Shepherds, who I've heard now on a few Bored Fortress offerings offer up more jazz (?) weirdness on DNT. This might even have been released before the Not Not Fun club stuff and it's a nice change from the noise assault I wouldn't put past this duo from meneguar and vanishing voice heritage.I don't claim to know too much about free jazz, or this kind of improvised tape experimental area. It wanes in and out of my consciousness, being this whole subgenre that just seems a little daunting. I know it's a whole world in and of itself but it's the kind of thing I'm turning over and over and I'm not so alienated I can't find an entry point. I guess it could fall into a neo-psyche area...it doesn't have the pointed direction of all out drug induced, but it definitely doesn't hurt. It continues to get better after a few drinks.
In fact I'm losing track of which side started what after a few listens, it's part of the same session originally destined for a 3" CDR, which, let's face it, doesn't hold a candle to the 7" format, the crackling and pops add to the timelessness. But I'm a little biased of course and it does make me wonder what had to be trimmed out of this piece or how they decided on a breaking point for the B-side.
It's really controlled for seeming improvisation, the drums fade in and out of structure and the played loops or live organic horns and haunting samples keep working outside of any typical systems. It works slowly from deconstruction and chaos into a drum trance.
Thankfully the speed (33) and side are etched into the gutter so I'm not playing it at the wrong speed, although this piece lends itself to your own sort of manipulation.
It's a nice expansive track and rightfully pressed in a few editions by now. I got the white one and there are still copies available at DNT, who can be counted on for challenging work like this. Literally this is the new music of the 21st century composers. I don't know what David Del Tredici is doing these days, but he could learn a thing or two from this new wave of sincerly pushing genre's and boundaries.
