https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Friday Full-Length: Los Natas, Nuevo Orden de la Libertad

Posted in Bootleg Theater on May 19th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

So perfect and so raw, the fifth and final full-length from Buenos Aires trio Los Natas, Nuevo Orden de la Libertad (review here), was issued in 2009 through the celebration-worthy triumvirate of Nasoni Records in Europe, Small Stone Records in the US and Oui Oui Records in Argentina. Its 10 songs are inherently transitional in nature — even more so in hindsight, but nonetheless are the culmination of a creative growth that began more than a decade earlier on 1996’s Delmar (discussed here), which is one of the best heavy rock records ever made and one of two the three-piece would put out through Man’s Ruin, with the other being their second LP, 1999’s Ciudad de Brahman (discussed here). Then just Natas, the band would jump to Small Stone for 2002’s Corsario Negro, releasing a flurry of short offerings concurrent to their second and third albums, including splits with Dozer and Viaje a 800 and the Livin’ La Weeda Loca and El Gobernador EPs.

The jammier full-lengths Toba Trance I, Toba Trance II (also compiled together on 2CD) and München Sessions followed in 2003, 2004 and 2005, respectively, the latter a recorded exploratory collaboration with Stefan Koglek of Colour Haze. El Hombre Montaña, their fourth album-proper, arrived in 2006 and was the capstone on the most productive era of the band. Guitarist/vocalist Sergio Chotsourian, bassist Gonzalo Villagra and drummer Walter Broide issued a split with Solodolor (which featured Chotsourian and producer Billy Anderson) in 2008, but when Nuevo Orden de la Libertad landed in 2009, it was very much the culmination even then of what Los Natas were going to be. Presented across 10 tracks and 50 minutes, its procession is led by “Las Campanadas,” which on guitar introduces the Western-ish theme that will bookend and flesh out in “Dos Horses” at the finish, Sergio‘s brother Santiago Chotsourian contributing piano, before launching into one of the most righteously gritty A sides an LP could ever hope for. The lead movement in “Las Campanadas” is punkish with Broide‘s snare pops, but the guitar and bass tones around are low and dust-coated, the vocals out front and melodic but able to keep up with the intensity of the thrust. “Las Campanadas,” in addition to its maddeningly cool circular pattern and fuzzed solos, finally opens up its groove at the very end, but the tension holds over into “El Nuevo Orden de la Libertad,” the chorus of which stretches the delivery of the title line as if to teach the audience to sing along regardless of their native language. The words are sharp, precise: “El nuevo, nuevo orden, de la libertad.”

That hook is a big part of the album’s personality, and especially as someone who doesn’t speak the language, its identity as a heavy rock recordlos natas nuevo orden de la libertad that dares to be political when most don’t. The subsequent “Resistiendo Dolor” (‘resisting pain’) is mellower for about 90 seconds and answers that intro at its finish, but hits just as hard as either of the first two cuts in between. The song actually sounds like it’s getting up and running as the distorted guitar enters at 1:33 into its total 5:11, and the confidence behind its turn back toward the subdued part is striking, leading to the end of sustained organ notes. “Hombre de Metal” — their own “Iron Man,” perhaps — follows, presumably having resisted the prior pain in order to declare oneself via that riff. Nestled into a groove on the ride cymbal, Broide answers the bridge of “Las Campanadas,” but he’s no less on the snare or toms throughout, and the whole band sounds dug into the momentum they’ve built to that point, which leads them to “Ganar-Perder,” the side B opener that begins to branch out sound-wise from what the first four songs established. Classic in style, melancholy in mood and desert-hued in tone, it takes its time where most of Nuevo Orden de la Libertad has been a shove to that point, and is given flourish of layered acoustic guitar as it moves into its middle, which will gradually come to prominence as they move toward the evocative instrumental finish.

Like much of Nuevo Orden de la Libertad, the expanded-mindset of the 6:44 longest track “Ganar-Perder” is a hint of things to come from Chotsourian, who before 2009 was done would release the first album from his then-nascent Ararat project, Musica de la Resistencia (review here), building in concept on some of the sociopolitical expression here while pushing further into doom and psychedelia, etc. “Ganar-Perder,” as precursor to that, is entrancing by the time it gives over to “El Pastizal,” which is a five-minute build into a last-minute freedom run — at last seeming to break out of the crunch and not look back. It doesn’t last — it is quite literally the final minute of the track — but the point gets across just the same. The shorter instrumental “David y Goliath” throws the listener into a fuzz blender set to puree, giving hints of the gallop of “Ganar-Perder” or its foreshadow in the ending of “Las Campanadas” but seeming to be consumed by its speedy rhythmic churn, which lets the interlude-ish “Bienvenidos” be the exhale with its stretch of acoustic guitar and some light effects swell. That moment becomes all the more appreciable with the feedback entry of “10,000,” a return to the push of the album’s early going that acts as the crescendo for the release as a whole. Intricate with the various stops in its second half, it resolves of course in a gallop growing faster and coming apart even as it fades. It doesn’t sound like a band hitting it hard for the last time together in the studio.

In the first paragraph, I used the word “transitional” to describe the album’s nature, and “Dos Horses” — the closer in the sense of an epilogue or, in our franchise-centric times, a post-credits scene — revives the intro of “Las Campanadas” with breadth in the acoustic guitar and winding course of piano that accompanies, some backward. There are subtle effects behind the ending lines, but the song just kind of stops, and that’s it. But that it and “Ganar-Perder” would show up on Ararat‘s Musica de la Resistencia, the latter with a dramatic rearrangement, began an interplay between projects for Chotsourian that would continue through his solo work under the banner of Sergio Ch., on subsequent Ararat releases and in the late ’10s trio Soldati, his songs becoming open to multiple interpretations and able to withstand the repeat visits. In being the moment of that change, Nuevo Orden de la Libertad was not the final Los Natas release — they put out Death Sessions (review here) in 2016, capturing a live set in the studio — but it was the final new release, and it remains a beautiful component of the legacy Los Natas left behind in their subsequent dissolution. And Broide, it should be noted, currently features in the instrumental outfit Poseidótica.

For as long as I’m alive, I will be grateful to have seen them at Roadburn 2010 (review here) — much as one could see anything when the room was so dark — and to have gotten to hear some of this material in-person. Among heavy rock acts of their generation, who got their start in the post-grunge, post-Kyuss mid and late 1990s, I will gladly put Los Natas among the best, and even more than their seminal first two LPs, which were more directly communing with (and contributing to) the beginnings of desert rock as a global genre, Nuevo Orden de la Libertad was the claim they laid to an individual sound and point of view, and 14 years it remains an album with a presence of its own; some of the stateliest punk-born heavy rock you’ll ever hear.

