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Album Review: Tau and the Drones of Praise, Misneach

Posted in Reviews on September 12th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

tau and the drones of praise misneach

Be it established that, as the opening track of Tau and the Drones of Praise‘s Misneach makes plain in its title and hooky chorus, “It Is Right to Give Drones and Praise.” The third full-length and Glitterbeat Records label debut from the so-Irish-they-record-in-Berlin psychedelic world folk outfit blends the terrestrial and the ethereal to such a degree as to be a walking contrast united most of all by its seeming impossibility in addition to its underlying craft. Group spearhead Seán Mulrooney — guitar, vocals, songwriting, and so on — is a factor in bringing it all together as well across the eight-song/35-minute foot-on-dirt journey that is the record, but around his voice circles a breadth of arrangement and purpose that runs from nature-worship and not-quite-new-age-but-not-quite-not, gather-the-tribes mysticism to traditionalist Celtic folk and a final message of hope so vital that, yes, the song is actually called “Hope.”

Songs have their respective foundations in acoustic guitar or piano,  some feel born of the vocal melody, as with the side B leadoff “Ceol ón Chré,” but the scope of Misneach — for which I wrote a dud of a bio; I believe compensated; I should keep better track of these things — is such that everything becomes more. “It is Right to Give Drones and Praise” is the longest song as well as the leadoff (immediate points) at 5:51, but whatever the length of a given piece is, there are realities being made and unmade here. The smooth incorporation of layers as “It is Right to Give Drones and Praise” builds toward its first verse, the opening line, “I am the tree,” and Mulrooney continuing to work from that Loraxian point of view, tells you a lot, and the music becomes a part of the message across all that follows, whether it’s the chanting in “The Sixth Sun” — don’t let me do your Googling for you, you go right ahead and read up — or the sweet banjo-esque plucks and electric fuzz in “Thunder Thunder Hummingbird,” leading to the graceful, chime-inclusive chorus there.

Surrounding Mulrooney throughout is a cast of regular contributors and guests totaling some 16 players, but the amorphousness is part of what makes Misneach so engaging, as well as the ability to hear something new seemingly in each repeat listen, whether it’s “It Is Right to Give Drones and Praise” speaking to Velvet Underground or the wow-who-knew-it-could-be-done non-exploitative worship of femininity that persists in cuts like “Ériu” or “The Sixth Sun,” the sense of earth as mother and more than that ultimately simple archetype. The flutes and dance-in-field vibe of “Na Heilimintí” are gorgeous and insistent, energetic and live-sounding, and there are enough voices working at it by the end that a whole community seems to be singing. These atmospheres are purposeful and lush, but at the same time, Misneach is unflinchingly organic, and that too is essential to the impression it makes. If “It is Right to Give Drones and Praise” is the thesis through which the heart of the album is laid bare, “Ceol ón Chré” as a counterpart is likewise crucial both for its near-mandatory singalong inclusiveness and the spaces it leaves open, even with Irish singer-songwriter Damien Dempsey starting it off and taking part in what unfolds and Clannad‘s Pól Brennan adding flute to the procession.

Tau and the Drones of Praise

“Bandia” offers a bit of attitude to coincide with its acoustic guitar strum — the “crowd goes wild like pink lemonade” — and the talk of an elder setting the sun makes at least a nice verbal complement to “The Sixth Sun” if its coming from somewhere else thematically. Its sound is likewise reflective of sunshine musically, a bright melodic wash of vocals before the verse adding to the classically psychedelic feel, though part of the appeal with Misneach is its ability to stand outside of time and genre. It is here there this that now then soon, speaking to ancients instrumentally with a message of a brighter consciousness for tomorrow. “Bandia” is less directly earth-mystical than “Na Heilimintí,” and markedly less Irish — Tau and the Drones of Praise have always woven through traditions from Ireland, South America, the Middle East, never so clear-headedly as in these songs — but for that rests well between “Ceol ón Chré” and “Ériu,” which pulls back some of the backing vocals and is essentially a flowing three-minute love letter to Mulrooney’s home via the goddess representing the land.

In some ways, its flourish of jazz, psychedelia, classic folk-prog and ‘world’ music is a fitting summary of Misneach, at least in mindset if not sound, but there isn’t really a single track that accounts for the entirety — there’s just more happening throughout than that, even if “It is Right to Give Drones and Praise” is the mission statement. “Hope” might also argue in its own favor. Certainly the closer is a standout, with its more gradual unfurling, graceful bounce, chants to one’s ancestors and posi-vibing resolution around the word “hope.” If nothing else, it underscores a commonality shared between the tracks of message and purpose. These are not haphazard songs about sitting in the sunshine. They are not unconsidered. “Thunder Thunder Hummingbird” feels light, perhaps suitably airy, and feels simple at the outset with just the one prominent vocal from Mulrooney before it hits into the chorus, but the lyrics are talking about receiving a healing blessing from nature, telling the listener that what that thing is that humans constantly seem to be seeking is already around us in nature. And at least so far as I can tell, it’s not a metaphor for casual sex, though even if it was I’m not sure that would make the point any less valid.

The flute and chimes in “Na Heilimintí,” the organic bass in “Ériu,” the whoops and shouts amid the ending choral movement of “The Sixth Sun” — these all become more familiar with time and they become part of the cosmic joy that Misneach ultimately proves itself courageous enough to radiate. Without getting into some heavy-handed diatribe about living in an age of woes, mostly of humanity’s own making, I’ll simply note that the message of love, hope and wisdom through the land is a welcome, beautiful counterpoint. And if in hearing it one takes away and internalizes a bit of the escapism, nobody’s going to be worse off.

