music art film review - REDEFINE magazine » spirituality

Transformational Festivals: Where Ecstatic Spirit and Sonic Celebration Unite (w/ Timeline & Preview Guide)

Elizabeth Perry — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:55:24 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Transformational Festivals: Where Ecstatic Spirit and Sonic Celebration Unite (w/ Timeline & Preview Guide)

"We're not just trying to give people a place to go and dance and listen to music. Instead, we're trying to inspire people to gather, celebrate and learn in a responsible and healthy way so they can inspire change in the world when they leave." – Dede Flemming, Lightning in a Bottle

Envision Festival

Regarding the typical music festival, Wanderlust Festival's PR representative Thao Le describes an environment that all of us, undoubtedly, are all-too-familiar with -- one full of "crowds, fences, mud, [and] $5 plastic water bottles." These kinds of environments invite us to socialize, party, and stand and watch performances, but rarely do they encourage us to be introspective, open, or transformed. A culture of transformational festivals, however -- ones that incorporate all the best aspects of music, yoga, art, learning, and healing -- is quickly growing to provide that very experience. In infinitely unique ways, these social, musical, and spiritual celebrations integrate a variety of multi-disciplinary offerings, while still balancing the traditional logistical aspects of funding and promotion. Despite their differences and specialties, all of these festivals share a unified goal of creating community, inspiring transformation, and spreading positivity beyond the physical limits of each festival and its participants. In this extensive feature, we talk to founders and representatives from Envision (Costa Rica), BaliSpirit (Bali), Bliss Beat (Italy), Wanderlust (N. America), Lightning In A Bottle (CA), Gratifly (SC), Beloved (OR), Evolvefest (PA), and Symbiosis (CA), to uncover their common goals, as well as highlight their different focuses, whether they be in environmentalism, charity work, multiculturalism, spirituality, or simply unification.

1. Grassroots Origins 2. A Festival for Every Body 3. A "Business Model" for the New Paradigm 4. Transformation Beyond Festival Boundaries 5. Timeline & Preview Guide of Transformational Festivals

Beloved Festival - Photography by Zipporah Lomax

Grassroots Origins

Now in its ninth year, Symbiosis is one transformational festival that epitomizes the culture's emphasis on community. Bosque, one of the festival's main producers, explains that their main intention in organizing Symbiosis was to "creat[e] a container for all... different walks of life to cross paths and see that, even though they have their individuality or little clique or tribe, they also belong to a bigger collective as well." This idea inspired other festival organizers as well, and most transformational festivals are born from simple collective gatherings. Lightning in a Bottle, for example, started out as a birthday party, and Wanderlust grew out of discussions at a record label's headquarters. Evolvefest's founder David Bryson recalls that, "Evolvefest was borne from a small group of local artists, musicians, and educators who gathered for weekly potluck shared meals. We'd be tossing a frisbee, doing yoga, and sitting around a campfire talking about ways to organize a gathering for people... feeling that inward call to awaken and thrive." Elliot Rasenick, founder and producer of Tidewater, Oregon's Beloved Festival, cites many significant influences that led him to pursue the production of his own festival. After organizing underground electronic dance parties, kirtans, and other devotional or educational events, Rasenick desired to reproduce the inspiring experiences those events allowed for, such as the "profound moments of connection between people where the boundaries between us seemed to fade away" that occurred on the dance floor, the "connection with the spirit" that he felt through chanting divine names, and the chance "to share the ideas of an emerging culture" that empowered him at educational events. Since founding their gatherings, the creative souls behind these operations continue to seek to do more than just put on another festival year after year. According to Envision's founding partner, Justin Brothers, they seek to re-imagine the festival formula entirely -- to take "a blank canvas" and paint it as they wish, while still humbly acknowledging and receiving inspiration from the bits and pieces that other festivals are doing correctly. Lightning In A Bottle - Photography by Watchara

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Transformational Festivals: Where Ecstatic Spirit and Sonic Celebration Unite (w/ Timeline & Preview Guide)

Broken Deer – Polaraura Album Review

Elizabeth Perry — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:32:13 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Broken Deer – Polaraura Album Review

Broken Deer Polaraura Self-Released Releasing an album means recording, mixing, mastering, and sharing a piece of yourself through music -- and the way all that happens can be unbelievably revealing. In Broken Deer's experimental, ghostly, and cassette-recorded fifth release, Polaraura, we get a unique window into Lindsay Dobbin's musical temperament as well as her natural and spiritual concerns. At the same time breathlessly intimate and palpably alienating, Dobbin's music invites external forces in while still keeping itself closed off, lending an interesting dichotomy to Polaraura's collection of fluctuating sounds and melodies.