As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.

I didn’t close out last week, felt kind of guilty about it. The time I would’ve spent finishing that post, I instead took as a chance to pick up something for The Patient Mrs. for Mother’s Day, and that seemed like a warranted use of an hour and a half. If you’re interested, I had a post talking about Entombed on Man’s Ruin. It was the Black Juju EP, which I’ll probably talk about next week if something else doesn’t come along, or at some point in the future either way. Sometimes it’s hard to come up with something. It’s good to know I have two more Los Natas records in my pocket as well. Yes, I do keep track of these things.

This week? It was a week. I feel like a garbage human lately, so whatever. I hope you had a good week. Next week will be another one. Years will pass in this manner as they already have.

Today The Patient Mrs. and I are going to try recording voice tracks for a podcast. We are not often collaborators, but she suggested it and I’ll basically take any opportunity to hang out with her at this point since we so rarely get to do so, so whatever. It’ll have music and probably more talking than the Gimme Metal show did — there’s two of us, after all — but still not a ton I hope. I don’t know. Gonna feel it out and see where it goes, but in the true fashion of keeping up with the times, I figure it’s probably a good moment to embrace a format that arguably peaked a decade ago. As opposed to radio, mind you, which peaked three decades ago. Shrug.

Today is also family class at The Pecan’s tae kwon do school, which we’ll be hitting up after regular school this afternoon. I can’t remember if I talked about this before or not — pretty sure I did — but tae kwon do, the fact that he goes to a place that was branched off the same one I went to — brings up all kinds of emotional baggage for me. I did that from maybe 8 or 9 until I was 14-ish? It’s difficult to explain, but that was a pretty rough time for me, and near the end I had an instructor I didn’t like who hated fat people, and going to The Pecan’s class — let alone taking part, which is what family class is — an emotional trigger for me in ways that I have yet to fully understand, never mind express. But the kid loves it, so there. I just want it to be over so we can go home. Performing parenting is a fucking drag anyway.

I hope you have a great and safe weekend. I’ve got a bunch of stuff lined up for next week, including a premiere from the High Desert Queen and Blue Heron split on Monday, so that’ll be fun. Totimoshi interview as well, speaking of the ’00s. Hydrate, watch your head, all that stuff.

FRM.

The Obelisk Collective on Facebook

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

Tags: , , , , , ,

Sergio Ch. Posts “El Manantial”; The Red Rooster Coming Oct. 14

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 4th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Ever prolific and experimental, Sergio Chotsourian — aka Sergio Ch., as I know you know — will digitally release his latest solo album, The Red Rooster, on Oct. 14 through Spotify, Bandcamp, etc. That’s next week, which I also know you know. Vinyl is set to follow for the nine-tracker early next year in continued collaboration with Interstellar Smoke Records, and of course Chotsourian‘s own South American Sludge imprint has a hand in putting it out as well.

As, frankly, it should. You’ll note Chotsourian — who earlier this year surprised with an unexpected fourth Ararat album, Volumen 4 (review here), and whose pedigree includes not only that band and his solo work, but also Brno, Soldati and, once upon a time, South American desert rock trailblazers Los Natas — plays all the instruments on the song “El Manantial” that’s streaming below ahead of the new record’s release, and recorded it. Self-sufficiency is nothing new for him, either in terms of aesthetic or the practicalities of writing, performing and producing music.

“El Manantial” has a pretty bass-heavy sound that puts it in my mind in alliance with Ararat‘s general feel. I don’t think it’s a song that band has done, but it’s tempting to add a “yet” to that, since Chotsourian has certainly bled material over from one project to another, sometimes resulting in a completely different listening experience. I have said “why do I recognize this?” many times through the years. Generally, there’s a reason.

I’ve paid respect to Chotsourian‘s general ouevre over the last, I don’t know, 20 years now?, and no regrets, but I’ll note that especially as he’s opened new avenues for expression in solo work and collaborations, including those with his own family, his breadth as an artist has likewise flourished. One more thing I know you know: the same cannot be said of everybody who was once signed to Man’s Ruin. As an artist, he is unto himself.

So here’s a bit about the track and, of course, the track, which is why we’re here in the first place:

Sergio ch

ADELANTO DEL NUEVO DISCO DE SERGIO CH. – “THE RED ROOSTER”
GRABADO, MEZCLADO Y MASTERIZADO EN DEATH STUDIOS POR SERGIO CH.
ARTWORK POR SERGIO CH.
PRODUCIDO POR SERGIO CH.

SERGIO CH. – GUITARRA, KEYS, BASS & VOCALS

https://sasrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-red-rooster
https://www.instagram.com/sergioch_ig/

INTERSTELLAR SMOKE RECORDS
SOUTH AMERICAN SLUDGE RECORDS

https://facebook.com/1588780263/
https://www.instagram.com/sergioch_ig/
http://www.sergioch.com/

http://www.southamericansludge.com/
https://sasrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SASRECORDSARGENTINA

https://www.facebook.com/Interstellar-Smoke-Records-101687381255396/
https://interstellarsmokerecords.bigcartel.com/

Sergio Ch., “El Manantial”

Tags: , , , , , ,

Quarterly Review: Jo Quail, Experiencia Tibetana, People of the Black Circle, Black Capricorn, SABOTØR, The Buzzards of Fuzz, Temple of Void, Anomalos Kosmos, Cauchemar, Seum

Posted in Reviews on July 8th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

Last day. Maybe I’m supposed to have some grand reflection as we hit 100 of 100 records for the Quarterly Review, but I’ll spare you. I’ve put a few records from the bunch on year-end lists, enjoyed a lot of music, wondered why a few people got in touch with me in the first place, and generally plotzed through to the best of my ability. Thanks as always to The Patient Mrs., through whom all things are possible, for facilitation.

And thank you for reading. I hope you’ve managed to find something killer in all this, but if not, there’s still today to go, so you’ve got time.

Next QR is probably early October, and you know what? I’ve already got records lined up for it. How insane is that?

