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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Ashish Niraj Dharkar of Dirge

Posted in Questionnaire on June 15th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Ashish Niraj Dharkar of Dirge

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Ashish Niraj Dharkar of Dirge, Pacifist and The Earth Below

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I’m a musician and an educator living in Mumbai, India. I started playing guitar in 2011 and knew it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The connection with the instrument was real and very strong from the very beginning. It was a very difficult time for me in my personal life and music became a medium of catharsis for me. I currently play guitars in Dirge, Pacifist & The Earth Below.

Describe your first musical memory.

I grew up in quite a non-musical family in general and there weren’t a lot of music related activities in my school either. I’ve always been a sucker for melancholic and beautiful melodies though, that’s what I’ve connected to the most. I remember a friend of mine gave me a CD which had a lot of popular songs by Metallica, Linkin Park, Green Day, Scorpions, Iron Maiden etc. I’m so glad to have checked it out cause hearing a distorted guitar for the first time literally changed my life forever. It was the coolest sound I ever heard and the love for discovering new sounds just got stronger from there.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I think the best memory must be going to the Roadburn Festival in 2019 and watching a lot of my all-time favourite artists live. The whole experience of going to Europe for the first time, exploring beautiful places, meeting new people and being at a festival with artists I looked up to; it was magical. Apart from that, I’ve had some amazing memories of writing music and playing shows here in India with my bands. I hope to travel and play at new places in other countries too.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

I grew up in a very loving family and had quite a beautiful childhood overall I must say. My grandfather and father both were the most inspiring people I’ve ever met. They had a very tough life growing up with some serious obstacles and worked hard to reach where they were. They always showered endless love upon us, and family always came first for them. It just felt like that’ll last forever. But they both passed away over a span of four years while I was still in my teens. It was the lowest point in my life and took a lot of will power and courage to move forward and believe in things again. These tragic events really shook my belief of having endless time with the ones you love and sometimes taking things for granted. You never know when will be your last moment here and life truly is unpredictable. We must make the most with the time we have.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Self-discovery and understanding the bigger picture.

How to define success?

Honestly, it’s quite difficult to define success in a way as it keeps changing for me with time. Being able to do music full-time as an educator and playing music that I strongly connect with in a few bands is really satisfying to me. It’s not easy doing that living in India where pretty much everything is against us. It gets quite frustrating at times to be a part of a society where you always feel like an outsider. But I’m lucky to be living a life on my own terms and playing music I truly believe in with some of my closest friends. I hope I can continue to do so forever. Also, my family and close friends have always been very supportive of my musical endeavours and I’m so grateful for that. Touring in Europe with my bands (whenever that happens) will feel like success to me on some level.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Deaths of close ones at a very early age.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I really want to make dark post-punk and shoegaze inspired dance music in the vein of Boy Harsher, She Past Away, Public Memory, The Cure, etc. I need to improve my production skills to get this going.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

In my opinion, honest and true expression straight from the heart with zero compromises is really important when it comes to art. Art is such a pure cathartic medium to let your deepest feelings out and it connects people together from across the globe. I absolutely can’t imagine a life without it

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to.

I really enjoy photography and finally managed to get a good camera recently. I’m having a lot of fun with it. Hoping to travel to some new places in the next few years and take loads of pictures. I also really want to watch a Manchester United match at Old Trafford someday. I’m a HUGE fan.

https://www.facebook.com/DIRGE.India
https://www.instagram.com/dirge.india/
https://dirgeindia.bandcamp.com/

Dirge, Dirge (2023)

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Quarterly Review: ISAAK, Iron Void, Dread Witch, Tidal Wave, Guided Meditation Doomjazz, Cancervo, Dirge, Witch Ripper, Pelegrin, Black Sky Giant

Posted in Reviews on April 10th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-qr-summer-2020

Welcome to the Spring 2023 Quarterly Review. Between today and next Tuesday, a total of 70 records will be covered with a follow-up week slated for May bringing that to 120. Rest assured, it’ll be plenty. If you’re reading this, I feel safe assuming you know the deal: 10 albums per day from front to back, ranging in style, geography, type of release — album, EP, singles even, etc. — and the level of hype and profile surrounding. The Quarterly Review is always a massive undertaking, but I’ve never done one and regretted it later, and looking at what’s coming up across the next seven days, there are more than few records featured that are already on my ongoing best of 2023 list. So please, keep an eye and ear out, and hopefully you’ll also find something new that speaks to you.