Tau and the Drones of Praise, Misneach (2022)

Tau and the Drones of Praise, “It is Right to Give Drones and Praise” official video

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Tau and the Drones of Praise Post “It is Right to Give Drones & Praise” Video; Misneach Preorder Available

Posted in Bootleg Theater on July 12th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

tau and the drones of praise it is right to give drones and praise video

The new album from Tau and the Drones of PraiseMisneach — the group’s third full-length and first for the wowie-zowie, world-psych, gosh-this-is-a-really-good-fit-for-this-band Glitterbeat Records — will be released on Oct. 21 and today brings a video for the opening track and lead single “It is Right to Give Drones and Praise.” The first words in the track and on the record tell you the story: “I am the tree.”

That lyric, delivered by vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/spearhead Seán Mulrooney — who works throughout the LP in close collaboration with an overwhelming-on-paper-but-fluid-sonically upwards of 20 players/guests — in some ways frames the entire perspective of the record. It is not only the voice of the land, but the spirit of the non-human lives that inhabit it. “I am the three.” Same tree the Queen cut down to build warships. Same tree as your cradle was made from. Same tree that built your house. Same tree your coffin will be made from. Mulrooney lays it all out front to back.

This moment, this song, is not only a call to realization of one’s place in the world, but to embrace both that breath you’re taking and the air that comprises it, and while Misneach goes far, far out in sound with an otherworldliness that’s psychedelic and devotional in kind, it remains ever tied to the land and to human experience within it. It is a celebration, urgent in the message of its own celebration, but there’s very little about it one would call a preach. The tree says, “come back to me,” but apart from that bit about the Queen, there’s very little judgment happening either in “It is Right to Give Drones and Praise” or elsewhere on Misneach. It’s not that kind of trip.

Since we’re still three months out from the release and then some, I imagine this isn’t the last time I’ll write about Misneach before it comes out. I was fortunate enough to write the bio for the record, so I’ve been sitting with it for a while now and there’s plenty to say, except perhaps just how wonderfully alive it is. If I get hit by a bus tomorrow or a piano falls on my head or I go get a real job or whatever, at least I got to say so. These moments are precious. To be appreciated and lived.

Enjoy the clip:

Tau and the Drones of Praise, “It is Right to Give Drones and Praise” official video

Taken from “Misneach” (out 21 October 2022, Glitterbeat Records)
Preorder/stream: https://idol-io.link/Misneach

Original song written by Seán Mulrooney
Filmed and edited by Kyle McFerguson
Additional footage by Karolina Zlocka
Costume and animation by Eva Garland
Animation and co direction, Dee Mulrooney

“Misneach” (noun)
From Old Irish “meisnech” (‘courage’, ‘spirit’)
“Misneach” encompasses a blend of courage, hopefulness, bravery and spirit.

The kaleidoscopic third album from Seán Mulrooney and his Ireland meets Berlin ensemble. Ecstatic folk-psych that full embraces the natural world and living ancestry, through joyful experimentation and deeply rooted sonics.

An inspired soundscape that echoes eclectic and eccentric atmospheres: traditional Irish folk, outsider pop, global sacred music and drone rock.

Features guests from Tindersticks, Clannad as well as Irish troubadour Damien Dempsey.

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Quarterly Review: Magnatar, Wild Rocket, Trace Amount, Lammping, Limousine Beach, 40 Watt Sun, Decasia, Giant Mammoth, Pyre Fyre, Kamru

Posted in Reviews on June 28th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

THE-OBELISK-FALL-2020-QUARTERLY-REVIEW

Here begins day two of 10. I don’t know at what point it occurred to me to load up the Quarterly Review with killer stuff to make it, you know, more pleasant than having it only be records I feel like I should be writing about, but I’m intensely glad I did.

Seems like a no brainer, right? But the internet is dumb, and it’s so easy to get caught up in what you see on social media, who’s hyping what, and the whole thing is driven by this sad, cloying FOMO that I despise even as I participate. If you’re ever in a situation to let go of something so toxic, even just a little bit and even just in your own head — which is where it all exists anyhow — do it. And if you take nothing else from this 100-album Quarterly Review besides that advice, it won’t be a loss.

Quarterly Review #11-20:

Magnatar, Crushed

magnatar crushed

Can’t say they don’t deliver. The eight-song/38-minute Crushed is the debut long-player from Manchester, New Hampshire’s Magnatar, and it plays to the more directly aggressive side of post-metallic riffing. There are telltale quiet stretches, to be sure, but the extremity of shouts and screams in opener “Dead Swan” and in the second half of “Crown of Thorns” — the way that intensity becomes part of the build of the song as a whole — is well beyond the usual throaty fare. There’s atmosphere to balance, but even the 1:26 “Old” bends into harsh static, and the subsequent “Personal Contamination Through Mutual Unconsciousness” bounces djent and post-hardcore impulses off each other before ending up in a mega-doom slog, the lyric “Eat shit and die” a particular standout. So it goes into “Dragged Across the Surface of the Sun,” which is more even, but on the side of being pissed off, and “Loving You Was Killing Me” with its vastly more open spaces, clean vocals and stretch of near-silence before a more intense solo-topped finish. That leaves “Crushed” and “Event Horizon” to round out, and the latter is so heavy it’s barely music and that’s obviously the idea.