Quarterly Review #91-100:

Jo Quail, The Cartographer

Jo Quail The Cartographer

To list the personnel involved in Jo Quail‘s Roadburn-commissioned five-movement work The Cartographer would consume the rest of this review, so I won’t, but the London electric cellist is at the center of an orchestral experiment the stated purpose of which is to find the place where classical and heavy musics meet. Percussion thuds, there’s piano and electric violin and a whole bunch of trombones, and whatever that is making the depth-charge thud underneath “Movement 2,” some voices and narration at the start by Alice Krige, who once played the Borg Queen among many other roles. Though Quail composed The Cartographer for Roadburn — originally in 2020 — the recording isn’t captured on that stage, but is a studio LP, which lets each headphone-worthy nuance and tiny flash of this or that shine through. So is it heavy? Not really in any traditional sense, but of course that’s the point. Is SunnO))) heavy? Sure. It’s less about conforming to given notions of genre characteristics than bringing new ideas to them and saying this-can-be-that in the way that innovative art does, but heavy? Why the hell not? Think of it as mind-expansion, only classy.

Jo Quail on Facebook

By Norse Music website

 

Experiencia Tibetana, Vol. II

Experiencia Tibetana Vol. II

An aptly named second full-length from Buenos Aires trio Experiencia Tibetana greatly solidifies the band’s approach, which of course itself is utterly fluid. Having brought in Gaston Saccoia on drums, vocals and other percussion alongside guitarist/vocalist Walter Fernandez and bassist Leandro Moreno Vila since their recorded-in-2014-released-in-2020 debut, Vol. I (review here), the band take the methodology of meditative exploration from that album and pare it down to four wholly expansive processions, resonant in their patience and earthy psychedelic ritualizing. Each side of the 48-minute LP is comprised of a shorter track and a longer, and they’re arranged for maximum immersion as one climbs a presumably Tibetan mountain, going up and coming back down with the longest material in the middle, the 16-minute pair “Ciudad de latahes” and “(Desde el) Limbo” running in hypnotic succession with minimalism, noise wash, chanting, percussive cacophony, dead space, bass fuzz, spoken word and nearly anything else they want at their disposal. With “El delito espiritual I” (8:18) and the maybe-eBow(?) ghost howls of “El delito espiritual II” (7:19) on either side, Vol. II charts a way forward for the trio as they move into unknown aural reaches.

Experiencia Tibetana on Facebook

Experiencia Tibetana on Bandcamp

 

People of the Black Circle, People of the Black Circle

People of the Black Circle People of the Black Circle

Not quite like anything else, Athenian conjurors People of the Black Circle plunge deep into horror/fantasy atmospheres, referencing H.P. Lovecraft and Robert Howard within the five tracks of their nonetheless concise 34-minute/five-track self-titled debut. Weighted in tone and mood, almost garage-doom in its production, the synth-backing of “Cimmeria” unfolds after the outward crunch of leadoff “Alchemy of Sorrow” — like Euro doom dramaturge transposed onto a bed of ’80s synths with Om-style bass — and from centerpiece “The Ghoul and the Seraph (Ghoul’s Song II)” through the bookending choral figures and either sampled or synthesized horns over the resolute chug of “Nyarlathotep” and more straight-ahead slow-motion push of closer “Ghosts in Agartha,” which swirls out a highlight solo after a wailing verse lets go and seems to drift away after its payoff for the album as an entirety. While in concept, People of the Black Circle‘s aesthetic isn’t necessarily anything new, there’s no denying the boundaries of dungeon synth and horror/garage doom are being transcended here, and that mixture feels like it’s being given a fresh perspective in these songs, even if the thematic is familiar. A mix of new and old, then? Maybe, but the new wins out decisively. In the parlance of our times, “following.”

People of the Black Circle on Facebook

Red Truth Productions on Bandcamp

 

Black Capricorn, Cult of Blood

black capricorn cult of blood

It always seems to be a full moon when Black Capricorn are playing, regardless of actual cloud cover or phase. The Sardinian trio of guitarist/vocalist Fabrizio Monni (also production; also in Ascia), bassist Virginia Pras and drummer Rachela Piras offer an awaited follow-up to their 2019 Solstice EP (discussed here). Though it’s their fifth full-length overall, it’s the second with this lineup of the band (first through Majestic Mountain), and it comes packed with references like the doomly “Worshipping the Bizarre Reverend” and “Snake of the Wizard” as distorted, cultish and willfully strange vibes persist across its 44-minute span. Doom. Even the out-there centerpiece kinda-interlude “Godsnake Djamballah” and the feedback-laced lurch-march of the nine-minute “Witch of Endor” have a cauldron-psych vibe coinciding with the largely riff-driven material, though, and it’s the differences between the songs that ultimately bring them together, closer “Uddadhaddar” going full-on ritualist with percussion and drone and chanting vocals as if to underscore the point. It’s been five years since they released Omega (review here), their most recent LP, and Cult of Blood wholly justifies the wait.

Black Capricorn on Facebook

Majestic Mountain Records store

 

SABOTØR, Skyggekæmper

SABOTØR Skyggekæmper

The Danish title Skyggekæmper translates to English as “shadow fighter,” and if punk-informed heavy rocking Aarhus three-piece SABOTØR mean it in a political context, then fair enough. I speak no Danish, but their past work and titles here like “2040-Planen” — seemingly a reference to Denmark’s clean energy initiative — the stomping, funky “Ro På, Danmark!” (‘calm down, Denmark’) and even the suitably over-the-top “King Diamond” seem to have speaking about Danishness (Danedom?) as an active element. Speaking of “active,” the energy throughout the nine-song/49-minute span of the record is palpable, and while they’re thoroughly in the post-Truckfighters fuzz rock dominion tonally, the slowdowns of “Edderkoppemor” and the closing title-track hit the brakes at least here and there in their longer runtimes and expand on the thrust of the earlier “Oprør!” and “Arbejde Gør Fri,” the start-stop riffing of which seems as much call to dance as a call to action — though, again, I say that as someone without any actual idea if it’s the latter — making the entire listening experience richer on the whole while remaining accessible despite linguistic or any other barriers to entry that might be perceived. To put it another way, you don’t have to be up on current issues facing Denmark to enjoy the songs, and if they make you want to be afterward, so much the better.