"Along with songs of longing, sounds of the river, wolves, snow, wind, forest spirits, owls, and northern lights all appear on Polaraura. Moving from winter darkness, longing and hunger, to the insight and relief of spring, the one-track journey explores the wisdom of a northern landscape and how it might mirror a place within." - Polaraura's Press Release

Polaraura by BROKEN DEER

Acknowledging the setting in which Polaraura was created is crucial to appreciating it. Using analogue tape recorders in an off-the-grid cabin, Dobbin combines her own melodies and bare instrumentation with a myriad of collected sounds, both organic and seemingly otherworldly. Whistling, warbling, and whooshing sounds infiltrate the album, blurring the line between natural and unnatural so that it's hard to tell where the 'music' ends and the 'background noise' begins. The ambient noise is sometimes turbulent -- even distracting -- as vibrating, buzzing, tinkling, and ringing sounds circle the album's main melodies. At other times, it is peaceful, even desolate or eerily unearthly: the simple sound of the wind blowing through vacant lands or that of spirits communicating with each other. The album seems an experiment in recording, which comes off best, for example, at the end of "Part 3", when the gradually accelerating piano part -- warbling from the distortion of the tape recorder -- becomes a rippling effect that turns into a flapping sound, and finally unravels into the conclusion. Dobbin's instrumentation throughout the album is careful and fragile-sounding. From the high-pitched, delicately-chosen piano melodies on "Part 4" to the rich, nostalgic guitar fingerpicking on "Part 1," to her own childish and wholesome vocals throughout, Dobbin creates an alluring and elusive melodic thread for us to follow. Somewhat intriguingly distorted and out-of-tune throughout due to its use of tape recording, Polaraura's songs deliver an eerie, old-timey feel in the midst of the album's experimentation. Dobbin occasionally strips everything away, drawing our focus onto the solitary sounds of nature -- the wind blowing, the owl speaking, the wolf singing -- which have a melody and regularity all their own. These stark moments serve the album's melodic parts, which are also best when most accessible, such as during the satisfying opening of "Part 4" and the pleasing variations that occur on its piano melody. The overall vitality of Polaraura lies in its invitation of external forces, and yet the album remains -- in meaning -- somehow hard to reach. By using tape recorders and embracing the ambient, spiritual, and natural noises around her, Dobbin encourages us to notice what she notices, to feel like we are where she is, and to want to be where she is. And yet we're not quite there; during the third part of the album's final track, "Part 5: Consumed / Wolf Song / I Want", when Dobbin -- the subject -- should be closest, her vocals sound far away, grainy, and irregular, as if they were coming out of a crank-able music box. Undoubtedly a very personal, intimate, and direct way to record, Dobbin's method on Polaraura also has the potential to distort or obscure her meaning. And yet, the elusiveness of the album is intriguing, as it draws us around to wonder at the elements Dobbin hides or omits as much as at those she welcomes and shares. Ω

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Broken Deer – Polaraura Album Review

Tuva’s Meridian of Musicality, Spirituality, and Cross-Cultural Place: A Primer On Tuvan Throat Singing

Lital Khaikin — Sat, 18 May 2013 00:08:45 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Tuva’s Meridian of Musicality, Spirituality, and Cross-Cultural Place: A Primer On Tuvan Throat Singing

As the mountainous ribs of southern Siberia, the republic of Tuva breathes with a culture of inherent symbiosis. The expansive region rests at the true heart of Central Asia, brushed by the ancient carcass of the Sayan Mountains that rumble alongside the eastern steppe, the rigid Altai peaks that hover over winding plateaus to the west, and the Mongolian border to the south. At this intersection of Asian lands and traditionally semi-nomadic cultures, a legendary form of music continues to cultivate creative expression, spirituality, and, through adaptation, modern experimentation.