Magnatar on Facebook

Seeing Red Records on Bandcamp

 

Wild Rocket, Formless Abyss

wild rocket formless abyss

Three longform cosmic rock excursions comprise Wild Rocket‘s Formless Abyss — “Formless Abyss” (10:40), “Interplanetary Vibrations” (11:36) and “Future Echoes” (19:41) — so lock in your harness and be ready for when the g-forces hit. If the Dubliners have tarried in following-up 2017’s Disassociation Mechanics (review here), one can only cite the temporal screwing around taking place in “Interplanetary Vibrations” as a cause — it would be easy to lose a year or two in its depths — never mind “Future Echoes,” which meets the background-radiation drone of the two inclusions prior with a ritualized heft and slow-unfurling wash of distortion that is like a clarion to Sagan-headed weirdos. A dark-matter nebula. You think you’re freaked out now? Wild Rocket speak their own language of sound, in their own time, and Formless Abyss — while not entirely without structure — has breadth enough to make even the sunshine a distant memory.

Wild Rocket on Facebook

Riot Season Records website

 

Trace Amount, Anti Body Language

Trace Amount Anti Body Language

An awaited debut full-length from Brooklyn multimedia artist/producer Brandon Gallagher, Trace Amount‘s Anti Body Language sees release through Greg Puciato‘s Federal Prisoner imprint and collects a solid 35 minutes of noise-laced harsh industrial worldbreaking. Decay anthems. A methodical assault begins with “Anxious Awakenings” and moving through “Anti Body Language” and “Eventually it Will Kill Us All,” the feeling of Gallagher acknowledging the era in which the record arrives is palpable, but more palpable are the weighted beats, the guttural shouts and layers of disaffected moans. “Digitized Exile” plays out like the ugliest outtake from Pretty Hate Machine — a compliment — and after the suitably tense “No Reality,” the six-minute “Tone and Tenor” — with a guest appearance from Kanga — offers a fuller take on drone and industrial metal, filling some of the spaces purposefully left open elsewhere. That leaves the penultimate “Pixelated Premonitions” as the ultimate blowout and “Suspect” (with a guest spot from Statiqbloom; a longtime fixture of NY industrialism) to noise-wash it all away, like city acid rain melting the pavement. New York always smells like piss in summer.

Trace Amount on Instagram

Federal Prisoner store

 

Lammping, Desert on the Keel

Lammping Desert on the Keel

This band just keeps getting better, and yes, I mean that. Toronto’s Lammping begin an informal, casual-style series of singles with “Desert on the Keel,” the sub-four-minutes of which are dedicated to a surprisingly peaceful kind of heavy psychedelia. Multiple songwriters at work? Yes. Rhythm guitarist Matt Aldred comes to the fore here with vocals mellow to suit the languid style of the guitar, which with Jay Anderson‘s drums still giving a push beneath reminds of Quest for Fire‘s more active moments, but would still fit alongside the tidy hooks with which Lammping populate their records. Mikhail Galkin, principal songwriter for the band, donates a delightfully gonna-make-some-noise-here organ solo in the post-midsection jam before “Desert on the Keel” turns righteously back to the verse, Colm Hinds‘ bass McCartneying the bop for good measure, and in a package so welcome it can only be called a gift, Lammping demonstrate multiple new avenues of growth for their craft and project. I told you. They keep getting better. For more, dig into 2022’s Stars We Lost EP (review here). You won’t regret it.

Lammping on Instagram

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Limousine Beach, Limousine Beach

Limousine Beach Limousine Beach

Immediate three-part harmonies in the chorus of opener “Stealin’ Wine” set the tone for Limousine Beach‘s self-titled debut, as the new band fronted by guitarist/vocalist David Wheeler (OutsideInside, Carousel) and bringing together a five-piece with members of Fist Fight in the Parking Lot, Cruces and others melds ’70s-derived sounds with a modern production sheen, so that the Thin Lizzy-style twin leads of “Airboat” hit with suitable brightness and the arena-ready vibe in “Willodene” sets up the proto-metal of “Black Market Buss Pass” and the should-be-a-single-if-it-wasn’t “Hear You Calling.” Swagger is a staple of Wheeler‘s work, and though the longest song on Limousine Beach is still under four minutes, there’s plenty of room in tracks like “What if I’m Lying,” the AC/DC-esque “Evan Got a Job” and the sprint “Movin’ On” (premiered here) for such things, and the self-awareness in “We’re All Gonna Get Signed” adds to the charm. Closing out the 13 songs and 31 minutes, “Night is Falling” is dizzying, and leads to “Doo Doo,” the tight-twisting “Tiny Hunter” and the feedback and quick finish of “Outro,” which is nonetheless longer than the song before it. Go figure. Go rock. One of 2022’s best debut albums. Good luck keeping up.

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Tee Pee Records website

 

40 Watt Sun, Perfect Light

40 watt sun perfect light

Perfect Light is the closest Patrick Walker (also Warning) has yet come to a solo album with 40 Watt Sun, and any way one approaches it, is a marked departure from 2016’s Wider Than the Sky (review here, sharing a continued penchant for extended tracks but transposing the emotional weight that typifies Walker‘s songwriting and vocals onto pieces led by acoustic guitar and piano. Emma Ruth Rundle sits in on opener “Reveal,” which is one of the few drumless inclusions on the 67-minute outing, but primarily the record is a showcase for Walker‘s voice and fluid, ultra-subdued and mostly-unplugged guitar notes, which float across “Behind My Eyes” and the dare-some-distortion “Raise Me Up” later on, shades of the doom that was residing in the resolution that is, the latter unflinching in its longing purpose. Not a minor undertaking either on paper or in the listening experience, it is the boldest declaration of intent and progression in Walker’s storied career to-date, leaving heavy genre tropes behind in favor of something that seems even more individual.