SABOTØR on Facebook

SABOTØR on Bandcamp

 

The Buzzards of Fuzz, The Buzzards of Fuzz

The Buzzards of Fuzz The Buzzards of Fuzz

Vocalist/rhythm guitarist Van Bassman, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Benjamin J. Davidow and bassist/backing vocalist/percussionist Charles Wiles are The Buzzards of Fuzz. I’m not sure who that leaves as drummer on the Atlanta outfit’s self-titled Sept. 2021 debut LP — could be producer/engineer Kristofer Sampson, Paul Stephens and/or Nick Ogawa, who are all credited with “additional instrumentation” — and it could be nobody if they’re programmed, but one way or the other, The Buzzards of Fuzz sure sound like a complete band, from the trippin’-on-QOTSA vibe of “Tarantulove” and “Desert Drivin’ (No Radio)” (though actually it’s Kyuss alluded to in the lyrics of the latter) to the more languid psych pastoralia of “All in Your Head” and the spacious two minutes of “Burned My Tongue on the Sun,” the purposeful-feeling twist into Nirvana of “Mostly Harmless” and the nod to prior single “Lonely in Space” that is finale “Lonely in Space (Slight Return).” Sleek grooves, tight, hooky songwriting and at times a languid spirit that comes through no matter how fast they’re playing give The Buzzards of Fuzz, the album, a consistent mood across the 11 songs and 32 minutes that allows the delivery to play that much more of a role in making short pieces feel expansive.

The Buzzards of Fuzz on Facebook

The Buzzards of Fuzz on Bandcamp

 

Temple of Void, Summoning the Slayer

Temple of Void Summoning The Slayer

Crawl into Temple of Void‘s deathly depths and you may find yourself duly consumed. Their style is less outright doom than it used to be, but the Detroit extremist five-piece nonetheless temper their bludgeoning with a resilient amount of groove, and even at their fastest in songs like “Hex, Curse & Conjuration” and some of the more plundering moments in “A Sequence of Rot” just prior, the weight behind their aural violence remains a major factor. The keys in “Deathtouch,” which follows down-you-go opener “Behind the Eye” and leads into “Engulfed” branches out the band’s sound with keyboards (or guitar-as-keyboards, anyway) and a wider breadth of atmosphere than they’ve enjoyed previously — “Engulfed” seems to touch on Type O Negative-style tonality as it chugs into its midsection — and the concluding “Dissolution” introduces a quieter, entirely-clean approach for just under three key-string-laced minutes that Temple of Void have legitimately never shown before. Seems doubtful they’ll take that as far as Opeth in putting out Damnation — though that’s just crazy enough to work — but it shows that as Temple of Void move toward the 10-year mark, their progression has not abated whatsoever. And they still kill, so no worries there.

Temple of Void on Facebook

Relapse Records website

 

Anomalos Kosmos, Mornin Loopaz

Anomalos Kosmos Mornin Loopaz

Psych jazz, instrumental save for some found voice samples which, if you were listening on headphones out in the wild, say, might have you wondering if you’re missing the announcement for your train at the station. Based in Thessaloniki, Greece, Anomalos Kosmos brim with experimentalist urgency on the half-hour of Mornin Loopaz, the seven tracks of which are titled playing off the days of the week — “Meinday,” “Chooseday,” “Whensday,” etc. — but which embark each on their own explorations of the outer reaches of far out. The longest of the bunch is “Thirstday” at just over five minutes, and at 30 minutes one could hardly accuse them of overstaying their welcome. Instead, the shimmering tone, fluid tempos and unpredictable nature of their style make for a thrilling listen, “Thirstday” remaining vital even as it spaces out and “Friedday” picking up directly from there with a ready sense of relief. They spend the weekend krautrocking in “Shatterday” and managing to squeeze a drum solo in before the rushing Mediterranean-proggy end of “Sinday,” the crowd noise that follows leaving one wondering if there aren’t more subversive messages being delivered beneath the heady exterior. In any case, this is a band from a place where the sun shines brightly, and the music stands as proof. Get weird and enjoy.

Anomalos Kosmos on Facebook

Anomalos Kosmos on Bandcamp

 

Cauchemar, Rosa Mystica

Cauchemar Rosa Mystica

This third full-length from Quebec-based doom outfit Cauchemar brings the band past their 15th anniversary and makes a bed for itself in traditionalist metallurgy, running currents of NWOBHM running through opener “Jour de colère” and “Rouge sang” while “Danger de nuit” takes a more hard rock approach and the penultimate roller “Volcan” feels more thoroughly Sabbathian. With eight songs presumably arranged four per vinyl side, there’s a feeling of symmetry as “Le tombeau de l’aube” tempts Motörhead demons and answers back with wilful contradiction the late-’70s/early-’80s groove that comes late in “Notre-Dame-sous-Terre.” Closer “La sorcière” tolls its bells presumably for thee as the lead guitar looks toward Pentagram and vocalist Annick Giroux smoothly layers in harmony lines before the church organ carries the way out. Classic in its overarching intentions, the songs nonetheless belong to Cauchemar exclusively, and speak to the dead with a vibrancy that avoids the trappings of cultism while working to some of its strengths in atmosphere, sounding oldschool without being tired, retro or any more derivative than it wants to be. No argument here, it’s metal for rockers, doom for doomers, riffs for the converted or those willing to be. I haven’t looked to see if they have patches yet, but I’d buy one if they do.

Cauchemar on Facebook

Temple of Mystery Records website

 

Seum, Blueberry Cash

seum blueberry cash

If you ever wanted to hear Weedeater or Dopethrone hand you your ass with Sons of Otis-worthy tones, Seum‘s Blueberry Cash has your back. The no-guitar-all-bass-and-drums-and-screams Montreal three-piece are just as crusty and weedian as you like, and in “Blueberry Cash,” “John Flag” and the seven-minute “Hairy Muff,” they reinforce sludge extremity with all that extra low end as if to remind the universe where the idea of music being heavy in the first place comes from. Grooves are vital and deathly, produced with just enough clarity to come through laced with what feels like extra nastiness, and “John Flag”‘s blues verse opens into a chasm of a chorus, waiting with sharpened teeth. Rounding out, “Hairy Muff” is a take on a song by vocalist Gaspar‘s prior band, Lord Humungus, and it’s drawn out into a plodding homage to liberation, pubes and the ability of sludge to feel like it’s got its hands on either side of your face and is pressing them together as hard as it can. These guys are a treasure, I mean that, and I don’t care what genre you want to tag it as being or how brutal and skinpeeling they want to make it, something with this much fuckall will always be punk rock in my mind.

Seum on Facebook

Seum on Bandcamp

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Review & Album Premiere: Ararat, Volumen 4

Posted in audiObelisk, Reviews on April 19th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

ararat Volumen 4

[Click play above to stream Ararat’s Volumen 4 in full. It’s out this week through South American Sludge with limited vinyl to follow on Argonauta Records.]

