London’s Desert Clouds release their third album, Planexit (review here), on March 25 via Mandrone Records. It’s a banger, opening with an immediate grunge-informed take on heavy psychedelic rock, spacious and resonant and occasionally jammed out, but still ultimately grounded in craft. Songs like “Mamarse” and “Revolutionary Lies” and post-intro “Willow” evoke the mid-’90s melding of grunge and the stoner punk finding its shape in the Californian desert, as closer and lead single “Speed of Shadow” (premiering below) branches outward into pastoral melody as the start of the go-big build serving as the apex of the record.
Giving away the ending — spoiler alert — would seem to be an odd choice, but Planexit is way more about getting there than where it ends up. Smoothly executing across 45 minutes and nine songs, the band demonstrates a reach in terms of style, but more over, there’s a cohesion to their approach that ties the songs together and speaks to the studio experience they’ve gleaned together over the years since their 2015 debut, The Floating Oar, and subsequent short offerings — one them being the 2018 single “Speed of Light,” to which “Speed of Shadow” is an apparent companion piece. Nifty bit of trivia for those of you playing along at home.
It’s probably not an actual influence — London has plenty of psych, grunge, heavy, and other rocks from which to find inspiration — but I’m reminded in listening to Planexit of Salt Lake City, Utah’s Iota in how they brought together varying sides of West Coast US impulses and formed something of their own from them. Desert Clouds appear to be aiming for similar ground, and Planexit gets them there.
Enjoy “Speed of Shadow” on the player below, followed by more from the band:
Desert Clouds on “Speed of Shadow”:
“Speed of Shadow”- lead single of the album – shows how a nameless man realizes that the environment, the planet and any circumstance cannot be the issue until you’re part of them. He understands that running away from anything doesn’t have any effect if you don’t escape yourself first.
Heavy psychedelic rockers DESERT CLOUDS are pleased to announce that they will release their album Planexit via Mandrone Records on March 25 2022.
The band comments:
“This new album is a journey throughout the inner side of the human being, represented by a nameless man who is trying to escape the surrounding environment that overwhelms him.”
Venture on a thrilling voyage with Planexit. Melodic riffs and hard hitting rhythms fuel the powerful impact of the music. DESERT CLOUDS’ experimental sound produces colourful musicality enhanced with a heavy intensity.
Posted in Reviews on January 19th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Getting to the halfway point of a Quarterly Review is always something special. I’m not trying to say it’s a hardship reviewing 50 records in a week — if anything it’s a relief, despite the strain it seems to put on my interpersonal relationships; The Patient Mrs. hates it and I can’t really fault her for that since it does consume a fair amount of my brain while it’s ongoing — but some days it comes down to ‘do I shower or do I write’ and usually writing wins out. I’ll shower later. Probably. Hopefully.
But today we pass halfway through and there’s a lot of killer still to come, so plenty to look forward to either way. The day starts with an old favorite I’ve included here basically as a favor to myself. Let’s go.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
Sergio Ch., La Danza de los Tóxicos
Comparatively speaking, La Danza de los Tóxicos is a pretty straightforward solo offering from Soldati/Ararat/ex-Los Natas frontman Sergio Chotsourian, whose ealrier-2021 full-length, Koi (review here), featured both of his children, one rapping and one joining him on vocals for a Nine Inch Nails cover. Perhaps it’s in reaction to that record that this one feels more traditionalist, with Chotsourian (aka Sergio Ch.) still finding 11 minutes to drone out instrumentalist style on closer “Thor Hammer” and to sample Scarface at the start of “Late Train,” but in his guy-and-guitar ethic, a lot of this material sounds like the roots of things to come — Chotsourian has shared songs between projects for years — while keeping a balance between exploratory vibe and traditional structures on pieces like “Skinny Ass,” “La Esquina” and “88.”