40 Watt Sun on Facebook

Cappio Records website

Svart Records website

 

Decasia, An Endless Feast for Hyenas

Decasia An Endless Feast for Hyenas

Snagged by Heavy Psych Sounds in the early going of 2022, French rockers Decasia debut on the label with An Endless Feast for Hyenas, a 10-track follow-up to 2017’s The Lord is Gone EP (review here), making the most of the occasion of their first full-length to portray inventive vocal arrangements coinciding with classic-sounding fuzz in “Hrosshvelli’s Ode” and the spacier “Cloud Sultan” — think vocalized Earthless — the easy-rolling viber “Skeleton Void” and “Laniakea Falls.” “Ilion” holds up some scorch at the beginning, “Hyenas at the Gates” goes ambient at the end, and interludes “Altostratus” and “Soft Was the Night” assure a moment to breathe without loss of momentum, holding up proof of a thoughtful construction even as Decasia demonstrate a growth underway and a sonic persona long in development that holds no shortage of potential for continued progress. By no means is An Endless Feast for Hyenas the highest-profile release from this label this year, but think of it as an investment in things to come as well as delivery for right now.

Decasia on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

 

Giant Mammoth, Holy Sounds

Giant Mammoth Holy Sounds

The abiding shove of “Circle” and the more swinging “Abracadabra” begin Giant Mammoth‘s second full-length, Holy Sounds, with a style that wonders what if Lowrider and Valley of the Sun got together in a spirit of mutual celebration and densely-packed fuzz. Longer pieces “The Colour is Blue” and “Burning Man” and the lightly-proggier finale “Teisko” space out more, and the two-minute “Dust” is abidingly mellow, but wherever the Tampere, Finland, three-piece go, they remain in part defined by the heft of “Abracadabra” and the opener before it, with “Unholy” serving as an anchor for side A after “Burning Man” and “Wasteland” bringing a careening return to earth between “The Colour is Blue” and the close-out in “Teisko.” Like the prior-noted influences, Giant Mammoth are a stronger act for the dynamics of their material and the manner in which the songs interact with each other as the eight-track/38-minute LP plays out across its two sides, the second able to be more expansive for the groundwork laid in the first. They’re young-ish and they sound it (that’s not a slag), and the transition from duo to three-piece made between their first record and this one suits them and bodes well in its fuller tonality.

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Pyre Fyre, Rinky Dink City / Slow Cookin’

Pyre Fyre Rinky Dink City Slow Cookin

New Jersey trio Pyre Fyre may or may not be paying homage to their hometown of Bayonne with “Rinky Dink City,” but their punk-born fuzzy sludge rock reminds of none so much as New Orleans’ Suplecs circa 2000’s Wrestlin’ With My Ladyfriend, both the title-tracks dug into raw lower- and high-end buzztone shenanigans, big on groove and completely void of pretense. Able to have fun and still offer some substance behind the chicanery. I don’t know if you’d call it party rock — does anyone party on the East Coast or are we too sad because the weather sucks? probably, I’m just not invited — but if you were having a hangout and Pyre Fyre showed up with “Slow Cookin’,” for sure you’d let them have the two and a half minutes it takes them (less actually) to get their point across. In terms of style and songwriting, production and performance, this is a band that ask next to nothing of the listener in terms of investment are able to effect a mood in the positive without being either cloyingly poppish or leaving a saccharine aftertaste. I guess this is how the Garden State gets high. Fucking a.

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Kamru, Kosmic Attunement to the Malevolent Rites of the Universe

Kamru Kosmic Attunement to the Malevolent Rites of the Universe

Issued on April 20, the cumbersomely-titled Kosmic Attunement to the Malevolent Rites of the Universe is the debut outing from Denver-based two-piece Kamru, comprised of Jason Kleim and Ashwin Prasad. With six songs each hovering on either side of seven minutes long, the duo tap into a classic stoner-doom feel, and one could point to this or that riff and say The Sword or liken their tone worship and makeup to Telekinetic Yeti, but that’s missing the point. The point is in the atmosphere that is conjured by “Penumbral Litany” and the familiar proto-metallurgy of the subsequent “Hexxer,” prominent vocals echoing with a sense of command rare for a first offering of any kind, let alone a full-length. In the more willfully grueling “Cenotaph” there’s doomly reach, and as “Winter Rites” marches the album to its inevitable end — one imagines blood splattered on a fresh Rocky Mountain snowfall — the band’s take on established parameters of aesthetic sounds like it’s trying to do precisely what it wants. I’m saying watch out for it to get picked up for a vinyl release by some label or other if that hasn’t happened yet.

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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Ciarán Coghlan of Coroza, Astralist & Obsidian Imagery

Posted in Questionnaire on May 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Ciaran Coghlan of Coroza Astralist Obsidian Imagery

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: Ciarán Coghlan of Coroza, Astralist & Obsidian Imagery

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

I would reluctantly call myself an artist in the sense that I make music and art in various forms. It’s something I’ve always done, before I could talk or walk, I was creating things. Most of us are like this from an early age. Unfortunately, some people just stop or don’t consider it a worthwhile endeavor and put it to the back of their mind for the rest of their life. I have always had a creative streak and it’s what makes life interesting for me – trying to create something that I am proud of. And behind that one thing that works are 100 other things that failed for me to get there. It’s about learning lessons and applying them to the next thing you create.

