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No Requests Premiere Nobody Knows What We’re Doing… Neither Do We EP in Full; Out Tomorrow

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The new No Requests EP — out tomorrow — is called Nobody Knows What We’re Doing… Neither Do We, and fair enough. But I’m not sure I believe it. That is to say, yeah, the South African three-piece probably have a decent amount of improvisation and experimentation at the heart of their approach, but this kind of progressive weirdo psych jazz funk astro rock doesn’t just happen. Even if they’re freely exploring, you can hear it in the way the bass and drums give the guitar room in the expansive solo of opener “Choir on Fire,” or the way the punch of the bass in that song and the vocals in the later title-track seem to echo Parliament-via-Primus, that at very least there’s some kind of masterplan at work. I get a cheeky title, and I’m on board with the fact that a lot of people who listen to this 26-minute four-tracker are going to have no idea what the hell is going on with it — that was part of the appeal for me in hosting the stream, to be perfectly honest — but take at least the second clause of the EP’s title with a grain of salt, because they make it pretty clear they know what they’re doing. You don’t call a song “Tonal Shampoo” that actually sounds like tonal shampoo by mistake.

But while you infuse your conceptual engagement with Nobody Knows What We’re Doing… Neither Do We with the due amount of sodium — however many grains it takes — give the audio a genuine chance. Go into it knowing that,no requests nobody knows what were doing and neither do we yeah, the bass on “Tonal Shampoo” and some of the guitar might be turned backwards. That, yeah, the title-track is way over the top. It’s supposed to be. Guitarist/vocalist Chris van der Walt, bassist Clint Falconer and drummer Gareth Bunge are perhaps playing the kind of freakout prog that’s best appreciated by other musicians but I’m willing to wager that any fan of sonic absurdity in general can get down with the repeated title-line of “Nobody Knows What We’re Doing… Neither Do We” as van der Walt swaps between different voices, and maybe even the free jazz of closer “Row-Bot,” which is just the kind of bizarre out-there six-minute conclusion the rest of the EP earns. It’s a stretch, but this is real life, what isn’t. And if you can’t get down with something that’s genuinely trying to challenge both itself and its listenership, I’ve got nothing for you. Certainly not an EP to listen to.

Otherwise, you can dig into the entirety of Nobody Knows What We’re Doing… Neither Do We via the YouTube embed below. Take a second, take a deep breath, let your expectations get loose a little bit, and be ready to have fun with it, because at its heart, it is a good time. I hope you think so as well.

Please enjoy:

No Requests, Nobody Knows What We’re Doing… Neither Do We (2019)

Nobody Knows What We’re Doing Neither Do We, the new album from South African experimental psychedelic funk rock band No Requests releases today.

Formed by Chris van der Walt (Vulvodynia), Clint Falconer (Dan Patlansky) and Gareth Bunge (The Black Cat Bones) who have been all been a constant force in the SA music scene for the last 15 years. Focusing on different styles of composition and improvisation, the band creates an unheard sound and mood that grooves deep into your soul.

The 4 track EP is a collection of free form jam sessions as bassist Chris explains, “It was a different experience. We walked in, wrote an idea, jammed it, and recorded it. Most of it is improvised.” He goes on to add, “When you jam in that unknown space the magic starts to happen. You rely on other instincts and use your musical bag of tricks to survive.”

Track Listing
1. Choir on Fire
2. Tonal Shampoo
3. Nobody Knows What We’re Doing
4. Row-Bot

Nobody Knows What We’re Doing Neither Do We is out now on all digital platforms including Spotify and Apple Music

Order Link: https://music.apple.com/za/album/nobody-knows-what-were-doing-neither-do-we-ep/1477361094

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