Coated in burl and aggressive presentation as well as the occasional metaphors about stellar phenomena and hints/flourish of Latin rhythm and percussion, Titanosaur‘s fourth long-player, Absence of Universe, sees multi-instrumentalist, producer and vocalist Geoff Saavedra engaging with aggressive tonality and riff construction as well as the various instabilities of the moment in which the album was put together. “Conspiracy” feels somewhat self-explanatory from a lyrical standpoint, and both opener “The Echo Chamber” and “Shut Off the Voices” feel born of the era in their theme, while “So Happy” seems like a more personal perspective on mental health. Whatever a given song’s subject throughout the nine-track/42-minute offering, Saavedra delivers with a heavy rock born out of ’90s metal such that the breakdown in “So Happy” feels natural when it hits, and the rush of finale “Needed Order” seems like an earned expulsion of the tension so much of the record prior has been building, incluing the chugging force of “I Will Live Forever” immediately prior.
Future Fossils would seem to take its name from the idea of bringing these tracks together in some effort toward conservation, to keep them from getting lost to time or obscurity amid the various other works and incarnations of Insect Ark. The first three songs are synth-only solo pieces by Dana Schechter, recorded in 2018, and the final piece, “Gravitrons,” is a 23-minute live improvisation by Schechter and then-drummer Ashley Spungin recorded in New York in 2016. The sense that these things might someday be “discovered” as one might unearth a fossil is fair enough — the minimalism of “Gypsum Blade” has space enough to hold whatever evocations one might place on it, and while “Anopsian Volta” feels grounded with a line of piano, opener “Oral Thrush” seems more decidedly cinematic. All this of course is grist for the mill of “Gravitrons,’ which is consuming unto itself in its ambience and rife with experimentalist purpose. Going in order to have gone. As ethics go, that one feels particularly worth preserving.
Sludge and grind come together on Denver trio Never Kenezzard‘s The Long and Grinding Road, and through what seems to be some modern metallurgical miracle, the album sounds neither like Carcass‘ Swansong nor Dopethrone. After the pummeling beginning of “Gravity” and “Genie,” the interlude “Praer” and the subequent channel-panning-screamer “Ra” expand an anti-genre take as bent on individuality of sound as they apparently are on clever wordplay. “Demon Wheel” has a genuine heavy rock thrust, and “Slowburn” and the looped clock noise of “11:59:59” provide buffers between the extended cuts “Seven Statues” (11:31) and “The Long and Grinding Road” (14:55) itself, which closes, but by then the three-piece have established a will and a way to go wherever they want and you can follow if you’re up for it. So are you? Probably. There’s some underlying current of Faith No More-style fuckery in the sound, something playful about the way Never Kenezzard push themselves into abrasion. You can tell they’re having fun, and that affects the listening experience throughout the purposefully unmanageable 57 minutes of the album.
There’s a thread of noise rock that runs throughout Godlike Supervision, the debut full-length from Munich-based four-piece The Kupa Pities, and it brings grit to both the early-Clutch riffing of lead cut “Anthology” and the later, fuzz-overdose “Queen Machine.” It’s not just about aggression, though there’s some of that, but of the band putting their own spin on the established tenets of Kyuss-style desert and Fu Manchu-style heavy rocks. “Black Hole” digs into the punkish roots of the former, while the starts-and-stops of “Dance Baby Dance” and the sheer push of the title-track hint toward the latter, even if they’re a little sharper around the edges than the penultimate “Surfing,” which feels like it was titled after what the band do with their own groove — they seem to ride it in expert fashion. So be it. “Black Hole” works in a bit of atmosphere and “Burning Man” caps with a fair-enough blowout at the finish, ending the album on a note not unfamiliar but indicative of the twists The Kupa Pities are working to bring to their influences.
A newcomer trio, London’s Warpstormer brings together guitarist Scott Black (Green Lung), drummer Matthew Folley and bassist/vocalist Richard J. Morgan (ex-Oak), and their aptly-titled first EP, 1, presents four bangers of unrepentantly brash heavy rock and roll, channeling perhaps some of earlier Orange Goblin‘s boozy-wrecking-crew vibes, but on “Ride the Bomb” digging into post-hardcore and metal as well, the abidingly aggro sense undercut by a quiet stretch holding its tension in the drums as well as the drunken quiet start of “Devourer,” which gets plenty bruising by its finish but is slower in procession certainly than were “Here Comes Hell” and “Storm Caller” at the outset. They’re in and out and done in 19 minutes, but as what otherwise might be a demo, 1 gives a look at where Warpstormer are coming from and would seem to herald future incursions to come. I’ll take it. The songs come across as feeling out where the band wants to be in terms of sound, but where they’re headed, they’re headed with due charge.