When Buenos Aires’ Ararat rode into the light on their third album, Cabalgata Hacia la Luz (review here), in 2014, the band seemed to drift away. Fronted by former Los Natas guitarist/vocalist Sergio Chotsourian — who played bass and piano in addition to guitar — the band’s advent with 2009’s Musica de la Resistencia (review here) had been a revelation of creative expanse, finding new character in Chotsourian‘s songwriting and a denser tonality in the new trio. 2012’s II (review here) grew broader still, incorporating longer tracks for all the more a sense of immersion in the increasingly atmospheric craft. Cabalgata Hacia la Luz pulled back from that somewhat, as by 2014, Chotsourian — aka Sergio Ch. — had begun exploring the solo work that would consume much of the rest of the decade for him creatively even as another rock trio, Soldati, began to take shape and move toward their own debut. Though some of Ararat‘s songs appeared in redone form as solo pieces and vice versa, the trio that had settled on the lineup of Chotsourian, guitarist/keyboardist Tito Fargo and drummer Alfredo Felitte (who also joined Soldati for a time) seemed to be done. Obviously this impression was mistaken. Sort of.

Ararat circa 2022 is reignited as a duo, with Chotsourian and drummer Jorge Araujo as its lone occupants, and Volumen 4 marks the group’s first outing in eight years, collecting six songs across 36 sometimes plodding, sometimes reaching minutes, its ideas seeming to find a summary in the penultimate “Thor Hammer,” which layers in keyboards along with the bass and drums, and is willing to both roll out the record’s most elephantine instrumental progression and long, patient stretches of minimalist rumble. It is a different sound than anything Ararat have put forth to-date, and fair enough since it’s a different construction than the band has ever had before. Still, as “Fiebre” lurches to life at Volumen 4‘s outset backed by synth or theremin swirl before shifting into its bass/drum march of a verse, there are of course some recognizable elements, namely Sergio Ch.‘s gritty vocals, sometimes layered, and the style of the progressions he and Araujo are bringing to life. Compared to Los Natas — which was at the time the only other comparison point for Chotsourian‘s output — Ararat was more doom in tempo and attitude, but also more exploratory, with piano pieces and other experiments fleshed out as full-band realizations.

To some degree, Volumen 4 continues this ethic, but it doesn’t feel like anything so much as a new beginning. Whether it is or not isn’t something that can be known at this point, but what Ararat do as “Fiebre” chugs through its second half and the shorter, speedier “Microcosmos” sets its tinny snare drum toward more stamping punctuations is to reset the mission and general purpose of the band in the first place. Perhaps it’s fair that after eight years and a remaking of the band that Volumen 4should come across as a debut, bolstered in that regard by the willful rawness of its production and the digging-in-and-seeing-where-it-goes vibe of “Microcosmos” or the accordingly lumbering “Serpiente,” which follows.

Those who might wonder why Chotsourian didn’t simply start another project for these songs — that is, make it another band instead of calling it Ararat — might find an answer in “Serpiente,” which finds Araujo‘s loose swing connected in thrillingly tenuous fashion to the slow bass riff. Even without the additional keyboard or guitar layers of II or Cabalgata Hacia la Luz, it is like the bones and muscle of what Ararat was before, and in the second half, as the drums drop out behind the vocal echoes and standalone bassline, it’s a feel that will only be familiar to those who heard the band in their prior incarnation.

ararat

And to anyone who didn’t? One assumes it’s that much easier to make the leap into the shifts in approach without the context of the past records. “Birdy” picks up somewhat faster than “Serpiente,” playing off the alternating tempos of “Fiebre” and “Microcosmos” earlier, and features a standout riff, farther back drumming and a fuller sound with Chotsourian‘s vocals out front. Drones and more maybe-theremin return at the finish — could be a Space Echo or some such — but the shift into “Thor Hammer” is smooth enough to feel purposeful. The aforementioned pre-closer begins quiet but announces its intention toward sonic fullness with a snare hit to begin its full-on roll at about a minute in. It is as immersive as Ararat get on this fourth long-player, and that’s thanks in no small part to the keyboard line that drones out alongside the bass and drums, adding melody to the early going, dropping out as Araujo and Chotsourian dutifully march toward through the midsection, and returning for much of the second cycle until the drums also depart, leaving the bass to hold sway until it too seems to disintegrate ahead of the more immediate launch of “Mandy” at the finish.

One assumes there’s some relation to the high-body-count Nicolas Cage 2018 feature film, since Chotsourian makes a kind of sinister hook out of the repeated line “You’re about to die,” but it’s even more notable that the lyrics to the closer are in English. That may or may not be a first for Ararat — I think it is — but Sergio Ch. has always been comfortable departing Spanish periodically in his various projects, so it could hardly be called out of line. After “Thor Hammer,” the pattern of Volumen 4 would suggest it’s time for something faster, so naturally “Mandy” instead pushes deeper into the low-end abyssal zone, its lyrical threat met by a lurch that enhances the impression and feels tied to “Serpiente” earlier, capping the album without more fanfare than that, and keeping the raw sensibility that defines so much of what’s happening throughout Volumen 4 intact even while swapping one language for another in another, admittedly less subtle than some, turn.

For being relatively unexpected, this fourth Ararat LP is not at all unwelcome, and whether it’s a one-off or a new start for the band, what matters is that it continues to push against expectation for what they do. These many years later, that’s only worth appreciating more as a consistent factor in the band’s persona.

Ararat on Facebook

Sergio Ch. website

South American Sludge on Bandcamp

South American Sludge website

Argonauta Records on Facebook

Argonauta Records website

Tags: , , , , , ,

Quarterly Review: Sergio Ch., Titanosaur, Insect Ark, Never Kenezzard, The Kupa Pities, Warpstormer, Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez, Children of the Sün, Desert Clouds, Gondhawa

Posted in Reviews on January 19th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

Getting to the halfway point of a Quarterly Review is always something special. I’m not trying to say it’s a hardship reviewing 50 records in a week — if anything it’s a relief, despite the strain it seems to put on my interpersonal relationships; The Patient Mrs. hates it and I can’t really fault her for that since it does consume a fair amount of my brain while it’s ongoing — but some days it comes down to ‘do I shower or do I write’ and usually writing wins out. I’ll shower later. Probably. Hopefully.

