she was unable to relate to her audience. She appeared relaxed onstage, responded to calls for songs from her repertoire and shared a few memories, even announcing that she once had lived in Birmingham for a year. The most striking moment came just after she returned after her mid-set break; picking out someone on the front row, she asks if they can sing. When they reply that they can, she invites them onstage to join her for a duet of “My Funny Valentine” at which point they get cold feet and decline. Not everyone, however, was so hesitant and she picks out another girl who is by no means overawed by pitting her vocals against the star. It is always best to apply some scepticism to supposed spontaneous audience involvement and the ability of the girl in question did seem to be very good for someone chosen apparently at random. That said, however, it did seem to be on the level and showed the trust she had in her audience, that she was prepared to take a risk based on this and that she is not completely out of touch.

Bright sunshine with temperatures in the high 20s and a muggy humidity made it an exhausting day but the strong line-up helped to carry us through. Again, this was, as the name of the festival states, mostly Jazz which was seen in its many permutations from small groups to big bands. This often included the same musicians, some appearing in consecutive acts on the two stages, and whilst the playing was invariably of a high standard, the music tended to form a soothing background on such a warm day, lulling my wife to sleep at about the middle of the afternoon. Those acts that could distort and reshape the rules were the ones that stood out with Taupe, a trio from Newcastle, providing an early highlight. The rhythm, guitar, sax format was familiar but their use of effects pedals added distortions to the sound that enhanced the playing, at one point the two at the front crouching as they bent and warped the note they had finished playing minutes earlier. The Comet is Coming were to take this further with wild sax improvisations played above a deep pulsating bass that only electronic music can provide to startling effect. It made for an incredible sound that cut through the lethargy that a warm afternoon can produce and demanded attention.

Aside from the headline, the main soul duties were left to Harleighblu, a young singer from Nottingham whose study of her influences has allowed her to develop a full bodied voice that soars above the immaculate grooves set down by her backing band. She is an engaging and charismatic singer whose enthusiasm helped to get many off their feet during the hottest part of the day. Crazy P also came together in Nottingham, although this was a result of all being students at my alma mater, and also helped many forget how hot it was. Having started out as Crazy Penis, it took them a surprisingly long time to drop all but the first letter of the second word, they have been producing their light mix of disco, jazz and house for over twenty years without quite making the break through to reach a larger audience. Listening to them, this seems surprising, particularly given the infectious beat of their music and that, in Danielle Moore, they possess another striking singer whose hyperactive performance is mesmerising. Starting with “Like a Fool” from their most recent album they are quickly into their shimmering funky groove which, like the star, allows Ms Moore for a mid-set costume change.

Watching the Commodores all those years ago, the thought of the queue to get off the car park could never be completely put out of your mind however good the show was. Many years later we make our way out of Moseley Park onto a street where there are many out for a meal or a drink on a Sunday evening oblivious to the music being played just behind the buildings. A short walk back to the car and we are on our way, no queues, we are back home in less than half an hour. The relaxed departure is in keeping with the festival itself, the music is great, the people friendly and the organisation works by being unobtrusive. In its small way it represents what our leaders have taken to referring to as British values; open, tolerant and inclusive. Alright it is terribly middle class but that still allows for a broad diversity in the audience brought together by the music. Despite living locally, it took me a surprisingly long time to attend my first festival but in the short period of time in which I have been enjoying the event, there have been notable changes. With it being a family event, many make a day of it with picnics, chairs, parasols and so on. Whilst the hi-vis jackets of security were always present, the family nature of the event and that many lived almost next door and knew each other meant that is was very low key. Now, however, the bag searches are more thorough, the hi-vis jackets are more prominent and there are increasing restrictions on items that can be brought in. It is sad that this has been necessary but recent events have shown that people can be at their most vulnerable when they are being entertained. Music is about bringing people together and for the sell-out crowd here tonight that was what happened. It is a part of our culture that some wish to destroy, it is up to the rest of us to show our resilience and deny them that by cherishing those moment we share.