Génesis Negro perhaps loses something in the audio-only experience. To wit, while Ricardo Jiménez Gómez is responsible for all the music on the album, it’s the illustrations of Antonio Ramírez Collado, bringing together in Blake-esque style mysticism, anatomy, and ideas born of research into early Christian gnostics, that serve as the root from which that music is sprung. Instrumental in its entirety and including a reprint of the article that ties the visuals and audio together and was apparently the inspiration for exploring the subject to start with, its 43-minute run can obviously offer the listener a deeper dive than just the average collection of verse/chorus songs, and no doubt that’s the intention. Some pieces are minimal enough to barely be there at all, enough to emphasize every strum of a string, and others offer a distorted tonal weight that seems ready to interpret any number of psychedelic spiritual chaos processes. If you want to get weird, Ricardo Jiménez y Antonio Ramírez are way ahead of you. They might also be ahead of themselves, honestly, despite whatever temporal paradox that implies.
Tracks like “Leaves,” “Blood Boils Hot,” and “Thunder” still rock out a pretty heavy classic blues rock vibe, but Swedish outfit Children of the Sün — as the title Roots would imply in following-up their 2019 debut, Flowers (review here) — seem to dig deeper into atmospheric expression, emotive melodies and patience of craft in the 13-track/44-minute offering. From the the mellow noodling of “Reflection” at the start, a piano-led foreshadow for “Eden” later on, to the acoustic-till-it-ain’t “Man in the Moon” later on, the spirit of Roots feels somewhere between days gone by and days to come and therefore must be the present, strutting accordingly on “The Soul” and making a pure vocal showcase for Josefina Berglund Ekholm, on which she shines as one has come to expect. There are moments where the vocals feel disconnected from the instrumental portions of the songs, but where they go, they go organically.
Is that flute on “Planexit,” the opener and longest track (immediate points), on Planexit, the latest outing from London-based grunge-informed heavy rockers Desert Clouds? It could well be, and after the somewhat bleaker progression of the riffs prior, that escape into melody comes across as well-placed. The band are likewise unafraid to pull off atmospheric Nick Cave-style storytelling in “Wheelchair” and more broodingly progressive fare in “Deceivers,” leaving the relatively brief “Revolutionary Lies” to rest somewhere between Southern heavy, early ’90s melodicism and a modern production. Throughout the 45-minute LP, the band swap out various structural ideologies, and while I can’t help be immersed in the groove and bassline of “Deceivers,” the linear build and receding of the penultimate “Pearl Marmalade” feels no less essential to the impact of the record overall. Behold a band who have found their niche and set themselves to the task of refining its parameters. As ever, it works because songwriting and performance are both right on.
Comprised of Clement Pineau (drums, kamele n’goni, vocals, percussion), Idriss Besselievre (vocals, guitar, sanxian), Paul Adamczuk (bass/guitar, keyboard) and Margot GuilbertGondhawa bring forth a heavy psychedelic cultural sphere throughout the still-digestible six tracks and 37 minutes of Käampâla, with the French trio’s penchant for including instrumentation from Africa or Asia alongside the more traditional guitar, bass, drums, keys and vocals resulting in a lush but natural feeling psychedelia that seems to be all the more open for their readiness to jam outside whatever box expectation might put them in. The title-track feels like Mideastern prog, while the subsequent “Assid Bubu” shreds out an echoing lead over a slow-roller of a stoner-jam nod. Their willingness to dance is a strength, ultimately, and their inclusion of these arrangement elements, including percussion, comes across as more than dabbling in world music. They’re not the first to look beyond their effects pedals in manifesting psych rock, but there’s not a lot out there that sounds like this.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 23rd, 2021 by JJ Koczan
With two full-lengths to their name — as well as an EP and some singles — London’s Desert Clouds have signed with Mandrone Records to issue their third LP next year. The album has been dubbed Planexit, which is enough to have me wondering if either it’s got political leanings, escapist leanings, or both. Brexit was/is a thing, and I can also see arguments for wanting to leave Earth altogether — xenophobic voting blocs among them — so as the band follows the streaming-below 2019 outing, Nothing Beyond the Cage, I guess I’m curious to understand where they’re coming from, perspective-wise as well as, you know, riffs.
