Ruff Majik Premiere “Come all Ye Druids” from New Album Seasons
Posted in audiObelisk on March 21st, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Come this Spring/early Summer, Pretorian heavy psych trio Ruff Majik will embark on a European tour for the first time. They do so supporting their upcoming new album, Seasons, and in addition to a Sound of Liberation showcase on May 26 in Wiesbaden that also includes My Sleeping Karma and Colour Haze in the lineup — not too shabby — they’ll be appearing at Freak Valley 2018 in Germany and SonicBlast Moledo 2018 in Portugal. Clearly the plan is to get around.
Fair enough. Imagine Goatsnake jamming a blowout tapped on mushrooms while backpacking during a semester abroad and you might be somewhere near the swing and sneer of Ruff Majik‘s new streaming single, “Come all Ye Druids,” which is premiering below. I haven’t yet had the pleasure of hearing Seasons — which is out April 20 and may or may not bear the subtitle A Stag in the Leaves — in its entirety, but the South African trio three-piece have put out three prior “chapters” under the Seasons banner in last June’s 
Seasons 1, Chapter 1: The Hare and the Hollow, last September’s Seasons 1, Chapter 2: A Finch in a Cherry Tree and last December’s Seasons 1, Chapter 3: A Dragon and His Hoard, so whether the impending Seasons is part of the same overarching storyline — i.e., if it’s “Chapter 4” — or some next step in the cycle, I couldn’t say, but the mystery only adds intrigue to the track itself, which as intimated above, brims with riffy and tripped-out groove.
The tones are thick but not immobile, and guitarist/vocalist Johni Holidayis right when he asserts below that the band is getting heavier. What they haven’t done, at least going by “Come all Ye Druids,” is abandon the spirit of spontaneity that comes from jam-based songcraft, and so whether it’s Holiday‘s riffs, the washing crash of drummer Ben Manchino or the air-pushing low end from bassist Jimmy Glass, the four-minute track wants nothing for momentum as it pushes its way through its drity, sludge-infused nod. The hook arrives over toms and the central riff picks back up even more infectious than when it left, the swagger of the verse at once dangerous and immersive. A fuzzed out so fights for dominance in the second half of the track, but it seems nothing can overcome the main riff, which takes hold again and seems to override everything else as the track fades just past the four-minute mark.
As to just how much of what Ruff Majik are doing on Seasons might be represented in “Come all Ye Druids,” I couldn’t say. Given how loose-swinging the single is, I’d believe you if you told me the record went just about anywhere. Take a listen below and see if you can guess. A quote from Holiday and PR wire info follows.
Please enjoy:
Johni Holiday on Seasons:
With this release, Ruff Majik decided to set sail into newer, sludgier directions. We decided long ago that we wouldn’t be that band that people would complain about, saying ‘they used to be heavier.’ Hell no, every time we bring out new music we want to move forward, become heavier, more intense. We still like to include bluesy bits, sure. But this song is made to be filthy, heavy, oily sludge ‘n’ roll. Next time we might do something a bit more doom again, who knows hahaha. All I know is that right now, Ruff Majik is becoming a groove machine, and we like it.
The band embark on their 1st European tour in June 2018 which sees them play Freak Valley Festival in Germany along with a host of club shows supporting the likes of Colour Haze, My Sleeping Karma and The Devil and the Almighty Blues. They’ll be back in Europe in August to play SonicBlast in Portugal.
Ruff Majik live:
Support for The Devil and the Almighty Blues:
24 May, Stuttgart, Goldmarks
28 May, Munich, Feierwerk
29 May, Vienna, Arena
30 May, Leipzig, Werk 2
Supporting Colour Haze and My Sleeping Karma:
26 May, Wiesbaden, Schlachthoff
31 May, Freak Valley Festival, Netphen
2 June, Dresden, Beatpol (supporting Mars Red Sky)
In a small, secluded mining town in rural South Africa, three friends heard the call of the void, and spat fuzz back at it. Thus, Ruff Majik was formed, and the boys decided it was time to move to the city to spread their gospel of riff worship and sound sorcery.
Ruff Majik moved to Pretoria, South Africa, where they’ve become infamous for their lively shows and aggressive on-stage persona. With their brand of what they call “stoner rock / sludge ‘n roll” they move between slow grooves and breakneck speeds in the blink of an eye, with live shows being described as ‘whiplash inducing’.
The band surfaced in 2015 with the release of their first 6 track, The Bear. This got them lots of attention from reviewers all over the world. They quickly followed up with The Fox in 2016. In 2017 Ruff Majik released The Swan, The Hare and the Hollow, A Finch in a Cherry Tree and A Dragon and his Hoard, the latter three being part of upcoming full-length Seasons.
The members are Johni Holiday (guitar/vocals), Jimmy Glass (bass guitar) and Ben Manchino (drums).