The music of any region is the skin of its culture. Its texture, wrinkles, and colors stretch over flesh, bone, and spirit. Within the open palm of Central Asia, Tuva holds a musical tradition that has been quietly capturing the imagination of the world and which is among the most awe-inspiring vocal arts to have persisted to this day. Also known as overtone singing, and colloquially as khoomei, throat singing is a style of vocal performance that allows a singer to deliver two or more notes simultaneously, while the pitch is naturally controlled by the lips and throat. Overtone singing can be heard in many cultures: for instance, in some isolated regions in Canada's Arctic; within the Xhosa communities of South Africa; among the Chukchi; and in the memory of the Ainu art of Rekuhkara. Tuva's throat singing, however, is unlike any other in the world.

Jump to: 1. From the Lungs of Central Asia 2. Between Political and Folk Narrative 3. Transcending Place 4. Music as the Frequency of Spiritual Experience 5. Continuing Exploration and Growth Alash River, Tuva Republic. Photography by Konstantin Mikhailov

"For Tuvans, I would say, khoomei expresses thought within the field of sound. And that is why, for the majority of Tuvans — even those who do not sing but only listen — it evokes associations with the sounds of nature, while for the performers, as they sing, it would be native lands, mountains, steppe, taiga, and so on." - Choduraa Tumat, Tyva Kyzy

"Но у тувинцев, я бы сказала, хоомей выражается как мышление в звуковом пространстве. И поэтому у большинства тувинцев, даже у тех кто не поет а только слушает, при слушании возникает ассоциация со звуками природы. А у самих исполнителей при пении явная визуализация природы: родные места, горы, степь, тайга и т.д." - Чодураа Тумат, Тыва Кызы

From the Lungs of Central Asia

In the way that opera paints legends of human emotions and trials, Tuva's palette of throat singing can vividly portray the drama of the earth. The movement of each sound and the strength with which it is delivered is often a creative interpretation of animals, elements, and landscapes, acting as a human continuation of nature. Choduraa Tumat, of Tuva's only all-female throat singing band, Tyva Kyzy, draws the natural parallels between throat singing and its worldly inspiration. "Not only [in] khoomei, but some further vocal techniques of other cultures have originated in ancient times from the search and imitation by humans of the sounds of nature: the gusts of the wind, rivers, the songs of birds, the babbling of a brook," she says. These symbolic imitations however, are not always necessary or intentional. "Throat singing is a mimesis in the sense that the styles and sounds can be associated with a particular type of landscape [like] 'Mountain Kargyraa', but they are not necessarily a direct imitation of a particular sound in nature," say members of the Alash Ensemble, an internationally-acclaimed traditional Tuvan band. Beyond the physical imagery, there is also a much deeper connection that is directed by the passion of performers. "For Tuvans, I would say, khoomei expresses thought within the field of sound," Tumat explains. "And that is why, for the majority of Tuvans -- even those who do not sing but only listen -- it evokes associations with the sounds of nature, while for the performers, as they sing, it would be native lands, mountains, steppe, taiga, and so on." While Tuvan throat singing was traditionally performed solo and often in pastoral settings, contemporary performance has evolved to emphasize bands, audiences, and a stage. "I think that in the present time, the power and technique of a performer relies on how much they can control their emotions and nerves while performing in a new context, on a stage in front of other people and not in nature, not for one's self or for close ones," Tumat says, pointing out the challenges of stage performance. "In order to overcome my nerves during performance, I, and maybe even other performers, visualize nature [and] listen to my own voice, painting in my mind the mountains and steppe. And it is because of this that sadness, nostalgia, pride, and joy are all present in song."