Presumably the cover art would clear some of that up, though you never really know until you see a lyric sheet, and you don’t always see that either, especially in this age of streams and whatnot. But don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here old-manning about the format wars.
Which I apparently enjoy doing.
Rock and roll coming your way:
DESERT CLOUDS Sign To Mandrone Records
London based DESERT CLOUDS deliver ’60s psychedelic/rock influences and ’90s arrangements (or the other way around), with their own distinctive dark sound. The dynamic outfit sign to Mandrone Records as they prepare to release their new album Planexit in 2022.
The band comments:
“It took long but finally we have found the right people to work with. It’s not easy to find a label like Mandrone Records who prioritizes the artist’s point of view while they work all around it.
Drawing inspiration from all genres and influences from the likes of SYD BARRETT to LED ZEPPELIN to NIRVANA, and TOOL. Lyrically they often explore the darker side of the human condition and draw on interests such as the Italian artistic movement Decadentism, along with existentialism. DESERT CLOUDS have a career spanning two decades. Originating from Italy, the outfit have seen line-up changes, multiple releases, and worked with a range of producers.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Think they’re really from New Zealand? Maybe yes, maybe no. I won’t claim to know either way, but the no-names/no-pics/all-lowercase post-whathaveyou troupe postcards from new zealand will release their new album, city lights, through Italian imprint Mandrone Records, and as the label’s own Dan Murronisaid here earlier this week, “We opened Mandrone Records because we wanted to release our stuff and friends’ stuff.” So maybe they’re from Italy. Or maybe they’re from right next door. Shit, maybe the call’s coming from inside the house! Again, I simply don’t know. Universe of infinite possibilities. They could be from nowhere.
They formed in 2008 and their Bandcamp page (linked below) is a trove of impressionist sonics. You won’t regret taking a dip if you’re feeling open of mind.
As per the PR wire:
postcards from new zealand sign to Mandrone Records and announce new album “city islands”
Faceless outfit, postcards from new zealand (all lowercase please) sign to Mandrone Records with their new album ‘city islands’ releasing on the 2nd of July 2021. Exploring beyond the limits of genre boundaries and creating vast, intense soundscapes is a huge part of their identity. Their sound ranges from the heavy hitting hardcore through to progressive electronics. Since forming in 2008, postcards from new zealand have released 21 full lengths and an EP through Bandcamp.
“After noticing that they released physically just one album, I approached them via bandcamp asking if they had unreleased material. They sent a shared google drive with the album ‘city islands’, which is the chapter three of ‘we watch them devour’, one of their sagas. I absorbed this record from the first listen, captured by the blends of soundscapes, distorted guitars and drumming in which I’ve found echoes of King Crimson and cinematic music. This is the exact reaction that clicks things in Mandrone Records.
I asked if they were interested in releasing the album through the label. Their reply was like:
“Yes. Mandrone Records can physically release ‘city islands’. Few rules In a limited quantity. The band name is always lowercase ‘postcards from new zealand’. Album name is lowercase too: ‘city islands’. Don’t expect to get special treatment – you’ll never get any member information, no names, no faces, no places.”
This increased my interest in them. I wanted them. I sent the contact to a PO Box, they replied with an NDA which I had to sign and send back. Now that everything is settled, I’m really excited to share the news and welcome postcards from new zealand in Mandrone Records’ roster and to release their awesome ‘city islands’ in Digipack and Musicassette. Limited quantities. I’m pretty sure listeners will love them, especially the ones not afraid to listen to something different than the usual.”
Posted in Questionnaire on May 24th, 2021 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: Daniele Murroni of Gramma Vedetta, Aliceissleeping & Mandrone Records
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I will define myself as Jack of all trades, master of nothing. I’m a software engineer from 9 to 5 day and a musician, sound engineer and record label owner from 5pm to 9am. (occasionally video editor).
