Posted in Whathaveyou on April 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
There’s precious little you can trust in life and I know, I know, I know I’ve said this at least several times in the past, but you can trust the taste of Exile on Mainstream‘s Andreas Kohl when it comes to finding and issuing interesting, innovative and — perhaps most importantly — actually good music. I’m not saying the label and I are always 100 percent on the same page, but in all honesty, even stuff that I’m not super-all-over, I’ve never checked out an Exile on Mainstream release and regretted it. I hold the imprint to a pretty high, almost unrealistic, standard and have for a long time now. That standard has never not been met.
Gavial — and kudos to the band on changing their name from the former Tourette Boys — will release their debut-under-the-moniker VOR through Exile on Mainstream on May 19, and that’s all I need to know to get on board. Nonetheless, I’d be a prick if I didn’t actually include the PR wire info here, you know, for good measure, so here it is:
GAVIAL: German Blues/Psychedelic Rock Quartet Formerly Known As Tourette Boys To Release VOR LP Through Exile On Mainstream In May
Exile On Mainstream excitedly welcomes German quartet GAVIAL to the label, and is preparing to release the band’s new LP, VOR.
The story of GAVIAL began nearly fifteen years ago as a project adapted from a Nirvana song and pun as “Two Red Boys.” Having released three albums as Tourette Boys, two collaborations with UK-based blues musician Tim Holehouse, and a split EP with labelmates Gaffa Ghandi, the band played countless gigs and tours with bands like Acid Mothers Temple, Dyse, Gaffa Ghandi, The Skull, True Widow and Sleepy Sun. This musical project is based on friendship even though the musicians live in different cities. The vast and untouched landscapes between Berlin and Dresden may have contributed to the inspiration for the sound of the band, which repeatedly tries to ground Psychedelic abstraction in modern blues. The result is more reminiscent of the desert rock that we know from the vastness of Arizona than the urban hustle and bustle in big cities. Shimmering soundscapes, partly dark and melancholic, then again full of hope and glaring light filled with the comforting, but nonetheless ominous heat of the desert – GAVIAL remains true masters of that.
It’s 2023, and it’s time for a turning point… on multiple levels. With VOR, the band’s fourth album is for the first time distributed on a label, uniting with their friends at Exile On Mainstream. For the recordings in 2022 the band grew from a trio to a quartet, and with that move comes the name change that was long overdue, which the band explains by stating, “In the last few years, we frequently discussed our music, videos, and name and tried to reflect on our decisions during that time. Concerning the name of the band, we have come to the decision that it is no longer appropriate to continue using it. Affected people deserve respect and we think that this band name shows a lack thereof. For that, we want to apologize.”
VOR is once again characterized by the search for a contemporary expression of the blues without questioning its authenticity. GAVIAL weaves musical inspiration from ambient, soul, gospel, and country into different threads from a carpet of sound that simply ignores the sharp cliffs of redundant categories such as retro or stoner. The music doesn’t need name dropping, but if you still want to make room in your thematically sorted record shelf, you’re welcome to make some room in the compartments in which you put your Screaming Trees, Flying Eyes, Black Crowes, or Woodcocks, so that GAVIAL can find space in them. Sorted alphabetically, VOR also cuts a fine figure between Gaffa Ghandi, Geraldine Fibbers, and Giant Sand.
Lyrically, GAVIAL is cautiously concrete, exploring the ambivalent depths of the soul where there are more questions than answers. Singer Benjamin Butter intones lyrical sketches of emotional states between melancholy, quiet anger, and hope, reminiscent of Charles Baudelaire, and turns the voice into another instrument. The interplay with driving bass lines and Americana-esque guitars results in music as it should be: melodic but not profane, accessible but with a fragile base.
VOR was recorded in the band’s rehearsal room and mixed by Benjamin Butter and Bernard Camilleri, who has become their go-to sound engineer. Bernard Camilleri did the mastering at his Xekillton Studio in Malta. The artwork is from the Flowers Of Terrible series by Berlin-based artist Hamid Yaraghchi.
Exile On Mainstream will release GAVIAL’s VOR May 19th on Black Vinyl LP and digitally, and a limited CD version will be made available at the band’s concerts.
Posted in Questionnaire on August 30th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
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: Friedo aka Sven Müller of Dead Myrick and ElbSludgeBooking
—
How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I am a drummer with Dead Myrick and a promoter with ElbSludgeBooking in Dresden.