Chirgilchin - "Konturei" [audio:http://www.redefinemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Tuvan_1_Chirgilchin_Konturei.mp3|titles=Chirgilchin - Konturei]Tyva Kyzy - "Sit and Be Amazed" [audio:http://www.redefinemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Tuvan_2_Tyva-Kyzy_Sit-and-Be-Amazed.mp3|titles=Tyva Kyzy - Sit and Be Amazed]Kongar-ol Ondar & Paul Pena - "Eki A'ttar" ("Good Horses") [audio:http://www.redefinemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Tuvan_3_Eki-A-Ttar_Good-Horses.mp3|titles=Kongar-ol Ondar and Paul Pena - Eki A'ttar (Good Horses)]Oidupaa Vladimir Oiun - "There Are Many Tears Here Gained" [audio:http://www.redefinemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Tuvan_4_Oidupaa-Vladimir-Oiun_There-Are-Many-Tears-Here-Gained.mp3|titles=Oidupaa Vladimir Oiun - There Are Many Tears Here Gained]

Styles & Techniques of Tuvan Throatsinging ¹

A talented throat singer may incorporate numerous styles, cascading from the Sygyt songbird warble to the hollow echo of Khoomei and the mesmerizing waterfalls of Borbangnadyr. Though Tuva is far from any of our planet's oceans, the deep gnostic growl of Kargyraa resonates with an oceanic weight, as though each breath were pulled from the deepest trenches of our planet. Extreme emotional responses can be triggered by a gifted performer, and even those sounds that are unpleasant or even frightening to a Western aesthetic have their own significant powers. Khoomei - Хөөмей The term khoomei is often used in Tuvan and Russian to describe throat-singing in general, but it also refers to a specific style. Khoomei is performed in the mid-range, and because of its sometimes hollow sound, it can evoke wind or movement. Sygyt - Cыгыт Sygyt is a high-range style of throat-singing, which may sometimes be referred to as the "Clear Sound". It is a great challenge to perform sygyt without producing undesirable lower harmonics. Kargyraa - Каргыраа The powerful and intense style of kargyraa is identified by its low range. Comparison can be drawn with the chanting of Tibetan monks. Vowels form the foundation for kargyraa song, and because of its depth and fullness, this style can have immense effects on a listener. Borbangnadyr - Борбангнадир Borbangnadyr, more of an effect than a separate style, is easily recognized for its gurgling effect, where sound ripples like water. The natural association is obvious and can be heard generally in mid- to high- ranges. Sygyt sung with a borbangnadyr effect can very easily sound like a bird call.

Footnotes ___ Back to Top

¹ "About Tuvan Throat Singing", Alash Ensemble. Retrieved 2013-04-16.

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Tuva’s Meridian of Musicality, Spirituality, and Cross-Cultural Place: A Primer On Tuvan Throat Singing

Barn Owl Band Interview: A Bilateral Reflection On Meditative States

Jason Simpson — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:35:00 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Barn Owl Band Interview: A Bilateral Reflection On Meditative States

In Hinduism, there is a term called Shaktipat, in which a guru transmits enlightenment by their very presence. Considering the places that some of us here at REDEFINE Magazine have voyaged to while listening to the music of Jon Porras and Evan Caminiti, solo musicians who are also collectively known as Barn Owl, we decided to harangue the duo with a bunch of questions about meditation, to see how much they had seen in such altered spaces. Barn Owl's music seems custom-made for the sweat lodge or meditation hall. As you listen to an amalgam of tribal percussion, temple bells, cosmic synths, and rustic American transcendentalism, you can practically smell the sweet sage burning. Their music knows no bounds, and as such, is a ritual that everybody can take part in. As increasing amounts of people and culture make demands on our time and attention, the ability to find a quiet, sacred space becomes essential. Barn Owl's portable ashram is a precious resource -- you can strap on a pair of headphones and find some space on a crowded train or a busy street to reflect. They encourage us to slow down, and find a little peace. Barn Owl's latest full-length album, V, is out now on Thrill Jockey Records. PURCHASE BARN OWL's V ON AMAZON

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANTHONY MASTERS; ABOVE ARTWORK BY EMILY FRASER

Jon Porras

"Into Midnight" from Black Mesa

Evan Caminiti

"Fading Dawn" from Dreamless Sleep

Barn Owl

"Void Redux" from V Barn Owl’s music has a way of slowing down attention, slowing down one's perception of time. Meditation produces a similar result. What are your intentions with putting music out into the world? Are they aligned with such qualities?