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fluidsf · 5 years ago

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Project A2 01

Kadaitcha: Tar

Release year: 2019

Reviewed format: FLAC download of Kadaitcha self-released album as kindly provided by Kadaitcha

Welcome to the first review in the Project A2 series of reviews written based on releases I receive from artists and labels in the field of Noise and other related extreme experimental and underground music which also includes lighter styles of underground sounds too. In this review I’m excited to share with you the recently new released new album by Ukrainian group Kadaitcha titled Tar. The version I’m reviewing is the digital version of this album which is available from Kadaitcha’s own Bandcamp page, the files provided in the download were 24-bit/48kHz high resolution FLAC files, which is most likely also one of the options you can choose on Bandcamp if you purchase Tar there. Now, for people who have read my review of Flaming Pines’ excellent Kaleidoscope compilation, the name Kadaitcha is definitely not new but whilst there was some crunchy heaviness on that compilation too, this full album definitely gives the full picture of Kadaitcha’s dark, murky but also surprisingly varied sound. The group consisting of Andrei Kojoohar and Yuri Samson blends a lot of at times quirky but also often quite harsh synth experimentation, noisy guitars which at times form riffs but oftentimes fall into a stream of hazy noise and vocals that appear on multiple tracks on Tar, at times ritual, other times manic and wild. Acoustic drums feature too, albeit it often almost masked by the masses of sound Kadaitcha created but drum machine is used too with a Krautrock like sound to it. Archaic music is one of the influences of Kadaitcha’s sound and whilst the group has a feel for spaced out craziness the dark, low and mid frequency focussed sound palette definitely emits a lot of this kind of ancient, primitive intriguing type of trance atmospheres which appear to be directly connected to imagery of dusty caves, black earth and indeed the Tar from the album title. Running for a full hour, the album is also one of the longest releases the group has recorded so far so full immersion is encouraged. Indeed, let’s immerse ourselves in these 7 tracks.

