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hazy jams floating above the indica flowers and empty cases of High Life. peace and love to my friends at Humboldt Relief :)
It was only a matter of time until Reefer Tree set up shop in my head. Upon receiving the latest batch of Permanent Nostalgia, I was intrigued by the lovely designs and inserts. The Fallen Axe nug - Frank from Hobo Cubes - is a family favorite at the house. To date, it's Frank's best offering under this moniker - even better than the wonderful Jozik split with Mt. Tjhris. Also, this batch boasts an excellent tape from R. Franklin under the moniker, Sootskin Pearls. If you have enjoyed the Cabin Floor Esoterica/House of Sun/Rotifer vibrations, then this tasty nug is ripe for your head. The green imbued tape from Reefer Tree titled, An Army of Some, had the THC receptors in my head vibrating with alacrity. There was nearly no background to light a path. The only information being that this is a duo of Royallen and T.S. Rockafeller. When in doubt, light a pathway. And, that's exactly what happened. The flowers went up in flames and the dank aroma of Reefer Tree made everything right as lofi nugs of warped guitar, synth and samples oozed forth from the speakers, coasting easily atop the layers of tasty smoke that permeated the room. Their Myspace page proved more informative - a wild set up of guitar, synth, mics and tapes situated among scenes of High Life homage and stems that populate empty cans of the Beast. What exactly happens when you grind up Reefer Tree bud and throw it in the bong?
Reefer Vision makes the type of music that gives one the impetus to do bong rips lined with kief until sunrise, all the while being buttressed by worn memories and propitious hopes. These lofi instrumentals form one of the wildest analog experiences of 2013. At the end, if it has yet to be instilled that smoking in bed is the number one cause of preventable home deaths by fire, then you need to pack it more tightly on the next listen - just not in bed. Heavy amp noise and synth are coupled with samples of a raucous faith-based exhortation as the tape commences. Assertive elements of dialogue drift hazily in a sea of frayed synth and decomposing drones. Aggressive bursts of noise are juxtaposed to something which sounds like a xylophone - quite beautiful! Everything seems to blur together, making it difficult to discern the disparate elements. The nearly inert wall of noise glows around the echoing contour of the tones from the xylophone. Discordant, periodic noisy transmissions are interspersed with chirping birds. A frenetic radio dial vacillates among the frequencies, which lead into loops. A sample from the fire safety message echos and we are lifted to the next level by swirling tones and churning noise. The flip presents a different experience. The samples from A are not present. Fragmented, fuzzed-out guitar parts populate the early part of side B. Rolling, mutant noise is the foundation for a section effects-laden notes. Towards the end, overdriven oscillations introduce a reverb-saturated section of disintegrating guitar loops.
This is exactly the type of vibe you need to prepare your head for Friday night. Another thing to note: at the cross-section of this lovely trio of tapes is one of my favorite labels, Rotifer. Expect me to smoke you out with some tasty, hairy, dank Rotifer nugs in the near future. Returning from that tangent, this is the first in a series of reviews for the recent batch of Permanent Nostalgia - next up is Fallen Axe. Released in editions of 36 tapes with gorgeous paper-based cases and inserts, the entire batch may be purchased directly from Permanent Nostalgia for $17 postage paid.
peace and love, friends :)