This is because I like to do different things, I get bored quickly, but also because I’m a geek and I’m pretty curious about how things work.
I’ve always been interested in science since I was a kid and I’ve been raised by music-lover parents, so in the ’90s I started playing the guitar with friends in a small town in Sardinia, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and since then everything I wanted to learn was something that could have been applied to music.
I started Computer Science at Uni because I wanted to learn how to develop audio plugins (tried, put together a distortion, sounded like shit).
I develop an interest in sound engineering and music production because I wanted to record my band’s first demo back in 1998. I learned how to edit videos because I wanted to edit video for bands.
Money was scarce, time was in abundance.
I married a bass player, actually, she married me because I’m a guitarist.
We opened Mandrone Records because we wanted to release our stuff and friends’ stuff.
So I do a lot of things and I am a lot of things, I’m not mastering anything but I enjoy life being like this.
Describe your first musical memory.
I have two early musical memories that I remember very well. I was like 4 or something.
“Dad, please put the disc with the thing that spin!” It was me asking my dad to put the Vinyl of Gentle Giant, Octopus, Side B, where the label had the full-size Vertigo logo printed in it.
With the vinyl rotating, the logo generated a 3D Optical illusion. I was hypnotized, I spent hours staring at that drawing.
Second musical memory: “Dad, please, put the music where there are kids singing, an ass with wig and eyes and hammers walking”. (The Wall)
Describe your best musical memory to date.
Guess the best musical memories are related to gigs I’ve seen.
I’ve been an avid music listener in my teens but haven’t seen any big band live because no one came down in Sardinia to play music.
Finally, at the age of 17, a couple of friends ad I organised a trip to Milan to attend the gig of our idols: Dream Theater!
To leave the island we needed of course to take a ship, It was an amazing experience, first time travelling with no adult supervision, seeing new places, watching your heroes playing your fav songs few meters from you, people jumping, moshpit.
Amazing. Sometimes I’d like to revive an experience like this. It was something completely new that I’ve never seen before. Real musicians, wow!
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
This question is not easy. Honestly, I don’t have absolute beliefs, I always question myself, thanks to the experiences I’ve had in my life. Human history itself has shown that certain assumptions, certain beliefs deeply rooted in society for a certain period, have turned out to be incorrect or otherwise limited.
Perhaps the only thing I believe at the moment is that the human being is evil and that in order to justify himself he had to create someone above or there responsible for his behaviour.
But I want to be clear, I don’t think ALL human beings are bad. There are many good people, like me for example, otherwise, we would have been extinct with an atomic war in the ’80s to the sound of Rust in Peace by Megadeth played by Vangelis on the synthesizer.
(I know Rust in Peace was released in 1990 but if I have to imagine the end of the world I imagine it in my own way.)
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
The artistic progression does not happen to everyone. There are many artists who have been repeating themselves for decades. The absence of artistic progression makes you an assembly line product, sterile and rigid made for mass consumption.
The artistic progression, which in my opinion consists of evolving, in developing new skills and therefore new ideas, in breaking out of the mould, takes you to unexplored, inaccessible territories, lands to conquer, where your survival skills are put to the test. In short, it makes you suffer, it makes you feel alive and unique.
How do you define success?
My definition of success is when you look at what you do and who you are and what you see it’s exactly what you wanted to do and be.
It’s not a matter of numbers or money.
It’s having no regrets, it’s being able to say “I wanted to do it so I tried” instead of “I haven’t done it because I don’t know if I’m capable” or “I wish I’d be like this but I can’t.”
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Racist, ignorant, misogynistic and corrupt people rise to power. It hurts even more when you realize they have been voted on in regular elections.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I have an idea for a book/novel. It’s a dream I had once it was weird because the story had a twist towards the end that I wasn’t expecting. My brain played it very well during that dream.
I still remember it.
Also, I’d like to create a fictional universe, like Gene Roddenberry in Star Trek, George Lucas in Star Wars. I’m working on it, but’s not easy when you waste your time doing all the shit I’ve mentioned in question 1.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
I’m related to this. As I said I like science and math, I work on computers, on machines that follow rules I impose on them. In this field, things have to be done in this way, with this sequence of operation, catch the exception, what If, then else.