I liked rock music since I was a kid and always had a talent for drumming. So I started playing drums and joined a band afterwards. My later habits made me really dive into Kyuss and Fu Manchu and the whole Stoner Rock thing which to this day is a HUGE part of my life. The promoter thing on the other hand was sheer coincidence. A friend got asked by Gabriele Fiori of HPS records if he could set up a show in Dresden for Ape machine. I joined this operation and from that we just kept going.
Describe your first musical memory.
Drumming with two sticks on a pillow to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by the Rolling Stones.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Impossible to answer. I go to concerts since the mid-90s and I had almost biblical revelations on several occasions. Off the top of my head I’d say one of the first was Neil Young & Crazy Horse playing “Like a hurricane” in Leipzig in 1996. My first real rock show was Green Jelly in 1993 though which was also hysterical! The last one was last weekend when I played on the same night on 2 festivals that were 150 km apart.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
I can’t think of any real beliefs I hold. All I know is that every rule has an exception so I am always prepared to see that something I expect is not going to happen. Wait… is that a belief?
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
To excitement and then short-lived satisfaction. Then you carry on to feel it again.
How do you define success?
The word alone makes me feel uncomfortable. It is connected to money in my brain and I detest that. But I guess success just means to achieve something you wanted and had to invest some time to achieve it. One of those things to me is preparing a dough for pizza and later have this crunchy, but not dry pizza. To me that’s success and a bit of magic which makes me very happy. (no joke)
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Peter Griffin making Stewie suck on his boob. And seeing Gunter Gabriel, a formerly well-known singer, change his clothes in his tiny car so I could see his white ass in white underpants through the window.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I want to rent a place that can hold rehearsal rooms, an office, a screenprint area and a small area for setting up small gigs and parties. Like a community centre that is all about hanging with the right people and work there.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
Being exposed to something that makes you forget that you are surrounded by evil monkeys.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
My son starting school and me quitting my Covid-induced, regular job to be a stage-tech again. F*ck office life!
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
In a manner not dissimilar from how its California fests took largely the same expansive lineup from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to San Francisco, Heavy Psych Sounds is bringing a circus to Berlin and Dresden on Oct. 21 and 22. In association with Greyzone and ElbSludgeBooking, the label has assembled a lineup that includes HPS bands and others like 1000mods and Gozu, and that sense of community outreach isn’t to be understated. The synergy between booking and releasing is a big part of what has allowed Heavy Psych Sounds to become the underground nexus it is, able to do more for bands than many other outlets. The festivals in cities across Europe and now in the US as well are another extension of that.
That’s not really an insight as to the lineup here or the label’s ethic or taste — also choice — but the fact is this is Heavy Psych Sounds doing what it does. More power to them, and so on.
From the PR wire:
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN full lineup announcement
Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking will smash Berlin and Dresden with their highly acclaimed mini festival-series, the HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST!
In cooperation with Greyzone Concerts and ElbSludgeBooking, Heavy Psych Sounds has revealed the full lineup for the upcoming HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN !!!
The HPS Fest Berlin & Dresden will be taking place 21st and 22nd of October, 2022 at the Festsaal Kreuzberg and Urban Spree in Berlin and Chemiefabrik in Dresden !!!
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST – BERLIN & DRESDEN @ Festsaal Kreuzberg / Urban Spree, Berlin @ Chemiefabrik, Dresden October 21st and 22nd 2022
feat. 1000 MODS NICK OLIVERI BELZEBONG BLACK RAINBOWS ACID MAMMOTH THE LORDS OF ALTAMONT HIGH REEPER SLEEPWULF TONS HIPPIE DEATH CULT GOZU OREYEON WEDGE MOTHER ENGINE
BERLIN TICKETS PRESALE: https://www.greyzone-tickets.de/produkte/602
BERLIN FB OFFICIAL EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/1358860387859773/
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Still weeks away from hosting its two nights in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Heavy Psych Sounds has unveiled a similar strategy to take place this Fall in Berlin and Dresden. Set for Oct. 21-22, these Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 2022 editions are just beginning to take shape with this first announcement, as roughly a third of the acts and a headliner are still to be revealed, but there’s already stuff to note here. To wit, it’s Nick Oliveri touring and not Mondo Generator or Stöner. Will he play acoustic or have a full band behind him?