Jon Porras: Especially in the Bay Area, I feel myself trying to slow down in the wake of a fast paced, technology-based culture. Maybe this desire to slow down comes out subconsciously in our work. We’ve always gravitated toward music that builds slowly and thoughtfully, and I believe it can be powerful to feel big impact from subtle shifts in tone, volume and texture.

Evan Caminiti: I approach music less conceptually than I once did and rely more on intuition and daily practice, embracing the strong moments of improvisation rather than trying over and over again to execute an idea based on concepts that don't resonate viscerally. Having a specific vision and knowing what we want to hear is crucial; I would say we always make the kind of music we would to listen to. I think slow music, deep music that taps into something beyond just entertainment, music that engages your body and mind in an all encompassing way -- that is really valuable and crucial. Personally, it is a major part of my well-being, and I hope through releasing music that it does the same for others. I find it to have a grounding effect, both energizing and calming.

Related Concept: Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening Philosophy

In 1991, musican Pauline Oliveros coined the term "Deep Listening" in conjunction with her musical group, The Deep Listening Band, as well as her Deep Listening program. Oliveros describes Deep Listening as "listening in every possible way to everything possible to hear no matter what one is doing." According to the Deep Listening Institute's website, it is the exploration of "the difference between the involuntary nature of hearing and the voluntary, selective nature – exclusive and inclusive -- of listening. The practice includes bodywork, sonic meditations, interactive performance, listening to the sounds of daily life, nature, one’s own thoughts, imagination and dreams, and listening to listening itself. It cultivates a heightened awareness of the sonic environment, both external and internal, and promotes experimentation, improvisation, collaboration, playfulness and other creative skills vital to personal and community growth."¹ The Deep Listening Band specializes in performing and recording in resonant and reverberant spaces, such as caves and cathedrals -- most famously, underground cisterns, including the 2-million-US-gallon (7,600 m3) Fort Worden Cistern which has a 45 second reverberation time.² The Deep Listening program consists of annual listening retreats in Europe and N. America, as well as workships, certification programs, and trainings.³

Barn Owl Band Interview (cont'd)

What does meditation mean to you, and when did you first encounter the idea? Do meditative states influence the creation or consumption of your music?

Jon Porras: Over the years, we’ve developed performance habits that involve mindfulness and deep concentration. I’m not sure this could be considered meditation by definition, but we rely on deep concentration and intuition to guide our live and recorded performances. I would associate this more with Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening philosophy. I've read that some people see a difference between deep, focused performance and the act of deliberate meditation -- so it may be important to make that distinction. Meditative states absolutely influence our music. As a performer, I try to find that balance between losing myself in the music and being completely self-aware. It’s during these moments where I can experience a deeper quality of sound. There is a cathartic release involved, but it is balanced with intense focus.

Evan Caminiti: For me, music comes first and the meditative benefits are one part of it. Long duration music really introduced me to meditation in some strange form. Raga, especially the slowly shifting styles of Dhrupad and Pandit Pran Nath, and the music of La Monte Young, Tony Conrad, Terry Riley, and Pauline Oliveros, were important in that they allowed me to literally hear musically differently. Before getting into all of these artists, I experienced the powerful live sets of Sunn O))) and Om, which primed me for the transcendental philosophies these [other] artists have explored for decades.

Meditation produces a slippery sense of self, when you cease to identify your thoughts. Can you speak about the self and how it effects your creativity?

Evan Caminiti: The ability to dissolve the ego and allow performers and audience alike to slip into a trance state is one of the most amazing and rewarding things about music. It's the moments where we're open where we can leave the self behind and become fully absorbed with the music; there we can become part of the continuum of inspiration and influence.

There are some studies about the ability to induce deep trance states (theta and delta states) by listening to tones (binaural beats). Theta states are also brought on by simple, repetitive tasks, and these states are attributed by artists and scientists as responsible for inspiration and clear insight. What are some things you do to clear your mind and allow for inspiration to occur?