But today we pass halfway through and there’s a lot of killer still to come, so plenty to look forward to either way. The day starts with an old favorite I’ve included here basically as a favor to myself. Let’s go.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Sergio Ch., La Danza de los Tóxicos

Sergio Ch La Danza de los Tóxicos

Comparatively speaking, La Danza de los Tóxicos is a pretty straightforward solo offering from Soldati/Ararat/ex-Los Natas frontman Sergio Chotsourian, whose ealrier-2021 full-length, Koi (review here), featured both of his children, one rapping and one joining him on vocals for a Nine Inch Nails cover. Perhaps it’s in reaction to that record that this one feels more traditionalist, with Chotsourian (aka Sergio Ch.) still finding 11 minutes to drone out instrumentalist style on closer “Thor Hammer” and to sample Scarface at the start of “Late Train,” but in his guy-and-guitar ethic, a lot of this material sounds like the roots of things to come — Chotsourian has shared songs between projects for years — while keeping a balance between exploratory vibe and traditional structures on pieces like “Skinny Ass,” “La Esquina” and “88.”

Sergio Ch. on Facebook

South American Sludge Records on Bandcamp

 

Titanosaur, Absence of Universe

Titanosaur Absence of Universe

Coated in burl and aggressive presentation as well as the occasional metaphors about stellar phenomena and hints/flourish of Latin rhythm and percussion, Titanosaur‘s fourth long-player, Absence of Universe, sees multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist Geoff Saavedra engaging with aggressive tonality and riff construction as well as the various instabilities of the moment in which the album was put together. “Conspiracy” feels somewhat self-explanatory from a lyrical standpoint, and both opener “The Echo Chamber” and “Shut Off the Voices” feel born of the era in their theme, while “So Happy” seems like a more personal perspective on mental health. Whatever a given song’s subject throughout the nine-track/42-minute offering, Saavedra delivers with a heavy rock born out of ’90s metal such that the breakdown in “So Happy” feels natural when it hits, and the rush of finale “Needed Order” seems like an earned expulsion of the tension so much of the record prior has been building, incluing the chugging force of “I Will Live Forever” immediately prior.

Titanosaur on Facebook

The Swamp Records on Bandcamp

 

Insect Ark, Future Fossils

insect ark future fossils

Future Fossils would seem to take its name from the idea of bringing these tracks together in some effort toward conservation, to keep them from getting lost to time or obscurity amid the various other works and incarnations of Insect Ark. The first three songs are synth-only solo pieces by Dana Schechter, recorded in 2018, and the final piece, “Gravitrons,” is a 23-minute live improvisation by Schechter and then-drummer Ashley Spungin recorded in New York in 2016. The sense that these things might someday be “discovered” as one might unearth a fossil is fair enough — the minimalism of “Gypsum Blade” has space enough to hold whatever evocations one might place on it, and while “Anopsian Volta” feels grounded with a line of piano, opener “Oral Thrush” seems more decidedly cinematic. All this of course is grist for the mill of “Gravitrons,’ which is consuming unto itself in its ambience and rife with experimentalist purpose. Going in order to have gone. As ethics go, that one feels particularly worth preserving.

Insect Ark on Facebook

Consouling Sounds website

 

Never Kenezzard, The Long and Grinding Road

Never Kenezzard The Long and Grinding Road

Sludge and grind come together on Denver trio Never Kenezzard‘s The Long and Grinding Road, and through what seems to be some modern metallurgical miracle, the album sounds neither like CarcassSwansong nor Dopethrone. After the pummeling beginning of “Gravity” and “Genie,” the interlude “Praer” and the subequent channel-panning-screamer “Ra” expand an anti-genre take as bent on individuality of sound as they apparently are on clever wordplay. “Demon Wheel” has a genuine heavy rock thrust, and “Slowburn” and the looped clock noise of “11:59:59” provide buffers between the extended cuts “Seven Statues” (11:31) and “The Long and Grinding Road” (14:55) itself, which closes, but by then the three-piece have established a will and a way to go wherever they want and you can follow if you’re up for it. So are you? Probably. There’s some underlying current of Faith No More-style fuckery in the sound, something playful about the way Never Kenezzard push themselves into abrasion. You can tell they’re having fun, and that affects the listening experience throughout the purposefully unmanageable 57 minutes of the album.

Never Kenezzard on Facebook

Never Kenezzard on Bandcamp

 

The Kupa Pities, Godlike Supervision

The Kupa Pities Godlike Supervision

There’s a thread of noise rock that runs throughout Godlike Supervision, the debut full-length from Munich-based four-piece The Kupa Pities, and it brings grit to both the early-Clutch riffing of lead cut “Anthology” and the later, fuzz-overdose “Queen Machine.” It’s not just about aggression, though there’s some of that, but of the band putting their own spin on the established tenets of Kyuss-style desert and Fu Manchu-style heavy rocks. “Black Hole” digs into the punkish roots of the former, while the starts-and-stops of “Dance Baby Dance” and the sheer push of the title-track hint toward the latter, even if they’re a little sharper around the edges than the penultimate “Surfing,” which feels like it was titled after what the band do with their own groove — they seem to ride it in expert fashion. So be it. “Black Hole” works in a bit of atmosphere and “Burning Man” caps with a fair-enough blowout at the finish, ending the album on a note not unfamiliar but indicative of the twists The Kupa Pities are working to bring to their influences.

The Kupa Pities on Facebook

The Kupa Pities on Bandcamp

 

Warpstormer, 1

warpstormer logo

A newcomer trio, London’s Warpstormer brings together guitarist Scott Black (Green Lung), drummer Matthew Folley and bassist/vocalist Richard J. Morgan (ex-Oak), and their aptly-titled first EP, 1, presents four bangers of unrepentantly brash heavy rock and roll, channeling perhaps some of earlier Orange Goblin‘s boozy-wrecking-crew vibes, but on “Ride the Bomb” digging into post-hardcore and metal as well, the abidingly aggro sense undercut by a quiet stretch holding its tension in the drums as well as the drunken quiet start of “Devourer,” which gets plenty bruising by its finish but is slower in procession certainly than were “Here Comes Hell” and “Storm Caller” at the outset. They’re in and out and done in 19 minutes, but as what otherwise might be a demo, 1 gives a look at where Warpstormer are coming from and would seem to herald future incursions to come. I’ll take it. The songs come across as feeling out where the band wants to be in terms of sound, but where they’re headed, they’re headed with due charge.