Also, the inclusion of High Reeper here makes me wonder if that Philly outfit won’t have a new record out by the time they go. Maybe September to get ahead of the busy Fall season? Pure speculation. After 2016’s High Reeper (review here) and 2019’s Higher Reeper, could this be the year of the highest of all reepers? Stay tuned to find out.
Whoever else ends up being included and whatever the answers to the above questions, one can continue to see Heavy Psych Sounds branching out across Europe and beyond as the foremost purveyor of underground heavy in the world. Ain’t nobody else out there putting out NebulaandOreyeon, Dozer reissues and Witchpit. Label owns one of the most crucial moments in the history of heavy music. It is astounding.
From the PR wire:
*** HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN ***
first bands announcement
Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking will smash Berlin and Dresden with their highly acclaimed mini festival-series, the HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST! In cooperation with Greyzone Concerts and ElbSludgeBooking, today Heavy Psych Sounds has revealed the first bands for the upcoming HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN !!!
The HPS Fest Berlin & Dresden will be taking place 21st and 22nd of October, 2022 at the Festsaal Kreuzberg and Urban Spree in Berlin and Chemiefabrik in Dresden !!!
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST – BERLIN & DRESDEN @ Festsaal Kreuzberg / Urban Spree, Berlin @ Chemiefabrik, Dresden October 21st and 22nd 2022
feat. BELZEBONG NICK OLIVERI THE LORDS OF ALTAMONT HIGH REEPER SLEEPWULF + more TBA
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 12th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
That’s a hell of a lineup for a birthday party. As you no doubt figured, GockelScream #3 is the third edition of the festival, which is based somewhere — no, I don’t know where — near Dresden in Germany and has an international pull enough to get Heavy Psych Sounds denizens like Duel and Geezer on board during their European tours, as well as to supplement with acts like Cities of Mars, Acid Rooster, Bantoriak, Poland’s Black Smoke and so on. It’s a two-dayer, so let’s assume that the birthday presumably for somebody, perhaps even Gockel, from ElbSludgeBooking will be duly celebrated. In screaming fashion.
If you’re in the region and able to attend, it’s a private festival (then why the press?), so you need to reach out to ElbSludge and ask them where to go, when, how much it costs, and so on. In my mind, that only makes this cooler. A rager with some good friends in the who-knows-where, righteous tunes, laid-back hangs, yeah. That’s about my speed.
Here’s the details that are public:
“In 2022 the notorious booking crew ElbSludgeBooking from Dresden/East-Germany will host the 3rd edition of its Stoner Rock festival „GockelScream“. What started as an excessive birthday party evolved into a proper fest with a special selection of international bands from Stoner to Doom, from Sludge to Krautian Psychedelia. This year will feature illustrious musical presentations by touring bands as Geezer, Duel and Cities of Mars and one-off shows by RRRAGS, Speck and Black Smoke. The whole line-up is of highest caliber, accompanied by a psychedelic light crew, massive PA, good food and German Punkerbier at a very special location, just 30 minutes east of downtown Dresden. If you dig the Stoner scene in its pure and cozy DIY-form this one’s for you. “.
Full line-up:
GEEZER (US) DUEL (US) RRRAGS (NL) CITIES OF MARS (SWE) ACID ROOSTER (GER) CANNABINEROS (GER) BANTORIAK (IT) SPECK (AUT) ANDROMEDA SPACE RITUAL (POL) BLACK SMOKE (POL) KOMBYNAT ROBOTRON (GER) ALLIGATOR RODEO (GER) ACACIA & MAGNOLIA (GER)
All the details like admission fee and the exact location are only available after writing to gockelscream@elbsludge.de.