We begin.

Quarterly Review #1-10:

ISAAK, Hey

isaak hey

Last heard from as regards LPs with 2015’s Serominize (review here) and marking 10 years since their 2013 debut under the name, The Longer the Beard the Harder the Sound (review here), Genoa-based heavy rockers ISAAK return with the simply-titled Hey and encapsulate the heads-up fuzz energy that’s always been at the core of their approach. Vocalist Giacomo H. Boeddu has hints of Danzig in “OBG” and the swing-shoving “Sleepwalker” later on, but whether it’s the centerpiece Wipers cover “Over the Edge,” the rolling “Dormhouse” that follows, or the melodic highlight “Rotten” that precedes, the entire band feel cohesive and mature in their purposeful songwriting. They’re labelmates and sonic kin to Texas’ Duel, but less bombastic, with a knife infomercial opening their awaited third record before the title-track and “OBG” begin to build the momentum that carries the band through their varied material, spacious on “Except,” consuming in the apex of “Fake it Till You Make It,” but engaging throughout in groove and structure.

ISAAK on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

 

Iron Void, IV

IRON VOID IV

With doom in their collective heart and riffs to spare, UK doom metal traditionalists Iron Void roll out a weighted 44 minutes across the nine songs of their fourth full-length, IV, seeming to rail against pandemic-era restrictions in “Grave Dance” and tech culture in “Slave One” while “Pandora’s Box” rocks out Sabbathian amid the sundry anxieties of our age. Iron Void have been around for 25 years as of 2023 — like a British Orodruin or trad-doom more generally, they’ve been undervalued for most of that time — and their songwriting earns the judgmental crankiness of its perspective, but each half of the LP gets a rousing closer in “Blind Dead” and “Last Rites,” and Iron Void doom out like there’s no tomorrow even on the airier “She” because, as we’ve seen in the varying apocalypses since the band put out 2018’s Excalibur (review here), there might not be. So much the better to dive into the hook of “Living on the Earth” or the grittier “Lords of the Wasteland,” the metal-of-yore sensibility tapping into early NWOBHM without going full-Maiden. Kind of a mixed bag, it might take a few listens to sink in, but IV shows the enduring strengths of Iron Void and is clearly meant more for those repeat visits than some kind of cloying immediacy. An album to be lived with and doomed with.

Iron Void on Facebook

Shadow Kingdom Records website

 

Dread Witch, Tower of the Severed Serpent

Dread Witch Tower of the Severed Serpent

An offering of thickened, massive lava-flow sludge, plodding doom and atmospheric severity, Dread Witch‘s self-released (not for long, one suspects) first long-player, Tower of the Severed Serpent, announces a significant arrival on the part of the onslaught-prone Danish outfit, who recorded as a trio, play live as a five-piece and likely need at least that many people to convey the density of a song like the opener/longest track (immediate points) “The Tower,” the eight minutes of which are emblematic of the force of execution with which the band delivers the rest of what follows, runtimes situated longest to shortest across the near-caustic chug of “Serpent God,” the Celtic Frost-y declarations and mega-riff ethos of “Leech,” the play between key-led minimalism and all-out stomp on “Wormtongue” and the earlier-feeling noise intensity of “Into the Crypt” before the more purely ambient but still heavy instrumental “Severed” wraps, conveying weight of emotion to complement the tonal tectonics prior. Bordering on the extreme and clearly enjoying the crush that doing so affords them, Dread Witch make more of a crater than an impression and would be outright barbaric were their sound not so methodical in immersing the audience. Pro sound, loaded with potential, heavy as shit; these are the makings of a welcome debut.