Warpstormer on Facebook

Warpstormer on Bandcamp

 

Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez, Génesis Negro

Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez Génesis Negro

Génesis Negro perhaps loses something in the audio-only experience. To wit, while Ricardo Jiménez Gómez is responsible for all the music on the album, it’s the illustrations of Antonio Ramírez Collado, bringing together in Blake-esque style mysticism, anatomy, and ideas born of research into early Christian gnostics, that serve as the root from which that music is sprung. Instrumental in its entirety and including a reprint of the article that ties the visuals and audio together and was apparently the inspiration for exploring the subject to start with, its 43-minute run can obviously offer the listener a deeper dive than just the average collection of verse/chorus songs, and no doubt that’s the intention. Some pieces are minimal enough to barely be there at all, enough to emphasize every strum of a string, and others offer a distorted tonal weight that seems ready to interpret any number of psychedelic spiritual chaos processes. If you want to get weird, Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez are way ahead of you. They might also be ahead of themselves, honestly, despite whatever temporal paradox that implies.

Sentencia Records on Facebook

Sentencia Records on Bandcamp

 

Children of the Sün, Roots

Children of the Sün Roots

Tracks like “Leaves,” “Blood Boils Hot,” and “Thunder” still rock out a pretty heavy classic blues rock vibe, but Swedish outfit Children of the Sün — as the title Roots would imply in following-up their 2019 debut, Flowers (review here) — seem to dig deeper into atmospheric expression, emotive melodies and patience of craft in the 13-track/44-minute offering. From the the mellow noodling of “Reflection” at the start, a piano-led foreshadow for “Eden” later on, to the acoustic-till-it-ain’t “Man in the Moon” later on, the spirit of Roots feels somewhere between days gone by and days to come and therefore must be the present, strutting accordingly on “The Soul” and making a pure vocal showcase for Josefina Berglund Ekholm, on which she shines as one has come to expect. There are moments where the vocals feel disconnected from the instrumental portions of the songs, but where they go, they go organically.

Children of the Sün on Facebook

The Sign Records on Facebook

 

Desert Clouds, Planexit

desert clouds planexit

Is that flute on “Planexit,” the opener and longest track (immediate points), on Planexit, the latest outing from London-based grunge-informed heavy rockers Desert Clouds? It could well be, and after the somewhat bleaker progression of the riffs prior, that escape into melody comes across as well-placed. The band are likewise unafraid to pull off atmospheric Nick Cave-style storytelling in “Wheelchair” and more broodingly progressive fare in “Deceivers,” leaving the relatively brief “Revolutionary Lies” to rest somewhere between Southern heavy, early ’90s melodicism and a modern production. Throughout the 45-minute LP, the band swap out various structural ideologies, and while I can’t help be immersed in the groove and bassline of “Deceivers,” the linear build and receding of the penultimate “Pearl Marmalade” feels no less essential to the impact of the record overall. Behold a band who have found their niche and set themselves to the task of refining its parameters. As ever, it works because songwriting and performance are both right on.

Desert Clouds on Facebook

Mandrone Records website

 

Gondhawa, Käampâla

Gondhawa - Käampâla

Comprised of Clement Pineau (drums, kamele n’goni, vocals, percussion), Idriss Besselievre (vocals, guitar, sanxian), Paul Adamczuk (bass/guitar, keyboard) and Margot GuilbertGondhawa bring forth a heavy psychedelic cultural sphere throughout the still-digestible six tracks and 37 minutes of Käampâla, with the French trio’s penchant for including instrumentation from Africa or Asia alongside the more traditional guitar, bass, drums, keys and vocals resulting in a lush but natural feeling psychedelia that seems to be all the more open for their readiness to jam outside whatever box expectation might put them in. The title-track feels like Mideastern prog, while the subsequent “Assid Bubu” shreds out an echoing lead over a slow-roller of a stoner-jam nod. Their willingness to dance is a strength, ultimately, and their inclusion of these arrangement elements, including percussion, comes across as more than dabbling in world music. They’re not the first to look beyond their effects pedals in manifesting psych rock, but there’s not a lot out there that sounds like this.

Gondhawa on Facebook

Stolen Body Records website

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Poseidótica to Release Fifth Album in 2022; New Single “Æon” Streaming

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 1st, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Poseidotica

Buenos Aires-based heavy instrumentalists Poseidótica are looking to release a new full-length next year — as are many at this point; I’ve got a growing list to prove it — and they’ve prefaced that offering with a new single called “Æon” that marks their third since lockdown last year, following behind May 2020’s mostly-drone “Aire” and Nov. 2020’s resonant escapist jaunt “Repercusión,” drifting in its initial guitar and percussion and later unfolding in a krautrock electronic pulse, like it turned out you were vacationing in the future the whole time. Given the shape that future has taken in reality, you might want to book with a different travel agent next time.

Nonetheless, “Æon” presents a more evened-out approach to progressive heavy psychedelic rock, though it still works in movements across its five-plus minutes, and the band seem to intimate that such will be the way of things on the impending long-player, which will not actually feature the track itself. Fair enough. Onto the aforementioned list they go, and one looks forward to finding out precisely where the last few years and a swap in guitarists has taken them.

They’ve also got a recent reissue out on Clostridium Records, and yes, I’m late on this news. What else is new?

From the PR wire:

Poseidotica AEON

In September 2021 Poseidótica released a new song called “Æon” that hints at the paths their fifth studio album will take, which is in the pre-production process and is scheduled to be released in mid-2022.

“Æon” presents as a novelty the entry of Eugenio De Luca, the group’s new guitarist replacing founding member Hernán Miceli, and was mixed and mastered by Martín Furia (actual guitarist of German’s thrash metal legends Destruction) in Antwerp, Belgium.

Although the song will not be included in the album, the track explores into the classic dynamics of the band with a more space and progressive rock approach.

During the isolation of 2020, the instrumental group that has already been on the road for 20 years, took the opportunity to deliver its full discography on vinyl and cassette through its own label Aquatalan Records, also releasing several limited editions of singles and EPs in 7″ format, making musical collaborations with some other alternative artists from Argentina like Boom Boom Kid, Carca, Marina Fages and Santiago Córdoba.

Their first three albums “Intramundo”, “La Distancia” and “Crónicas del Futuro” have exclusive distribution worldwide via Kozmik Artifactz.

In August 2021 their fourth album “El Dilema del Origen” was reissued on vinyl by the German label Clostridium Records in three different deluxe editions (Black, Bi-Colour and Swirl die-hard exclusive label edition).