Posted in Reviews on October 6th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
We roll on with day two of the Fall 2020 Quarterly Review featuring another batch of 10 records en route to 50 by Friday — and actually, I just put together the list for a sixth day, so it’ll be 60 by next Monday. As much as things have been delayed from the pandemic, there’s been plenty to catch up on in the meantime and I find I’m doing a bit of that with some of this stuff today and yesterday. So tacking on another day to the end feels fair enough, and it was way easy to pick 10 more folders off my far-too-crowded desktop and slate them for review. So yeah, 60 records by Monday. I bet I could get to 70 if I wanted. Probably better for my sanity if I don’t. Anyhoozle, more to come. For now…
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Molasses Barge, A Grayer Dawn
Following up their 2017 self-titled debut issued through Blackseed Records, Pittsburgh-based rockers Molasses Barge present A Grayer Dawn through Argonauta, and indeed, in songs like “Holding Patterns” or the melancholy “Control Letting Go,” it is a somewhat moodier offering than its predecessor. But also more focused. Molasses Barge, in songs like stomping opener “The Snake” and its swing-happy successor “Desert Discord,” and in the later lumber of “Black Wings Unfurl” and push of the title-track, reside at an intersection of microgenres, with classic heavy rock and doom and modern tonality and production giving them an edge in terms of overarching heft in their low end. Riffs are choice throughout from guitarists Justin Gizzi and Barry Mull, vocalist Brian “Butch” Balich (Argus, ex-Penance, etc.) sounds powerful as ever, and the rhythm section of bassist Amy Bianco and drummer Wayne Massey lock in a succession of grooves that find welcome one after the other until the final “Reprise” fades to close the album. Its individuality is deceptive, but try to fit Molasses Barge neatly in one category or the other and they’ll stand out more than it might at first seem.
Yes, this. Slow Green Thing‘s third album, Amygdala, is melodic without being overbearing and filled out with a consuming depth and warmth of tone. A less jammy, more solo-prone Sungrazer comes to mind; that kind of blend of laid back vocals and heavy psychedelic impulse. But the Dresden four-piece have their own solidified, nodding grooves to unveil as well, tapping into modern stoner with two guitars setting their fuzz to maximum density and Sven Weise‘s voice largely floating overtop, echo added to give even more a sense of largesse and space to the proceedings, which to be sure have plenty of both. The six-track/44-minute outing picks up some speed in “Dirty Thoughts” at the outset of side B, and brings a fair bit of crush to the title-track earlier and lead-laced finale “Love to My Enemy,” but in “Dreamland,” they mellow and stretch out the drift and the effect is welcome and not at all out of place beside the massive sprawl conjured in side A capper “All I Want.” And actually, that same phrase — “all I want” — covers a good portion of my opinion on the band’s sound.
Anyone bemoaning the state of traditionalist doom metal would do well to get their pants kick’d by Haze Mage, and when that’s done, it’s time to let the stoned zombie sludge of Tombtoker rip your arms off and devour what’s left. The two Baltimorean five-pieces make a righteously odd pairing, but they’ve shared the stage at Grim Reefer Fest in Charm City, and what they have most in common is a conviction of approach that comes through on each half of the four-song/19-minute offering, with Haze Mage shooting forth with “Sleepers” and the semi-NWOBHM “Pit Fighter,” metal, classic prog and heavy rock coming together with a vital energy that is immediately and purposefully contradicted in Tombtoker‘s played-fast-but-is-so-heavy-it-still-sounds-slow “Braise the Dead” and “Botched Bastard,” both of which find a way to be a ton of fun while also being unspeakably brutal and pushing the line between sludge and death metal in a way that would do Six Feet Under proud. Horns and bongs all around, then.
Oldschool newcomers White Dog earn an automatic look by releasing their self-titled debut through former Cathedral frontman Lee Dorrian‘s Rise Above Records, but it’s the band’s clearcut vintage aesthetic that holds the listener’s attention. With proto-metal established as an aesthetic of its own going on 20 years now, White Dog aren’t the first by any means to tread this ground, but especially for an American band, they bring a sincerity of swing and soul that speaks to the heart of the subgenre’s appeal. “The Lantern” leans back into the groove to tell its tale, while “Abandon Ship” is more upfront in its strut, and “Snapdragon” and opener “Sawtooth” underscore their boogie with subtle progressive nods. Closing duo “Pale Horse” and “Verus Cultus” might be enough to make one recall it was Rise Above that issued Witchcraft‘s self-titled, but in the shuffle of “Crystal Panther,” and really across the whole LP White Dog make the classic ideology theirs and offer material of eminent repeat listenability.
The only thing that might save you from being swallowed entirely by the deathly mire Brazil’s Jupiterian craft on their third full-length, Protosapien, is the fact that the album is only 35 minutes long. That’s about right for the robe-clad purveyors of tonal violence — 2017’s Terraforming (review here) and 2015’s Aphotic (review here) weren’t much longer — and rest assured, it’s plenty of time for the band to squeeze the juice out of your soul and make you watch while they drink it out of some need-two-hands-to-hold-it ceremonial goblet. Their approach has grown more methodical over the years, and all the deadlier for that, and the deeper one pushes into Protosapien — into “Capricorn,” “Starless” and “Earthling Bloodline” at the end of the record — the less likely any kind of cosmic salvation feels. I’d say you’ve been warned, but really, this is just scratching the surface of the trenches into which Jupiterian plunge.