Dread Witch on Facebook

Dread Witch on Bandcamp

 

Tidal Wave, The Lord Knows

Tidal Wave the lord knows

Next-generation heavy fuzz purveyed with particular glee, Tidal Wave seem to explore the very reaches they conjure through verses and choruses on their eight-song Ripple Music label debut (second LP overall behind 2019’s Blueberry Muffin), The Lord Knows, and they make the going fun throughout the 41-minute outing, finding the shuffle in the shove of “Robbero Bobbero” while honing classic desert idolatry on “Lizard King” and “End of the Line” at the outset. What a relief it is to know that heavy rock and roll won’t die with the aging-out of so many of its Gen-X and Millennial purveyors, and as Tidal Wave step forward with the low-end semi-metal roll of “Pentagram” and the grander spaces of “By Order of the King” before “Purple Bird” returns to the sands and “Thorsakir” meets that on an open field of battle, it seems the last word has not been said on Tidal Wave in terms of aesthetic. They’ve got time to continue to push deeper into their craft — and maybe that will or won’t result in their settling on one path or another — but the range of moods on The Lord Knows suits them well, and without pretense or overblown ceremony the Sundsvall four-piece bring together elements of classic heavy rock and metal while claiming a persona that can move back and forth between them. Kind of the ideal for a younger band.

Tidal Wave on Facebook

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

 

Guided Meditation Doomjazz, Expect

Guided Meditation Doomjazz Expect

Persistently weird in the mold of Arthur Brown with unpredictability as a defining feature, Guided Meditation Doomjazz may mostly be a cathartic salve for founding bassist, vocalist, experimentalist, etc.-ist Blaise the Seeker, but that hardly makes the expression any less valid. Expect arrives as a five-song EP, ready to meander in the take-the-moniker-literally “Collapse in Dignity” and the fuzz-drenched slow-plod finisher “Sit in Surrender” — watery psychedelic guitar weaving overhead like a cloud you can reshape with your mind — that devolves into drone and noise, but not unstructured and not without intention behind even its most out-there moments. The bluesy sway of “The Mind is Divided” follows the howling scene-setting of the titular opener, while “Stream of Crystal Water” narrates its verse over crunchier riffing before the sung chorus-of-sorts, the overarching dug-in sensibility conveying some essence of what seems despite a prolific spate of releases to be an experience intended for a live setting, with all the one-on-one mind-expansion and arthouse performance that inevitably coincides with it. Still, with a rough-feeling production, Expect carries a breadth that makes communing with it that much easier. Go on, dare to get lost for a little while. See where you end up.

Guided Meditation Doomjazz on Facebook

The Swamp Records on Bandcamp

 

Cancervo, II

Cancervo II

II is the vocalized follow-up to Cancervo‘s 2021 debut, 1 (review here), and finds the formerly-instrumental Lombardy, Italy, three-piece delving further into the doomed aspects of the initial offering with a greater clarity on “Arera,” “Herdsman of Grem” and “The Cult of Armentarga,” letting some of the psychedelia of the first record go while maintaining enough of an atmosphere to be hypnotic as the vocals follow the marching rhythm as the latter track moves into its midsection or the rhythmic chains in the subsequent “Devil’s Coffin” (an instrumental) lock step with the snare in a floating, loosely-Eastern-scaled break before the bigger-sounding end. Between “Devil’s Coffin” and the feedback-prone also-instrumental “Zambla” ahead of 8:43 closer “Zambel’s Goat” — on which the vocals return in a first-half of subdued guitar-led doomjamming prior to the burst moment at 4:49 — II goes deeper as it plays through and is made whole by its meditative feel, some semblance of head-trip cult doom running alongside, but if it’s a cult it’s one with its own mythology. Not where one expected them to go after 1, but that’s what makes it exciting, and that they lay claim to arrangement flourish, chanting vocals and slogging tempos as they do bodes well for future exploration.