First track Idle Hands starts of with a sparse melody played on guitar in mellow strummed chords and separate tones backed my mechanical whirring, squealing and hissy steam like high pitched noises, in the background resonant sampled and widely auto panned ambience pads add a mysterious ghostly ambience to the whole. The guitar’s tone’s also gradually become modulated through reverse. This section crossfades into a stronger more fierce stream of sound which still features some squelchy mechanical elements but now the guitar plays strong at times dissonant power chords, strange manipulated samples of vocal music and AM radio blending through the tense ambience like manic ghosts. This section then moves through a short period of metallic liquid like synth noises into the heaviest part of the track, the finale, which starts of with a thunderous rumbling bassy electronic drum rhythm with a crunchy, bitcrushed Industrial Techno like sound. A clean rhythmic guitar melody enters which quickly morphs into a distorted droney kind of Noise which is backed by further feedback laden sweeps of Noise, emphasised resonant howls from the bit crushed percussion and the strange manipulated vocal music samples return, the piece eventually ends with a single rhythmic guitar drone taking much of the foreground within the piece. It’s great how Kadaitcha builds most of the tracks on Tar as composition with multiple parts which progress throughout and blend melodic Rock elements with a lot of imaginative Noise, synth effects and sound manipulations which give the music this unique Post / Drone Rock kind of feel in how Noise is blended with traditional composition techniques whilst still retaining the energy, variation and sonic qualities that the Noise, Power Electronics and Death Industrial styles have within at times more chaotic structural frameworks. It’s good that Kadaitcha also doesn’t spoil the heavier extremes still to follow on the album, on this track. 2219 F then brings us a piece which takes the noisy side of guitar Drone as its main focus with most of the track being taken up by a swirling see of fuzzy distorted dramatic guitar drone, backed by galloping rimshot heavy acoustic drums which don’t quite drown in the drones but rather float quite easily. Before this fiery action erupts however, the piece starts with the mysterious sounds of strange filtered glimmering synth tones, bug like clicking sounds and various high pitched synth effects culminating in 8-bit styled digging through the crushed bits that eventually transitions to the sea of guitar drone. The waves of guitar drone are interrupted in one moment in which the eerie atmosphere of the start of the piece returns until the guitar hits again, once again enveloping us into the melodic, harmonically rich Noise. In this second wave of Noise fragile brittle high pitched fuzzy synth enter, adding some melodic variations to the drone. I like how Kadaitcha have found a curious way to create an ambience like a strange tribal fire ritual within this piece through the juxtaposition of the guitar Noise that also feels like instrumental Drone Metal in a way and the Earth like organic sonic elements and high pitched piercing tones give it that rough muddy, dirt filled edge of primal activities out in the open merciless nature. Afterwards on Ran, Kadaitcha turn up the Noise factor itself quite a bit more with a piece that features heavy a Rhythmic Noise groove made up of a heavily distorted kick and various distorted hits and heavily spring reverb manipulated metallic percussive elements. The melodic part of the piece is driven by a surprisingly clean sounding guitar riff, but as I mentioned, the blasting metallic screechy mayhem is where I feel most of the fun in this track is. The Noise rhythms and additional screeches shift in tempo in relation to the guitar riff which causes interesting polyrhythms within the piece and the manipulations of rhythmic and straight screeches make for richly varying energetic shapes of crunch and metallic rumble. Variations on the main guitar melody enter in the second half too however, in which the rhythmic Noise also follows the strumming with marching steel footsteps pounding in wide stereo reverb making for a slow but sure climax towards a solid stream of stuttering hollow malfunctioning alien machinery sounds, to put it into more “poetic” words. Then on Saima Kadaitcha move between interesting juxtapositions of elements, starting with a combination of squelchy synth effects, metallic reverberated vocals as well as cleaner Ritual like chanting featuring the word Saima from the title amongst other words. An again metallic sounding distorted drum machine rhythm which has some extremely panned stereo reverb creating that metallic sound gives the music a steady easy-going pace, as well as a pulse with the accent being the bassy kick drum, with tom and snare percussion adding some extra texture to the sound of the piece which especially in the final part of the track move into a much more distorted direction. A heavily rhythmic droning wall of resonant dissonant guitar strumming is the main focus of the piece tonally, taking up a considerable amount of its total length, with strangely turning additional guitar chords creating this Jazz like kind of odd juxtaposition between the two guitar parts. The guitar ambience is hypnotic and intensely gripping but also still keeps you within the realm of a kind of cult or mysterious religious ritual. The aforementioned last part of the track is where things get quite crazy, transitioning through a quirky little section of metallic guitar improvisation into an ever increasing wall of resonant distorted rhythmic mush formed by the drum machine, with the ritual vocals from earlier returning into more abstracted wordings (these don’t featuring during most of the droning guitar part of Saima in fact. The hovering wall of distorted mush which also wildly vibrates between the two stereo channels eventually erupts into screeching mono feedback