It’s an archival release, recorded in 2014 and 2015 by the Buenos Aires-based band, but all that really does for the three-song/hour-long Vol. I is make me wonder what the hell Experiencia Tibetana have been up to since and why Vols. II and III are nowhere to be found. The heavy psych trio aren’t necessarily inventing anything on this debut full-length, but the way “Beirut” (18:36) is peppered with memorable guitar figures amid its echo-drifting vocals, and the meditation tucked into the last few minutes of the 26:56 centerpiece “Espalda de Elefante” and the shift in persona to subdued progressive psych on “Desatormentandonos” (14:16) with the bass seeming to take the improvisational lead as guitar lines hold the central progression together, all of it is a compelling argument for one to pester for a follow-up. It may be an unmanageable runtime, but for the come-with-us sense of voyage it carries, Vol. I adapts the listener’s mindset to its exploratory purposes, and proves to be well worth the trip.
Filth-encrusted and lumbering, Yanomamo‘s sludge takes Church of Misery-style groove and pummels it outright on the opening title-track of their four-song No Sympathy for a Rat EP. Like distilled disillusion, the scream-laced answer to the Sydney four-piece’s 2017 debut, Neither Man Nor Beast, arrives throwing elbows at your temples and through “The Offering,” the wait-is-this-grindcore-well-kinda-in-this-part “Miasma” and the suitably destructive “Iron Crown,” the only letup they allow is topped with feedback. Get in, kill, get out. They have more bounce than Bongzilla but still dig into some of Thou‘s more extreme vibe, but whatever you might want to compare them to, it doesn’t matter: Yanomamo‘s unleashed assault leaves bruises all its own, and the harsher it gets, the nastier it gets, the better. Can’t take it? Can’t hang? Fine. Stand there and be run over — I don’t think it makes a difference to the band one way or the other.
Mos Eisley Spaceport, The Best of Their Early Year
They mean the title literally — “early year.” Bremen, Germany’s Mos Eisley Spaceport — who so smoothly shift between space rock and classic boogie on “Further When I’m Far” and brash tempo changes en route to a final jam-out on “Mojo Filter,” finally unveiling the Star Wars sample at the head of organ-inclusive centerpiece “Space Shift” only to bring early Fu Manchu-style raw fuzz on “Drop Out” and finish with the twanging acoustic and pedal steel of “My Bicycle Won’t Fly” — have been a band for less than a full 12 months. Thus, The Best of Their Early Year signals some of its own progressive mindset and more playful aspects, but it is nonetheless a formidable accomplishment for a new band finding their way. They lay out numerous paths, if you couldn’t tell by the run-on sentence above, and I won’t hazard a guess as to where they’ll end up sound-wise, but they have a fervent sense of creative will that comes through in this material and one only hopes they hold onto whatever impulse it is that causes them to break out the gong on “Space Shift,” because it’s that sense of anything-as-long-as-it-works that’s going to continue to distinguish them.
One doesn’t often hear “the Wolfowitz Doctrine” brought out in lyrics these days, but Chicago heavy noise metallers Of Wolves aren’t shy about… well, anything. With volume inherent in the sound no matter how loud you’re actually hearing it, conveyed through weighted tones, shouts of progressions unified in intensity but varied in aggression and actual approach, the three-piece take an unashamed stance on a range of issues from the last two decades of war to trying to put themselves into the head of a mass shooter. The lyrics across their sophomore outing, Balance, are worth digging into for someone willing to take them on, but even without, the aggro mosh-stomp of “Maker” makes its point ahead of the 17-second “Flavor of the Weak” before Of Wolves dive into more progressively-structured fare on the title-track and “Clear Cutting/Bloodshed/Heart to Hand.” After “Killing Spree” and the aural-WTF that is “Inside (Steve’s Head),” they finish with a sludgecore take on the Misfits‘ “Die, Die My Darling,” which as it turns out was exactly what was missing up to that point.