Cancervo on Facebook

Electric Valley Records website

 

Dirge, Dirge

Dirge Dirge

So heavy it crashed my laptop. Twice. The second full-length from Mumbai post-metallers Dirge is a self-titled four-songer that culls psychedelia from tonal tectonics, not contrasting the two but finding depth in the ways they can interact. Mixed by Sanford Parker, the longer-form pieces comprise a single entirety without seeming to have been written as one long track, the harsh vocals of Tabish Khidir adding urgency to the guitar work of Ashish Dharkar and Varun Patil (the latter also backing vocals) as bassist Harshad Bhagwat and drummer Aryaman Chatterji underscore and punctuate the chugging procession of opener “Condemned” that’s offset if not countermanded by its quieter stretch. If you’re looking for your “Stones From the Sky”-moment as regards riffing, it’s in the 12-minute second cut, “Malignant,” the bleak triumph of which spills over in scream-topped angularity into “Grief” (despite a stop) while the latter feels all the more massive for its comedown moments. In another context, closer “Hollow” might be funeral doom, but it’s gorgeous either way, and it fits with the other three tracks in terms of its interior claustrophobia and thoughtful aggression. They’re largely playing toward genre tenets, but Dirge‘s gravity in doing so is undeniable, and the space they create is likewise dark and inviting, if not for my own tech.

Dirge on Facebook

Dirge store

 

Witch Ripper, The Flight After the Fall

Witch Ripper The Flight after the Fall

Witch Ripper‘s sophomore LP and Magnetic Eye label-debut, The Flight After the Fall, touches on anthemic prog rock and metal with heavy-toned flourish and plenty of righteous burl in cuts like “Madness and Ritual Solitude” and the early verses of “The Obsidian Forge,” though the can-sing vocals of guitarists Chad Fox and Curtis Parker and bassist Brian Kim — drummer Joe Eck doesn’t get a mic but has plenty to do anyhow — are able to push that centerpiece and the rest of what surrounds over into the epic at a measure’s notice. Or not, which only makes Witch Ripper more dynamic en route to the 16:45 sprawling finish of “Everlasting in Retrograde Parts 1 and 2,” picking up from the lyrics of the leadoff “Enter the Loop” to put emphasis on the considered nature of the release as a whole, which is a showcase of ambition in songwriting as much as performance of said songs, conceptual reach and moments of sheer pummel. It’s been well hyped, and by the time “Icarus Equation” soars into its last chorus without its wings melting, it’s easy to hear why in the fullness of its progressive heft and melodic theatricality. It’s not a minor undertaking at 47 minutes, but it wouldn’t be a minor undertaking if it was half that, given the vastness of Witch Ripper‘s sound. Be ready to travel with it.

Witch Ripper on Facebook

Magnetic Eye Records store

 

Pelegrin, Ways of Avicenna

Pelegrin Ways of Avicenna

In stated narrative conversation with the Arabic influence on Spanish and greater Western European (read: white) culture, specifically in this case as regards the work of Persian philosopher Ibn Sina, Parisian self-releasing three-piece Pelegrin follow-up 2019’s Al-Mahruqa (review here) with the expansive six songs of Ways of Avicenna, with guitarist/vocalist François Roze de Gracia, bassist/backing vocalist Jason Recoing and drummer/percussionist Antoine Ebel working decisively to create a feeling of space not so much in terms of the actual band in the room, but of an ancient night sky on songs like “Madrassa” and the rolling heavy prog solo drama of the later “Mystical Appear,” shades of doom and psychedelia pervasive around the central riff-led constructions, the folkish middles of “Thunderstorm” and “Reach for the Sun” and the acoustic two-minute “Disgrace” a preface to the patient manner in which the trio feel their way into the final build of closer “Forsaken Land.” I’m neither a historical scholar nor a philosopher, and thankfully the album doesn’t require you to be, but Pelegrin could so easily tip over into the kind of cartoonish cultural appropriation that one finds among certain other sects of European psychedelia, and they simply don’t. Whether the music speaks to you or not, appreciate that.