Describe your first musical memory.

My first real musical memory (besides background noise on the radio) was hearing my older brother playing Nirvana and Guns ‘n’ Roses loud as hell in his room (probably around 1993). That really opened my ears up to the fact that music could be a source of expression that channeled anger, depression, frustration, attitude, rebelliousness and many, many more perspectives that you won’t hear on the radio.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I could name about a thousand different things – but the best in recent memory was playing a headline gig in Limerick, here in Ireland in November 2021 with Coroza and having my other band Astralist as one of the opening bands for our debut performance. It was our first time back playing with Coroza since 2019 because of all the lockdowns and no live music being performed in two years. It was a cathartic experience; the crowd was happy to be back witnessing live music and we were just all so happy to be back on a stage again. If that would have been the last time I ever played music I would have been happy to go out on that night alone.

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

I have always been a strict atheist bordering on some nihilistic tendencies. In the past couple of years I had a series of bizarre coincidences and synchronicities in my life that really made me question things and start to explore the more esoteric and spiritualistic side of life. I still don’t hold any particular belief to heart, but I was once convinced that life was a futile thing with no real meaning – I firmly held that belief until suddenly I felt there very well could be something else beneath and beyond our reality.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Artistic progression should lead to a better understanding of the world and of people. We’re all different in so many ways and all so similar in other ways. Art being subjective means that there are infinite possibilities for progression in infinite directions. Try and do something that hasn’t been done before, create a chord progression you’ve never heard before, draw something you’ve never seen before. By crossing boundaries and pushing the envelop we discover things about ourselves and the world we live in and about each other. Why does someone love or hate a particular piece of art or music you made? Their honest answer will help you learn more about them, about yourself and about your art.

How do you define success?

I define success by how happy and content you are in life. Money and material possessions will never be able to guarantee that. For me, the act of creating art that releases a part of yourself into the world and is consumed by others to move them in some way is success. You made somebody feel something, made them reflect on things and think about the world differently.

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

Manowar closing out Hellfest in 2009. Just a terrible, terrible thing to witness. It was 60 percent speeches about how metal they are and then the rest was just bad power metal, bad acting and fireworks. It was the kind of thing that if it were someone’s first introduction to metal I fully would understand if they never wanted to hear metal ever again.

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

I’d like to try my hand at a music video at some point. I did some video editing in college many moons ago and only very recently have started teaching myself how to use Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects again. I’ve always had an interest in photography and videography. There’s a lot of room to tell stories in a visual aspect that can lend so much more to a song’s meaning – whether you’re seeking to clarify things to the listener or obscure them even further.

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

To me, the function of art is to make people think differently about the world around them. With visual art that is by rearranging objects that exist in society to make people view society in a different way. With music the same is true but you are using musical notes and arrangements to essentially do the same thing. We’ve all had that one of those moments where a song, or a movie or a piece of art changed your life – something that came at you from the left field and turned your worldview upside down and inside out. That, to me, is what art should aim to do. Even if it’s just a fraction of that feeling – but it should stir something in the observer/listener.

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

Travelling abroad again in a post-pandemic world. I think travel is such an important thing to do in order to gain some perspective on life.

https://www.facebook.com/CorozaBand
https://coroza.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/coroza

https://www.facebook.com/astralistband
https://www.instagram.com/astralist_band/
https://astralist.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/obsidianimagery
https://instagram.com/obsidian_imagery
https://obsidian-imagery.com/

Coroza, The Plutonian Drug – Live 2019 (2020)

Astralist, 2020 Demo

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Tau and the Drones of Praise Sign to Glitterbeat Records; Misneach Due in October

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 18th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

It’s right to give drones and praise. And a prime opportunity to do so will arrive this October with the advent of the third Tau and the Drones of Praise LP, Misneach, on Glitterbeat Records. The band, alternately based in Ireland and Berlin, Germany, and led by Seán Mulrooney, is expansive throughout the album, but as far into the spiritual or the cosmic as they go, there’s always a tie to the land and various folk musics it has produced. It’s a gorgeous record. There’s a bio I wrote for it that I might try to post at some point between now and when the album arrives, but I’m telling you as someone who’s lived with it for a while now that it is very much a record to be lived with, and the more you know the songs, the readier you are to join them in their collective sense of wonder and everything-worship.

Some of the material on Misneach also showed up in the recent Tau and the Drones of Praise live album, Tau Presents: ‘Dream Awake’ Live at Roadburn Redux (review here), so if you want to get a preview, that’s a good way to go. But the studio record pushes further, is more open — there are no fewer than 16 different players involved — and wears its heart not so much on its sleeve but as its entire outfit. I’ll have more to say about it before the Fall, I’m sure. The live album and the original livestream are both at the bottom of this post if you want to dig in.

The band posted the following on socials:

Tau and the Drones of Praise

Tau and the Drones of Praise – Misneach – Glitterbeat Records

We have signed @glitterbeat_records!

My friends believe in the power of visualisation. Don’t let anyone ever tell you it is not possible.

I was told labels are not singing bands during the pandemic.

I was told you need to send them a fully finished album.

On the light of the full moon about a year ago, I sent one track to Chris Eckman label boss, he answered me right away and we began dialog.

This is my favourite label, I knew in my bones it was the right fit. It took us a while to sign the deal but its done.

I am eternally grateful for this new opportunity, as is the ever evolving Drones of Praise. Our album MISNEACH is done, vinyl is in production and it is coming out in Oct.