Science is something that grows, but laws of physics are that one, you can’t defy them and we are forced to follow them.
Art is exactly what let us deviate from this, Art is something that his not tied to anything, let you build links between phenomena and parallel path. Art is the chaos that makes us non-machine, that scramble the numbers and give us guidance to create something new.
Art is what makes me feel alive after hours spent watching on a screen.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
To see my family again. To gather together at a table, eat our favourite food and drink the best wine we have, telling each other stories about how we spent the past years.
Posted in Questionnaire on April 19th, 2021 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: Alberto Trentanni of King Bong
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
I’m a musician, specifically a bass player. I started when I was 14, picking up the instrument after a pretty random conversation. I always had a passion for music, but I never saw myself actually doing it before a classmate half-jokingly said “If we do a band, you’ll play bass cause I’m too short.” The idea started to grow in the back of my head and a year later I was buying my first Precision copy. I never actually played with that guy.
I took lessons for a few years and I played in several bands growing up, while looking for my musical voice. There were a few cover bands, a short-lived punk one, a prog-metal one, and finally a Southern rock one which actually co-existed with King Bong. They both started in 2008, although the other project is now defunct.
Initially I was a very straight bassist, in-the-pocket if you wish. As I explored the instrument and discovered new music, I expanded my vocabulary: since I play in an instrumental band with lots of improvisation, this is kind of a feedback loop. Our music pushes me to find new colors and I’m also pushed by my bandmates’ growth.
Describe your first musical memory.
It’s quite hard to focus on a single one: my parents have a passion for music, so I grew up surrounded by it. Right now, the oldest one I can think of is listening to Bowie’s Never Let Me Down and being mesmerized by the cassette’s cover. He’s done better albums, with better artworks, but I remember being obsessed by the background of this one.
It’s either that, or listening with my dad to Santana’s Greatest Hits, the one with the white dove on the cover. Speaking of which, I’ve recently brought him a recording of Santana’s 1970 concert at Tanglewood, which I highly recommend to everybody, it’s on YouTube.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
I’ve used Paranoid as a nickname on the Internet since I installed Napster in 1998, so seeing Black Sabbath play “Paranoid” in Birmingham was a highlight of my life. I was in the front rows and it felt so uplifting.
Best concert as a whole has to be either King Crimson at La Fenice theater in Venice or when I saw Motorpsycho play a three and half hour set which included the whole Blissard album as an encore. Two very different forms of musical elation: King Crimson was perfection embodied, sonically and creatively. The Motorpsycho one was in a small packed club, there was an electricity in the air that I’ve felt very few times and the band gave a performance I’ll never forget.
As a musician, it was when we recorded a collaboration with Chris Haskett, guitarist from the Henry Rollins Band. There was a moment during our sessions with him that sounded so good it still gives me chills. I distinctly remember looking around at the rest of the band while we were playing and thinking “Wow, we wrote this, and it’s actually working”.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
Growing up an atheist in a very Catholic country, I’ve always had some pretty hard anticlericalist views. Luckily, the world every now and then brings up examples of outstanding individuals with a strong faith, reminding me that any group of people is made of single minds and looking at them not as persons but as members of that group is a dangerous and a negative line of thought.
Specifically, my anticlericalism was put to test the most when I was 20 and on an InterRail trip. I don’t know if it it’s still a thing, but at the time European citizens under 25 were able to buy these cheap train tickets that allowed almost unlimited travel around areas of the EU.
I bought one of these tickets with a group of friends and went to Spain and Morocco (which for some reason was included in the program). On our way back from Marrakech, we took a ferry from Tangier which brought us to Algeciras, on the Spanish coast.
We fucked up the timing of the trip, so we arrived in the middle of the night. We slept inside the docks, unrolling our sleeping bags under some stairs. The following morning, we ventured into the city with the aim of taking a train to Sevilla, but first we needed a shower and some food. The trip from Marrakech had started two days earlier and we looked like hobos.