which subtly fades out ending the piece in quite an explosive piercing finale. It’s great how Saima features both these hypnotic ritual elements and metallic Industrial experimentation in such a smooth composition with the tonal and textural aspects of the piece making for an equally entrancing as well as exploratory listen into the resonances and “breaking” aspects of the increasing distortion of the rhythmic pulse. Afterwards on Eclipse Kadaitcha envelop us in a monolithic wall of squelchy heavily distorted Noise. Featuring mouth harp like heavily distorted synth squelches, twisting stereo synth effects, dark auto-panned vocals and distant mysterious samples of vocal music, the music again moves into Ritual territory but with that now familiar raw Kadaitcha edge of intense mayhem. The vocals themselves are mostly death-themed and have this growled quality to them, but it’s the combination of the vocals with the excellently layered mixture of distorted synth effects and cleaner synth and sound manipulations that circle around your head as the piece progresses. The second half of Eclipse brings in more melodic elements in the form of a bass and electric guitar melody as well as a fiery mixture of acoustic and electronic drums. I’d say the qualities in Eclipse are definitely in the mysterious ambience that is created in the first half of the piece by the mixture of the music samples and Noise elements as well as the way the piece moves towards a great rocking climactic outburst in the second half. The guitar riff in the second half is nicely dramatic and the synth sounds and sound manipulations go particularly mental in this part of Eclipse. It’s definitely a piece that is more of a straight up Noise (Rock) jam but very enjoyable and relentless in that sense, just loosen up and go with the rawness of this one. Afterwards follows what is definitely one of my favourite tracks on Tar, which is Serpent Hill. Perfectly fitting its title the piece does indeed featuring these very tasty squelchy warped distorted synth sounds, making up what does indeed sound like this strange mountain of organic muck, with the filtered liquid like synth effects adding a lot of great organic details to the sound image in general. It definitely does sound very physical and alien in nature. Glitchy synth effects add some great stereo details to the sound too, very rough and nicely hissy. Furthermore we can hear some lovely growling deep and resonant serpent-themed vocals which quite kick into the mix like a hefty layer, the delay applied to them also helps to create extra space in the piece. A piercing distorted feedback loop overtime moves us towards the climax of the piece which features some intensely bassy, banging Industrial Techno drums alongside some great stereo crackled rhythmic additional layer of distortion and some very intense and even more resonant (seemingly modulated) wordless growled vocals. I’d say the many strengths of this piece especially got to do with how focussed the sound design of the distorted sounds is combined with the exciting progression of the piece which gives me both a feeling of very crisp murky sonic imagery but also plenty of raw Noise intensity which works great without losing definition of the separate layers within the piece. Being one of the most texture focussed pieces on Tar it still has a lot of brooding curious life within it that is very immersive, dirty but enjoyable. Final piece Yatagarasu then combines pretty much all elements Kadaitcha used on Tar up until this piece into an extended wild Noise jam. Based around a grungy and nicely clicky distorted drum machine groove the piece is quite like an in the moment improvisation of various layers of sound constantly moving, changing and intensifying. We have quite a lot of synth effects which are often very squelchy, rubbery in texture and mostly quite high pitched though with some great low-end thumps in them too at times. There are some wild screechy vocals in here too, sounding quite inhuman but also quite humorous in a very weird way. There is some nice jazzy guitar freak out in the piece too, which is amusingly clean sounding too. Towards the beginning of the piece there are also the sounds of what I’m guessing are circular saws, which are definitely quite fitting in the general chaos of the piece. But besides these elements the main drum groove itself also goes through great tasty distorted feedback laden manipulations which also accentuate the noise used within the drums themselves for some Rhythmic Noise flavouring and some funky cowbell does get added to the mix at some point even. A deep bassy drone flows along in the background of the piece too. Yatagarasu eventually reaches is disintegrating finale with much fire and sonic mayhem, I won’t spoil that however as it’s best to check it out yourself. With Yatagarasu we’ve reached the end of Tar by Kadaitcha. Tar is a quite varied album of dark, raw and energetic experimental Electro-Acoustic music which has a great general flow to it and an excellent balance of more conceptually focussed Ritual like pieces and more chaotic Noise jams. Kadaitcha’s consistency in their sound, which mixes harsh synth sound design, punchy saturated drums, hazy guitars and energetic vocals performed in various styles makes Tar a very enjoyable and great album throughout it’s full 1 hour playing time. This is a great listen for fans of dark, murky experimental Electro-Acoustic music, Ritual music, Noise, Power Electronics and Death Industrial as the mixture of influences Kadaitcha embeds in their music always makes for surprising new turns and imaginative experimentation though always fed through their own musical imagery of darkness and mystery. Definitely a recommended album, so go check this album out. You can purchase Tar as a digital download from Kadaitcha's Bandcamp page here: https://kadaitcha.bandcamp.com/album/tar?fbclid=IwAR06Ysi9EGAi9yKxXU5pLwzbg1za-KKIo1VNUh8dK_iTlU94YY3Wjg9yU9w

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