This means the world to me. It is my spiritual path to share this music to the world. I am humbled by anybody else who supports this vision, we support each other. That’s how it works. There are no rules in art, make it as you flow.

Thank you so much Glitterbeat Records and all the TAU family.

To Sonia for your unwavering, unconditional love.

See you on the road, the path is open.

Do mo Ghoalta go lèir
For all my relations

Photo Laura Zlocka

https://www.instagram.com/tauandthedronesofpraise
https://www.facebook.com/tauandthedronesofpraise
https://tauofficial.bandcamp.com

https://www.instagram.com/glitterbeat_records/
https://www.facebook.com/Glitterbeat
https://twitter.com/Glitterbeat_Rec
https://glitterbeat.com/

Tau and the Drones of Praise, Tau Presents: Dream Awake Live at Roadburn Redux (2022)

Tau and the Drones of Praise, ‘Dream Awake’

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Raum Kingdom Sign to Argonauta Records

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

After issuing their self-released debut, Everything & Nothing, in 2016, Ireland’s Raum Kingdom have aligned with Argonauta Records for the follow-up LP, presumably before the end of the year. It’s been a few years either way since they were last heard from at least in terms of studio work, but the crunch of the album holds up and brings a rough edge to post-metal’s sometimes hyper-cerebral sensibilities. That is to say, the PR wire isn’t kidding when it says there’s sludge in the mix. Sometimes that can be a fine line.

The band lost bassist Ronan Connor last year, and I’ve no clue what the state of the recordings are — if the record’s done, written, in-progress, whathaveyou — but they’ll release it whenever they do in a fitting tribute. Curious how this one might come out, accordingly.

No real album details yet, but here’s the signing announcement from Argonauta:

raum kingdom

Irish Post-Metal & Sludge Doom Unit RAUM KINGDOM Signs With Argonauta Records!

Irish atmospheric Post-Metal, Sludge and Doom quartet RAUM KINGDOM has announced its worldwide signing with Argonauta Records. Following their impressive debut album, ‘Everything & Nothing‘ (2016), which has been lauded by both fans and international music press alike, RAUM KINGDOM are currently working on the release of their sophomore full-length album.

“It is with great pleasure that Raum Kingdom can announce it’s teaming up the legendary Argonauta Records for our upcoming release,“ the band states. ” It will take a great deal of the reasonability of some aspects of the release of the record and let Raum Kingdom focus on what they love doing. We look forward to the relationship in the Future! “

Argonauta Records owner, Gero Lucisano, says: “I’ve been lucky enough to know the band thanks to their stellar opus ‘Everything & Nothing’, an album dense of emotion and definitely captivating, thanks to its perfect blend of darkness and hope. When I got the chance to hear the new songs, I told myself their sophomore album would have been the perfect addition to the label catalog. Raum Kingdom’s new effort is something beyond everything: emotive, melodic, atmospheric and hypnotizing. A musical journey for our deep senses.”

RAUM KINGDOM started out in late 2013 on the east coast of Ireland when singer Dave Lee and guitarist Andrew Colohan set out to create a soul crushing experience of sonics. When long time friends; bassist Ronan Connor and drummer Mark Gilchrist joined the line up, the project was ready to express itself. The dark driven RAUM KINGDOM had found the creative force and sound to start producing music that has gained the band an impressive following in Europe, UK, Canada, The States and Japan. Exploring their collective passion for all heavy genres of music, the four-piece began to channel that energy into what would turn out to be RAUM KINGDOM’s first, self-titled five track EP, self-released in April 2014. Taken unawares by the instant and positive critical response, RAUM KINGDOM’s ability to resound with their audience comes from their heart for turning negativity into positivity and the ethos of having a blast doing what they have a passion for. To date, the band has completed numerous shows on the Euro circuit, and released an EP, a split EP with Belgian group All We Expected, and their much acclaimed debut album ‘Everything & Nothing’, a one hour sonic journey of redemption and hope.

After the sudden and sad passing of bass player Ronan Connor in March 2021, RAUM KINGDOM wanted to release their last recordings and writings in respect for Ronan’s memory. The band is now gearing up for their second studio album, showcasing the emotional peaks and valleys of a band matured, and that will see the light of day via Argonauta Records soon.

RAUM KINGDOM is:
Dave Lee – Vocals
Andrew Colohan – Guitars
Niall Gregory – Bass
Mark Gilchrist – Drums

www.facebook.com/Raum.Kingdom.ie
www.raumkingdom.bandcamp.com
www.instagram.com/raum_kingdom

www.argonautarecords.com
www.facebook.com/argonautarecords
www.twitter.com/argonautarex
argonautarecords.bandcamp.com/

Raum Kingdom, Everything & Nothing (2016)

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Album Review: Tau and the Drones of Praise, Tau Presents: Dream Awake Live at Roadburn Redux

Posted in Reviews on May 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan

tau presents dream awake live at roadburn redux

Admittedly, the title doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, but the thing says what it is. Having been confirmed to play the prestigious Roadburn Festival in 2020, Tau and the Drones of Praise — who mostly record in Berlin but are very much from Ireland while drawing from various other folk traditions as well — took part in the 2021 Roadburn Redux first-ever virtual edition of the fest, which for obvious and much-recounted reasons couldn’t meet in-person (they ended up playing Roadburn 2022 too).