With the flexibility of the restrictions in Argentina, the band returned to perform live concerts in their country, and had several shows scheduled between the end of the year and the beginning of 2022.

Æon
Bandcamp: https://poseidotica.bandcamp.com/track/on
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3CnM7Tq
YouTube: https://youtu.be/OhrKNct2n_A
Other digital platforms: https://songwhip.com/poseidotica/aeon

Poseidótica are
Walter Broide: Batería.
Eugenio De Luca: Guitarra.
Martín Rodríguez: Bajo.
Santiago Rua: Guitarra.

http://www.facebook.com/POSEIDOTICA
http://www.instagram.com/poseidotica
http://twitter.com/poseidotica
https://poseidotica.bandcamp.com/
http://www.poseidotica.com.ar/

Poseidótica, “Æon”

Tags: , , , , , ,

Ambassador Self-Titled Debut Released on Vinyl

Posted in Whathaveyou on September 28th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

The latest offering from Buenos Aires-based trio Ambassador is the aptly-titled 2020 live album, En Vivo, which was released through Bandcamp in a tape edition of — wait for it… — five copies. That, in case it didn’t sink in, is not very many copies. As they’ve aligned to Interstellar Smoke Records, more than that have been pressed of their 2016 self-titled debut. Specifically 241 more. They’ve also since followed that debut with 2018’s Ambassador 2 and a couple other short outings, but in ethic and style, it’s easy enough to understand what might’ve had the label come calling for the first record first.

Analog-loyal, Ambassador reportedly tracked the album live, to tape, in a single take. That is, they showed up, checked mics and hit it. A live-in-studio release is bold in any case — capturing in maximum fidelity all the warts along the way as it does — but for a debut it feels like an especially bold move. What’re the stakes? I don’t know, but one way or the other there’s no arguing with results.

For what it’s worth though, I did more than one take typing this.

From the PR wire:

ambassador ambassador

Heavy Blues Rock trio Ambassador team up with Interstellar Smoke Records to release their brilliantly crushing debut album on vinyl!

#ISR066: AMBASSADOR “Ambassador” #ISR RED DOWN VINYL EDITION LTD. 250 COPIES

*Trans Violet Vinyl 180 grams, housed in standard LP-sleeve cover, comes in single-pocket cover, double-sided print insert and poster A3.

Art by Alejandro Castillo Leonelli Gogogoch.com.ar

*Trans Violet Vinyl Hand-Crafted in 33 1/3 RPM, with new special audiophile mastering for vinyl edition to get the highest possible sound quality at Velozet Estudio by Dylan Lerner and Masterized at Delajungla Estudio by Hernan Asconiga

All analogic recorded(!)

This album was recorded live and in one take(!)

Heavy Blues Rock Trio in BEST POSSIBLE FORM ! ! !

Tracklist:
1. Blues del origen 05:07
2. Estado Natural 04:05
3. Arbol de la paz 03:54
4. Espejismo 03:57
5. Siniestro 06:11
6. Por los caminos 02:54
7. La amenaza del pombero 03:06
8. Donde pega el sol 03:58
9. Tiempo 01:32

Ambassador:
Maxi Álvarez Guitarra y Voz
Emiliano Arrettino Bajo
Lucas Calabrese Batería

https://www.facebook.com/Ambassadoroficial
https://www.instagram.com/ambassadorblues/
https://ambassadoroficial.bandcamp.com/
https://interstellarsmokerecords1.bandcamp.com/
https://interstellarsmokerecords.bigcartel.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Interstellar-Smoke-Records-101687381255396/
https://instagram.com/interstellar.smoke.label

Ambassador, Ambassador (2016)

Ambassador, En Vivo (2020)

Tags: , , , , ,

Sergio Ch. Premieres “Lirium” Video from New Album Koi

Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 15th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

sergio-ch

Amid a slew of others in the works, recent and forthcoming, across an ever-increasing range of projects, Buenos Aires-based experimentalist/heavy songwriter Sergio Chotsourian — aka Sergio Ch. — released his latest solo full-length, Koi (review here), in June through his own South American Sludge imprint. The album came out at the end of June, and already to coincide Chotsourian has produced five videos for its songs, with the gravelly “Lirium” — premiering below — as the sixth. To say the guy is in a productive period is to put it mildly, but over the last five or six years, that’s just kind of how it’s become for the former Los Natas frontman, whose work in AraratSoldati, with the label, and on his own has made him a staple and a figurehead of the Argentine and greater South American underground.

If you can keep up with his work, congratulations. I do my best in that regard, but after 25 years since the first Los Natas record, Chotsourian sets perhaps a more ambitious pace than ever. The clip for the closing track from Koi, a cover of Nine Inch Nails‘ “Hurt” featuring his daughter, Isabel Ch., came out just a couple weeks ago — his son Rafael features at the end of the prior song, “El Gran Chapparal,” as well; no video yet — and “Lirium” follows in a kind of visual meditation that’s fitting for the track’s descending piano line and throaty vocal, a folkish feel but richly atmospheric with backing drones adding an ethereal presence. That piano line is different when you actually listen, but it takes me back earliest Ararat, and I remember it being striking when 2009’s Musica de la Resistencia (review here) showed up with “Dos Horses,” so strikingly different from what would turn out to be the last Los Natas album, Nuevo Orden de la Libertad (review here), despite arriving just a couple months later and sharing different interpretations of its songs.

Perhaps that’s emblematic of the ongoing creative conversation Chotsourian is having across with work with the various sides of his own process. He’s done plenty piano/synth/etc. since, of course, and songs show up on one solo record, then find their way morphed onto another, or redone as a Soldati or Ararat track, or wherever the whim suits. That lack of predictability makes his output more exciting to hear — again, for those who might be able to keep up — but it’s just as much the restlessness that is his own as well as any particular sonic element or interpretive method. The expressive need.

You’ll find “Lirium” premiering below. I’ve also included “Hurt” and the Bandcamp stream of Koi, for good measure.

Enjoy:

Sergio Ch., “Lirium” official video premiere

VIDEO OFICIAL DEL DISCO DE SERGIO CH. – “KOI”
PRODUCIDO POR SERGIO CH.
VIDEO REALIZADO POR SERGIO CH.

isabel & Sergio Ch., “Hurt” (Nine Inch Nails cover) official video

Sergio Ch., Koi (2021)

Sergio Ch. on Facebook

Sergio Ch. on Instagram

South American Sludge Records on Bandcamp

Tags: , , , , ,