Moth Cock -Twofer Tuesday (HAUSMO 18)

Wake 'n Bake with outer zone free jazz! Peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Miles inferred that the wildest vibes have no name. Maybe a reference point or two, but too fucked up for categorization. These guys from Kent, Ohio are coming for your head and there isn't anything surreptitious about their tactics. At times, it resembles a vortex of free jazz and noise with a few other strains of experimental music thrown into the blender; unrelenting varied faces comprised of wretched sonic squalor discharged by clarinet and trumpet; electronic freak outs that sputter and bustle as fragments of unstable noise and damaged loops fissure and smolder - in my parlance, a blazing hash rocket. Previously I decided to take a break during the World Cup, as I am a fervent follower if futbol. However, I just have to tell you about the smash and grab, hyper-kinetic baked chaos from Moth Cock. Twofer Tuesday on Hausu Mountain is not total football by any means. Rather, it resembles the heavy metal, on the cusp of bedlam that resembles Die Schwarzgelben. Anyhow, back to business. For me, Two for Tuesday means to double the quantity. Better ensure the provisions are sufficient, because the outer zone vibes this duo cranks through a tripped out medicine machine dominate the room in the manner of dank indica haze. It may sound like a welter of confusion to the uninitiated, yet the glowing kinetic mass is continuously in a process of building and razing. This duo operates transiently, spewing their turbulent, stoney mix over the denizens, exulting in the deluge, and then moving expeditiously to the next endeavor. Nothing is out of reach, nor out of bounds. Clarinet and trumpet rage next to electronics that writhe uncontrollably. Loops begin to fracture and fray when the clarinet's breathy tones become enveloped in drone. Climbing a steep, jagged terrain comprised of textured electronics, the duo, undeterred, drive hard for the peak. The flipside is even more bonkers than its predecessor. Upon pressing play, the listener is immediately transported to a house of mirrors. Ephemeral loops along with clarinet and trumpet are spliced and splintered until ejected capriciously. What will happen next? Did you pack that extra bowl? Samples are strewn across damaged tape moves and spectral voices. The middle of the flip is for serious heads. Then they hit these high flying humid zones, emitting an infectious, lethargic vibe. Later fervent arpeggios that could be from an Atari 2600 are joined by cascading glitter.  

Limited to 100 copies, Twofer has snazzy orange shells with black and white imprint. Max Allison's artwork illustrates this trichome saturated trip accurately. Hausu's discography is ripe with heady nugs, particularly the Mugen series. Twofer Tuesday may be purchased directly from Hausu Mountain.

peace and love, friends :)

Ø+yn & Rapa Nui - Eco Paradigma (FCR031)

Crystal-covered Feathered Coyote. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

Friday is for heads, and this dense, psych nug from Feathered Coyote will saturate your receptors with glistening crystals to help power you through the weekend. Over the past year or so, Ø+yn has become one of my favorite contemporary psych acts. Following an excellent collaboration with Uton on Eiderdown, this effort with Rapa Nui - recorded during Ø+yn's tour of Lima - snakes through the crystal-covered corridors of the labyrinthine head before emerging in the fuzzy light. These two psych heavyweights complement the other nicely. Eco Paradigma can be described as intense, sonorous, and entrancing. Rapa Nui's free jazz intertwines smoothly with the psych of Ø+yn to give Eco Paradigma a tortuous, ritualistic quality. Through the various peaks and valleys, it's an unpredictable sonic journey. Along with the stellar musicianship, the tempos utilized magnify the visceral effect of the music. Ominous and swirling with intent, the listener can feel the wind of fate grace their shoulders right from the start. Cavernous tones from the tuba encompass the sax, didgeridoo and  percussion. Enigmatic guitar and relentless drums contribute to the psych frenzy. Fuzzed guitar billows and sax lightly wails among swirling voices. The end of side A is majestic, sounding like a mix of free jazz, psych and 60's fusion. Resonant strings and percussion commence the flipside. Shortly, sax protrudes and spirals around awareness - a lovely start to side B. Plodding tones are circumscribed by fuzzy strings. At the apex, the guitar gleams and resonates on edge. Propulsive rhythms and spiraling feedback give way to various percussion, acute tones and drone from the didgeridoo.        

Ø+yn and Rapa Nui give me Blue Dreams - highly recommended. Eco Paradigma should set your head up nicely for the vibes which follow, a split between Ø+yn and Montibus Communitas. Produced in a limited edition, the lovely artwork by Arturo Quispe, of Rapa Nui, matches the hazy vibe perfectly. Eco Paradigma may be purchased directly from Feathered Coyote.

peace and love, friends :)

Nagual - Nagual (ERG-005)

from the top shelf with love. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)

 For me, the most pleasing long-form tracks tend to be enthralling - the blooming of awareness; in essence, the music becomes an integral attribute of the environment. The self-titled album from Nagual on Ergot Records engages the listener on various levels. Utilizing an array of instruments - guitars, piano, bass, percussion - Ian McColm and David Shapiro visit the evocative vista of "Honey River Lacquer" before transitioning to the album's masterpiece, "Sweat Raag". These structured improvisations develop subtly, with the artists exhibiting acuity regarding pace and in infusing the tracks with intriguing elements. "Sweat Raag" exemplifies everything that is great about the fifth release from Ergot. The disquiet builds deliberately as electronics crackle and loops slowly coalesce. An attentive listener will realize the slow ascent laced with tension, the winds of uncertainty which leave a chill on one's shoulders as the zenith seems imminent. Soon the pace increases and the energy writhes, exhibiting urgency. McColm's propulsive percussion at the end is the culmination of an excellent side of music. The evanescent, airy vibrations of the opener, "Honey River Lacquer" are fantastic. Looped piano, punctuated by percussion, echoes in the head. Shortly, electronics wriggle and the room is permeated by thick, resonant low ends; the perfect complement arrives in the form of deep, lustrous beams of sonic light - lovely! The flip features the sidelong, "Continuous Becoming". In this track McColm and Shapiro conjure drones to awake the slumbering soul. At the beginning a cluster of warm tones ripple throughout the head. Refracted waves shower the listener with warmth. Definitely the most tranquil of the trio, it's a nice end to a visceral, majestic sonic experience.      

Nagual, like the heavenly bud pictured above, was made for the top shelf - recommended. This stunner follows Ergot's vinyl reissue of Aaron Dilloway's Corpse on Horseback, brimming with decayed, minimal and dank tape loops. Released on black vinyl in an edition of 300, the self-titled album is accompanied by an insert. One may purchase the vinyl directly from Ergot.

peace and love, friends :)