The name they gave to the set (posted here) was ‘Tau Presents: Dream Awake,” and the concept was a special set focused spiritually and musically on past and present as much as future, new songs, new explorations of older material, and a full interpretation of what Tau and the Drones of Praise, as a project spearheaded by Seán Mulrooney, are as they head toward their impending third studio LP. Thus, Tau Presents: Dream Awake Live at Roadburn Redux is what it says it is, and its release through Burning World/Roadburn Records continues a long tradition of recorded live outings from the Tilburg-based fest, even if the avenue taken to get there is a little different.

Led by Mulrooney on vocals and guitar, the band includes guitarist/synthesist Ruairi Mac Neill Aodha, bassist Iain Faulkner, percussionist/vocalist Bob Glynn, drummer Ken Mooney and the whistle and vocals of Pól Brennan, known for his work in Clannad, who brings a distinct and suitable flair of Irish folk to “Éist le Ceol an Chré” and “Seanóirí Naofa,” the former of which will be on the next Tau record, the latter the title-track of 2019’s EP of the same name (discussed here). Roadburn Redux was the second livestream for Tau and the Drones of Praise behind a live set captured in Dublin (posted here), and though that broadcast was somewhat less ambitious as regards setting and presentation — it was in black and white, where the Roadburn stream was full color, surrounded by a more lush studio set and so on — the real difference in ambition between the two is in the scope of the music itself.

Granted, three songs from the Dublin stream feature on side D of the 2LP here, with “Craw,” “Mongolia” and “Speak Your Truth” rounding out, but here they serve as part of a broad-scope, encompassing and engrossing vision of a psychedelic-bent world-folk. From the invocation of MesoAmerican spirit guides in the leadoff “Kauyumari” amid warm melodies and fuzz guitar, call and response, harmonized ’60s rock and more, Mulrooney serves as a guide through traditions from Mexico, the Mesopotamia, Asia and Ireland, moving deftly from “Huey Tonantzin & Mother” and the Aztec-minded “Tonatiuh” into “Bridge of Khaju” (look it up, it’s gorgeous) in Iran before the nine-minute “Erasitexnis: Four Horsemen Medley” draws it together with Mediterranean flair and a vital percussive jam.

The sense of movement, of travel, isn’t to be understated. It extends to the journey the music is undertaking, but also to the entire group’s ability to move the listener from place to place, idea to idea. And it’s worth emphasizing that Tau and the Drones of Praise are not just mashing influences into songs, or cynically putting a Middle Eastern part beside an Irish folk part and calling it something else. One side or another may come to prominence in a given track, but even in pieces like the hard-science-as-philosophy “It’s Already Written,” which opened the band’s 2019 self-titled LP, or “Espiral,” which closes this set in gloriously freaked-out fashion and comes from 2016’s Tau Tau Tau where it sat directly next to “Kauyumari,” there’s a drawing together of ideas, a genuine sense of mixture as everything comes filtered through the band’s own impulses.

tau and the drones of praise dream awake

And oh, it’s a good time. Tau Presents: Dream Awake Live at Roadburn Redux is not at all a minor undertaking. With the Dublin tracks, it comes to a whopping 13 songs and 81 Earth minutes, but terrestrial concerns and whatever else you were doing this afternoon need not apply. Be it the incantations of “Huey Tonantzin” or hearing the song of the land in “Éist le Ceol an Chré,” the memorable boogie of “It’s Already Written” and the mountainous trudge uphill in “Mongolia” — less slog than adventure, but still carrying a sense of, well, carrying perhaps a heavy backpack along for the trip — the feeling of motion is no less palpable than the sense of place at any given moment, even if that place is somewhere in a swirling cosmos of spirit and mind. It doesn’t seem like coincidence that “Speak Your Truth” features here as a closer, since ultimately that voyage from start to finish is the truth of the outing as a whole.

In Old Irish, “Imbás” — positioned ahead of the half-in-Spanish “Espiral” — translates roughly to “inspiration,” but carries with it a sense of that inspiration being born of a kind of clairvoyance given by the land. It would be hyperbole to say Tau and the Drones of Praise are tapped into these kinds of cosmic energies, but that is what the music is seeking to do, and admirably, there’s nothing tongue-in-cheek about it. There’s no irony here in adapting songcraft to the various wonders of craft from around the world, and more, in uniting them for the purposes of this material, this set. Rather, Mulrooney and his assembled cohort are all-in, all-go, and the energy they bring doesn’t need to be loud to immerse the listener in the space they’re creating.

To put it mildly, this was a special set. Its reach goes outside the common bounds of genre and so is suited to the festival that gave it a home, but in representing the past and what’s to come for Tau and the Drones of Praise, ‘Dream Awake’ feels comprehensive while existing on a wavelength largely its own, whether you tag that as neo-folk or acid-this-or-that or whatever it is. There is no cheapening the accomplishment of sound and performance here, and rarely are artists willing to be so naked in portraying where they’re coming from. Perhaps it helps that Tau are coming from everywhere. Whatever else one might say about it — and there’s plenty more one could — this was a beautiful moment. The effort to preserve it should be commended.

Tau and the Drones of Praise, Tau Presents: Dream Awake Live at Roadburn Redux (2022)

Tau and the Drones of Praise, ‘Dream Awake’

Tau and the Drones of Praise on Facebook

Tau and the Drones of Praise on Bandcamp

Burning World Records on Facebook

Burning World Records/Roadburn Records on Bandcamp

Burning World Records/Roadburn Records store

Burning World Records website

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Wild Rocket Releasing Formless Abyss March 4; Title-Track Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 15th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Dublin, Ireland, heavy psych/space rock warriors Wild Rocket have announced a March 4 release for Formless Abyss. Their third-full-length behind 2014’s Geomagnetic Hallucinations and 2017’s Disassociation Mechanics (review here), the three-song LP will be the nebulous band’s label debut through Riot Season Records, whose endorsement should tell you something about the quality of their work. If your interest is piqued by that alone, certainly the 10-minute opening title-track that’s streaming (nice) will raise an eyebrow as well, and if your eyebrow’s raised, you’re already three-quarters of the way to rock and rolling. I think the last step has something to do with quitting your dayjob.