Comprised of four-fifths of what was Virginian outfit King Giant, it’s hard to know whether to consider Pimmit Hills a new band or a name-change, or what, but the first offering from vocalist David Hammerly, guitarist Todd “TI” Ingram, bassist Floyd Lee Walters III and drummer Brooks, titled Heathens & Prophets and self-released, hits with a bit of a bluesier feel than did the prior outfit, leaving plenty of room for jamming in each track and even going so far as to bring producer J. Robbins in on keys throughout the four-song/29-minute release. I suppose you could call it an EP or an LP — or a demo? — if so inclined, but any way you cut it, Heathens & Prophets plainly benefits from the band’s experience playing together, and they find a more rocking, less moody vibe in “Baby Blue Eyes” and the harmonica-laced “Beautiful Sadness” that has a feel as classic in substance as it is modern in sound and that is both Southern but refusing to bow entirely to cliché.
Come on, let’s get weird for a little bit. You’ve got time; you know you do. This week is easily the busiest so far of 2020 for new releases, but while you’re spending the coming Friday pining over this or that landmark arrival — hey, I’m right there too — German experinstrumentalists Gaffa Ghandi will be issuing a debut album through ultra-respected countryman purveyor-of-stuff-that-doesn’t-sound-like-other-stuff-and-also-is-awesome Exile on Mainstream called Artificial Disgust, and they’re seemingly way freaked out about it.
I made the mistake of reading their quote below about the record before writing this, and it’s interesting to discover that they consider some of it to be an expression of pain on some level, because I get way more of a sense of joy from a song like opener “Symphony of Swag,” and even though the subsequent “War on Fire” starts off with a bit of doomed atmospherics, it soon enough finds its way into progressive chuggery and winds airy leads around a rhythmic solidity that reminds of just what an ultra-solid double-guitar foursome can accomplish when they knuckle down, decide to let their songs go where they’re demanding to go, and maybe unleash a little bit of their inner Zappa-tista in the process.
“War on Fire” culminates in due solo flourish, playing it over the top because — again, seemingly — it’s more fun that way, before “Ancient Dominator” shows a spirit of post-rock could be when played staring down the crowd instead of at one’s proverbial shoes. Its midsection is both hypnotic and head-spinning, dumbfoundingly technical and ambient, and as the heretofore central chugging riff of the track comes around, it feels like it might just roll on for the remainder of the song’s total nine-plus minutes, which it does, morphing of course here and there along the route to its eventual fade and the arrival of the well-golly-that’s-significant “Progressive Concepts for a Modern World of Multilayered Structural, Sociological and Individual Changeabilities.”
The title, which is not the name of any book I can find and so I’ll just assume is perhaps someone’s thesis-in-progress, is indeed a thoughtful meditation unto itself, running an academic-ready 16 minutes and unfolding in movements fluidly across that span, finding the guitars once more intertwining lines through expressive leads and intricacy of play while the bass hosts its own clinic in jazz while still serving the song’s best interests and the drums follow suit. Perhaps most impressively of all, as “Progressive Concepts…” builds and shifts and recedes and thins and thickens and winds and turns, Gaffa Ghandi — guitarists Alan Bittner and Frieder Ackermann, bassist Lucas Kazzer and drummer Georg Edert — admirably hold together. They’re not just each doing their own thing and mashing together parts and calling it a song. They’re writing a progressive piece of music that unites them as players. After 10 years together culminating in this first album, a realization of potential might be considered due, but it’s still striking just how cohesive they make seemingly disjointed elements sound.
If you get the CD or the digital edition of Artificial Disgust, it comes with the bonus inclusion “Phobophobie,” which presents six more minutes balancing thoughtful atmospherics and rhythmic complexity in the spirit of the offering preceding. If it’s from “the archive,” and maybe older, fine. It still works in the context of what Gaffa Ghandi are doing across the peacefully dizzying 38 minutes prior, and if you have prior experience with Exile on Mainstream‘s output, you probably already know to trust the label’s taste when it comes to new pickups, but if not, I’m glad to reinforce the point.
Gaffa Ghandi were going to play a traveling showcase of Exile on Mainstream bands to celebrate the release of Artificial Disgust, but of course that has been put off until who-knows-when, but perhaps that delay will give listeners some time to catch up to how much these songs actually have going on. Or maybe it won’t. In any case, it’s awfully fun to try, and I invite you to do exactly that and to listen for the varied emotionalism of Artificial Disgustas well as the varied time-signatures, on the player below.
