Headboggle - Hillboggle (sicsic056)

sweet as honey.  peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Hillboggle commences the first part of a multifaceted trip.  A trip to where?  Once it was unfathomable, until I heard this sound.  These sonic regions are accessible to the unencumbered head, lucid in the kind light.  Maybe it's me, but I'm uprooted and transported to a bright star by a majestic conduit of electronics, piano, and field recordings among other instruments.  One of the many attractive facets of this tape is the quality of the compositions.  Utilizing copious instruments, Headboggle doesn't dally.  Rather, these are dynamic tracks whose varied energy is harnessed by an adept artist. And, wouldn't you know it?  this gem is released on Sicsic.  It has been a prolific year for one of my favorite labels.

It's obvious from liftoff that a heavenly force is leading us to otherworldly, metamorphosing regions. Descending keys quickly animate.  They move surreptitiously from channel to channel.  Doom-laden keys ripple among a vortex of electronics and tangential signals and shapes.  Headboggle uses space deftly.    Keys ring frigidly into the stillness of night, flanked by mutant forms and surging mysterious energy.  Encumbered by powerful noise, which eventually abates, the track enters a new phase.  I love that the piano occasionally moves to the fore.  In these instances, the electronics assume a magical quality, drifting in the time lag.  Cascading notes increase the pulse.  The electronics begin to surge with vigor. Shortly, clairvoyant keys are swallowed by aural energy that squirms, buzzes, and fissures. Later, piano and field recordings endow the A side with a lighthearted quality - quite lovely!  The end of A is a harbinger to the bliss of the flipside.  'Hill Boggle', the b-side track - and a collaboration - represents some of the best music that I have encountered this year.  The banjo and electronics possess awesome synergy.  As the track progresses, I very much enjoy the transition to dark, descending electronics and plucked hushed strings.  Minimal drone creates space for elegant piano and banjo.              

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to the jump for star to star in the Headboggle universe.  Next up is Buchla a la Mode.  Much like the trichome and honey coated medicine pictured above, Headboggle is supremely talented and meticulous - a singular artist.  Produced with love - home-dubbed -  and featuring the artwork of Johannes Schebler, Hillboggle is sold out at the source and pretty much unavailable elsewhere. Most likely, your best chance is to grab one from SOL Sound or purchase the digital version.

peace and love, friends :)