So do that.

In fact, we’ll play a game. You start the Wild Rocket track at the bottom of this post, then see if you can compose and fire off an email, text, or phone call to your boss telling them you’re done before the song is over. If you make it in time, you win. If you don’t make it in time, you still win, because you quit your job. And that’s how you win.

Down with capitalism. Up with shorter pressing times:

wild rocket formless abyss

Wild Rocket – Formless Abyss

Preorders: https://riotseasonrecords.bandcamp.com/album/formless-abyss

When not enthralled to the cosmos, WILD ROCKET call Dublin, Ireland home. It is from this base that their new record FORMLESS ABYSS emanates. This, their third transmission as a musical unit, features three long form pieces of swirling intensity brought to you by Riot Season Records on limited edition “seaweed green” vinyl.

As a confluence of ideas and methods, WILD ROCKET endeavour to interpret the subtle signals of the universe – the interplanetary vibrations – and present them as brash manifestations of sound. Scientists and Shaman alike have endeavoured to interpret the universal whispers, to elucidate meaning from the measurable and the sensable. It is known that to measure and interpret is to alter and colour those signals and this is what drives the development of WILD ROCKET’s sound and interpretation.

FORMLESS ABYSS showcases the band’s unflinching pummelling style, drifting from repetitive blows to unhinged swirls of din yet always remaining innately infectious and perhaps surprisingly danceable. The record is presented as a continuous piece in three parts.

The title track A FORMLESS ABYSS appears here for the first time in recorded form – a behemoth of a tune which builds around a drone, joined by dual drums and minimal bass locked into a repetitive groove. A groove that is slowly expanded via multiple guitars and synthesis. Vocals eventually join at just the right moment imploring the listener to “leave your criticisms down” and realise “we’re all equal now” in the formless abyss or the place between worlds where our earthly preoccupation with human differences are meaningless. We’re all in it together, whether we realise it or not.

The second track INTERPLANETARY VIBRATIONS may seem familiar to some in a simpler form. The expanded lineup and extended development of the core theme brings a new interpretation and experience that is more than worthwhile. The track’s vocals juxtapose the hybrid Germanic language of English with the ancient native Irish language of Gaeilge. Both used to promote meaning and interpretation of the interplanetary vibrations felt by all. The track features large dynamic shifts and changes of pace as the message that “it’s time to leave” propagated by the Earth itself becomes more frantic and more desperate. The track culminates in a wash of smashed gongs and distorted guitars, leaving the listener to interpret the message for themselves. Should we leave, to protect ourselves or the Earth itself?

The final track FUTURE ECHOES is a doom/kraut juggernaut coming in at just under twenty minutes. Only one question is asked and none answered, are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of previous civilisations over and over, or can we find the cracks of light that echo through and show us a new way forward? We’re left in a swirling formless abyss to consider who we are and where we’re headed. Will we ever reach the cosmic truth? Or will we be continuously mocked by the cosmic trout?

WILD ROCKET have proven themselves on the live circuit, playing with such visionaries as Ufomammut, Slomatics, Earth, Boris, The Cosmic Dead and old school rock legends Girlschool. One of the heaviest bands to emerge from the melting pot of talent in the Irish music scene, WILD ROCKET’s reputation precedes them wherever they travel and audiences and venues alike are left to piece themselves together in the discombobulation.

The band play a home town release show on the 26th March at Bello Bar/Lower Deck (Dublin) with their friends Panik Attacks and more tba. More gigs in the works to be announced as and when.

Tracklisting:
1. Formless Abyss
2. Interplanetary Vibrations
3. The Future Echoes

The WILD ROCKET lineup has expanded and contracted around three core consciousnesses since Jon Kelly’s 2018 departure. Jon controlled the synthesisers on the first two records, Dissociation Mechanics in 2017 and Geomagnetic Hallucinations in 2014. The trajectory has been altered but the goal has remained unchanged.

The three core members of Cian “Moose” Megannety, John Breslin and Niall Ó Claonadh (on bass, drums and guitars respectively) are joined in this transmission by:

– George Brennan (Film Composer and member of Cholera House/BB84/ex Melodica Deathship etc.) on modular synthesis and gong.

– Colin Mifsud (Disguise/Cyborg AD/Wolfbait/Drainland and many more) on second drum kit.

– Tommy O’Sullivan (Deepinthewoods66/Estel/Blood Red Dolls) on guitar and all important duties of engineering, mixing and producing the record.

George has since become a full-time member of the Rocket crew, bringing the band back to a solid four piece. That said, membership will likely fluctuate as needed for certain live performances. History may repeat itself but the future remains untold.

Mastering was handled by Ivan Jackman (Girlband, Jape, Solarbears, Stano)

http://wildrocket.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/WILDROCKETROCK
http://www.instagram.com/wildrocketspacerock
http://twitter.com/wildrocketrock
http://riotseason.bigcartel.com/
http://www.riotseason.com
https://riotseasonrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/riotseasonrecords

Wild Rocket, Formless Abyss (2022)

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