Band quote and PR wire info follow.
Please enjoy:
Gaffa Ghandi on Artificial Disgust:
Artificial Disgust is the effort of a long-term pain; the joyful and relentless process of putting the ever-evolving concept of being an energetic and boundless live band into the solid and to some extent comparable version of our excesses on stage. Some of these songs had been in progress for quite some time and they have changed with every session we’ve played them live to the point we finally laid them to tape. We are, due to our personal influences and personal behavior, a very diverse bunch of friends with a lot of different specific preferences concerning sound and riff composition.
The album is to this point, in our opinion the most coherent, but also the most diverse offering of our ten-year history as a band. The record features classic ’90s moments of our early stoner and alternative approaches, but also, in a blink of an eye, progressive psychedelic stuff and experimental signatures we figured out in the rehearsal space over various sessions. All those pieces have gone through various stages of different moods, but, at the end, Artificial Disgust is what it is: a bastard of polyphonic heaviness with a hint of a painful, sardonic smile.
Exile On Mainstream will release Artificial Disgust on LP, CD, and digital platforms on April 24th, the LP joined with a download code, and the CD and digital versions bearing a bonus track from the archives. Place ordersHERE.
Artificial Disgust was recorded by Jan Oberg at Hidden Planet Studio, Robin Ravn at FKN Recording Studio, Alan Bittner at Frieders Livingroom, Georg Edert at Gaffa Ghandi Rehearsal Space, Torsten Lang at Torstens Livingroom, and Niklas Wenzel at Virtuose Vibes Studio. The record was mixed and mastered by Torsten Lang and is completed with photography and design by Maren Michaelis and layout by Benjamin Butter.
The new LP was meant to see release in conjunction with GAFFA GHANDI’s participation in Exile On Mainstream’s RoadShow 2020 mini-tour including Treedeon, Darsombra, Kristian Harting, and Tourette Boys, but the trek has been disbanded due to the ongoing worldwide coronavirus situation. Watch for the band to reschedule new performances once the situation is contained.
GAFFA GHANDI: Georg Edert – drums Lucas Kazzer – bass Frieder Ackermann – guitar Alan Bittner – guitar
Posted in Features on April 10th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.
Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.
Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan
Days of Rona: Sven Müller of ElbSludgeBooking (Dresden, Germany)
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How are you dealing with this crisis as a promoter? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?
First of all: We are a crew of 20 peeps and set up shows for fun. We don’t depend on it — at least financially. Thus far we had to cancel nine shows with 24 bands due to Corona. We still have two shows on in May — a festival and a regular show with two bands. For the fest three bands from abroad have cancelled already, so if the fest is possible we will try to find local bands to jump in. Right now our plan for the rest of the year is to forget about our annual summer break and do some extra shows in July/August if shows are allowed. And we try to move some of the cancelled shows or bands to the fall. The real problem is that this crisis affects all genres so the always crammed September and October will be full to the absolute max. And all without even knowing if we can do shows by then at all.
Healthwise we are all good. Only actual case I heard of in the closer community is one pupil at the school of my godchild.
What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?
People are told to stay home as much as possible. No shows/parties allowed. If you need to go out only two persons together are allowed and only for sports and groceries. Bigger families can go outdoors together though. I work mainly at a theatre and it is closed now until the end of April so I am home with my kids since the kindergarten/school is closed.
How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?
It is a huge blow to the music scene, be it bookers, labels, promoters and bands. For professional bands depending on gigs it is a nightmare. On the other hand we do a lot of shows with smaller bands too who don’t rely on the money from touring so it is not that tough I guess. Some of them will even save money.
Within my community the general feeling is that we can get through this alive and we can cope with this situation. There is so much going on everywhere and it’s hard to keep track of all the information buzzing around. So we sit here and wait – watching live shows on Facebook, drinking some beers and thinking what we can do with our lives without LIVE MUSIC!
What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a promoter, or personally, or anything?
For the music scene I suggest to bands to consider to tour Europe in January and February 2021. Before that the competition will be tough. With the warm winters lately the conditions to tour here are quite okay.
Personally for me it could be worse. I have time for my kids, I have the internet, my guitar, time to cook properly and some new albums on Bandcamp. If only there would be one live gig each week. And a constant flow of free money too. Lol