Pelegrin on Facebook

Pelegrin on Bandcamp

 

Black Sky Giant, Primigenian

Black Sky Giant Primigenian

Lush but not overblown, Argentinian instrumentalists Black Sky Giant fluidly and gorgeously bring together psychedelia and post-rock on their third album, Primigenian, distinguishing their six-song/31-minute brevity with an overarching progressive style that brings an evocative feel whether it’s to the guitar solos in “At the Gates” or the subsequent kick propulsion of “Stardust” — which does seem to have singing, though one can barely make out what if anything is actually being said — as from the denser tonality of the opening title-track, they go on to unfurl the spiritual-uplift of “The Great Hall,” fading into a cosmic boogie on the relatively brief “Sonic Thoughts” as they, like so many, would seem to have encountered SLIFT‘s Ummon sometime in the last two years. Doesn’t matter; it’s just a piece of the puzzle here and the shortest track, sitting as it does on the precipice of capper “The Foundational Found Tapes,” which plays out like amalgamated parts of what might’ve been other works, intermittently drummed and universally ambient, as though to point out the inherently incomplete nature of human-written histories. They fade out that last piece after seeming to put said tapes into a player of some sort (vague samples surrounding) and ending with an especially dream-toned movement. I wouldn’t dare speculate what it all means, but I think we might be the ancient progenitors in question. Fair enough. If this is what’s found by whatever species is next dominant on this planet — I hope they do better at it than humans have — we could do far worse for representation.

Black Sky Giant on Facebook

Black Sky Giant on Bandcamp

 

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Durge Premiere Lyric Video for “Round and Round” from Dirge EP

Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 15th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

durge

A couple things to get straight before we dig in here: The band is Durge. The EP is Dirge. And no, “Round and Round” is not a Ratt cover. Okay? Everybody on board?

Based in Cape Town, South Africa, the not-quite-shoegaze four-piece made their debut in August with the five-song Dirge, proffering heavied up ’90s alt vibes with a pervasive current of downerism. Think the grunge that made you sad, with an edge of psychedelia tossed in. “Round and Round,” for which the band has a new lyric video posted basically as a way of saying, “hey, we exist,” captures the melodic and depressive aspects of their approach well, with the vocals of guitarist Mark Ellis backed harmonically by bassist Francois Taljaardt and a sense of reach and scope between Ellis‘ and Heinrich Wesson‘s guitars given over to a massive crunch propelled by the drums of James Lombard. It’s heavy stuff, and unlike many songs written about monotony, it isn’t monotonous.

Elsewhere on the EP — which is streaming in full at the bottom of this post courtesy of Durge‘s Soundcloud page — they smash together laid back angularity and forward thrust with “On Call for Death” and adventure into minor-key leads and vocal interplay on “The Man Who Has Never Seen Snow.” Their two longest cuts round out in “Faithless” (6:24) and “Restless Nights” (8:14), making for a potent side B that drives a desert-hued patience in “Faithless” toward a momentary swell of melancholic progressivism. Drums lead the way into “Restless Nights,” but there’s plenty of time to explore reaches that on more straight-ahead cuts like “Round and Round” and “On Call for Death” sought not to tread. And they do, demonstrating a willingness to develop the track at its own pace, letting parts breathe before moving into their next stage and ultimately leaving an impression balanced between emotionalist intensity and sonic engagement.

Dig into “Round and Round” — again, an original — on the player immediately following, and the EP beneath some more background from the PR wire, which follows. You know how it goes.

Enjoy:

Durge, “Round and Round” lyric video premiere

DURGE was formed in Cape Town, South Africa in 2016 by Mark Ellis, Francois Taljaardt, James Lombard, and Heinrich Wesson. Over the past two years the band has been forging their unique sound that they call “Melandelic Rock”, a fusion of melancholy and psychedelic sounds. They’ve recently released their debut EP titled Dirge.

Vocalist/guitarist Mark Ellis comments on the EP, “Being very much a DIY project and the band’s first official release (with the help of some close friends), this EP is something close to the hearts of all four members. It also marks the start of an exploration into our sound which still has many dimensions to uncover. Dealing mostly with individualism and social issues, Dirge is a short statement to life.”

Durge is:
Mark Ellis – Lead Vocals, Guitar
Francois Taljaardt – Backing Vocals, Bass
James Lombard – Drums
Heinrich Wesson – Guitar

Durge on Instagram

Durge on Thee Facebooks

Durge on Soundcloud

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