Lo and behold, here’s a tiny house with a garden and a sign that explains it’s a Christian mission welcoming travelers. They made us breakfast and gave us access to their showers. After that, we actually had a very nice conversation about Christianity and organized religion.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
For me, it leads to growth and salvation. Art has taught me a huge number of things, both experiencing it and doing it. Progressing as an artist means to constantly feed a hunger that otherwise would never be satisfied. In this sense it leads to salvation: without art life has not much meaning, but also to remain stuck as an artist will make you lose that meaning.
How do you define success?
As an artist, to move the audience. To actually be able to find an audience, regardless of its size, that resonates with what you do.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
Timo Kotipelto singing Queensryche’s “I Don’t Believe In Love” at Wacken 2002.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
An ambient album with just layers of my bass and my effects. I’ve got several ideas, but I lack the focus to actually do it. Those ideas are also too scattered, so maybe I simply haven’t found the right concept yet.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
To express one’s self. Art is a language, at the very base every artist is saying something and opening their inner world for the outside to look in.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I have a phobia of needles, but I’ve never wanted an injection so much as with the Covid vaccine! On a larger scale, I can’t wait for things to be under control so we can resume travelling and going to concerts.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 14th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
Italian instrumentalist jammers King Bong have signed to Mandrone Records to release the next in their Beekse Bergen series, the most recent of which, Vol. 8 – Rosebud, came out earlier this month. In addition to this, Mandrone — also responsible for releases by Gramma Vedetta and Aliceissleeping — will reissue the band’s 2017 offering, Sand – Return. By what I’m going to assume isn’t really coincidence at all, I recently snagged a download code from a giveaway for said album in one or the other of the Facebook groups that pops up in my newsfeed, and was glad I did, as the weirdness quirk factor in King Bong‘s jams runs high and exploratory, and it led me to dig a little further into the Beekse Bergen stuff, which I suspect the Mandrone release will do as well for others.
All those jams, extended and vibe-heavy as they are, are recorded live and name-your-price on their Bandcamp. I’m not advocating digital hoarding or anything, but yeah, I kind of am.
The PR wire brought this:
MANDRONE RECORDS SIGN KING BONG
Mandrone Records is pleased to announce the signing of King Bong, the instrumental jam band from Milan, Italy.
The label and the band will work together for the release of the sixth episode of their Beekse Bergen saga, details of which will be revealed in early 2021. This much-anticipated piece of musical art will be an epic release with many special guests.
To celebrate the beginning of this relationship, Mandrone will run a limited repress of the band’s recently sold out Sand ? Return.
Originally released in 2017, the progressive and multi-layered tracks on this album tell four stories that unfold in four different deserts around the world. The music is accompanied by the evocative artwork of Solo Macello, which will help listeners to fully immerse themselves in this journey.
Mandrone says of King Bong: “We have been following this band since the dawn of times and have been captured by their evolving sound palette and tireless creative work. This is all about the music. Pure music for greedy ears. We’re excited they’ve joined the family.”
King Bong says: “We are happy to partner with the guys from the Mandrone. We’ve been doing DIY since the year of the VIII and we know these guys will help the King to have a louder voice. Plus they’re musicians, so we speak the same language.”
Stay tuned for what will surely be a fruitful collaboration. Reissue details coming soon!
Sand ? Return Tracklist 1. Marathon des Sables 2. Uncle the Big Duck 3. Capacocha (Llullaillaco Dreamin’) 4. Biondo (Lo Sai Di Chi Sei Figlio Tu?)
Album Credits Recorded at Frigo Studio by Francesco Cego Mixed by Matteo Ravelli and King Bong at Distant Zombie Warning Studio Mastered by James Plotkin
KING BONG is: Andrea Ferrari – Electric guitar Riccardo Balzarin – Electric guitar Alberto Trentanni – Electric bass Matteo Ravelli – Drums and percussion
executing across 45 minutes and nine songs, the band demonstrates a reach in terms of style, but more over, there’s a cohesion to their approach that ties the songs together and speaks to the studio experience they’ve gleaned together over the years since their 2015 debut, The Floating Oar, and subsequent short offerings — one them being the 2018 single “Speed of Light,” to which “Speed of Shadow” is an apparent companion piece. Nifty bit of trivia for those of you playing along at home.