Jon Porras: I completely agree with these theories, but connect with them on an intuitive level. The ability for music and tones to influence perception is a major factor in what keeps me interested in exploring sound. Repetition and extended tones have an elevating effect, a lulling quality that can induce trace-like states. Some people call it "zoning out" but I feel that when you’re in this state, there is a pathway to the subconscious that isn’t normally open. Some would argue that it is not the subconscious you become aware of; it’s a higher conscious. It certainly feels that way sometimes. As far as work habits, I try to spend time in my home studio everyday -- I guess this is also a repetitive task. It’s grounding for me to spend a few hours plugging away, experimenting with sounds, filters, effect chains. Not always, but there are those moments of clarity when things seem to align perfectly and you come away with a new sound.

Evan Caminiti: Having a comfortable environment at home is really helpful in creating the right environment for inspiration and insight. Surrounding myself with positive influences and creating an altar-like space in my home studio is essential.

BARN OWL INTERVIEW CONTINUES BELOW

Listening Station: Barn Owl Through The Years

Meditation emphasizes letting things arise, and letting thing go, without clutching or attachment. I have always found improvised music very similar to this. How do you compare the process of recording, versus just playing music in the moment?

Jon Porras: Recording involves a balance between letting go while being focused in the moment. These seem like opposite modes, but it’s possible to be fluid and intuitive in your playing while following a distinct trajectory. It’s about finding that flow when technical skill and deep focus facilitate that potential for discovery.

Evan Caminiti: Improvisation and recording are inseparable. I was talking to a friend the other night. He brought up a quote; I think it was something Mark Hollis said. It went something like, "The first time you play something it is at its peak." That philosophy makes a lot of sense to me because I've found over the years that improvisations and first takes can possess this vital essence driven by pure expression which is impossible to attain when something that is contrived. The catch is knowing how to improvise without wanking or noodling and knowing how to edit improvised recordings down to the essential parts. Furthermore, not being afraid to edit the recordings and shape them into something new. This approach where improvisation, composition, and production are equal is really exciting to me.

Hardcore practitioners of meditation often advocate material renunciation. What is your take on creature comforts versus ascetic living? Materialism is to a degree necessary in the music industry; how, if at all, does that dialogue affect your creative process?

Jon Porras: It’s tough because I find myself constantly seeking that creative spark. Sometimes it can come from hearing a piece of music, but it can also come from getting a new piece of gear. Music can operate without material completely -- just open your mouth and sing a note -- but machines are great tools and some would argue are extensions of the creative process. So I find myself oscillating between feeling strange about how much money I spend on gear, and feeling confident in accumulating these tools. It's important to remind myself that high-end, sophisticated gear will not make better music. It comes down to how you implement the gear. At times, it can be more interesting to carve new directions using old tools in different ways.

Evan Caminiti: I've been spending a lot of time lately with my modular synthesizer. I get endless hours of joy and inspiration out of the synth; it's also essential in a practical way as a working musician, so yeah materialism is necessary. Like collecting records, there is no substitute for vinyl, but they take up a lot of space. We all have our creature comforts but I keep things really minimal; my small apartment certainly helps with that. As far as effecting the creative process, I look at the limitations of a small space and the fact that I can't afford a really elaborate setup as a good thing. There was an interesting piece by Mark Fell in a recent issue of the Wire that discusses how limitations lead to innovation. The less you have, the more you'll get out of what you're working with and it can produce unique and personal results.

You recently played at the SF Zen Center. Can you describe how this came about and what the experience was like? Have you and do you wish to do more things like this in the future?

Jon Porras: This was a very memorable show. I'd love to do more like it in the future.

Evan Caminiti: This experience was thanks to Jennifer Mearz, a writer for the Bold Italic here in SF. The experience was great, totally unique. One of the most amazing things was reading the blog of one of the Zen Center's residents, who happens to be deaf. In detail, this individual described the physical sensations of our set, the way vibrations moved from the heart to the belly, all over. It sounded like a very multi-dimensional experience. The physical aspects of our music is a key element, something people may miss out on if only listening at home and not coming out to shows. That being said, the PA we used that night was actually very small so we weren't half as loud as we like to be. So yes, doing more things like this in the future would be great, but we would want to make sure the PA is powerful enough so we can give everyone the best experience possible. Good sound systems are becoming increasingly important to us now that we're playing so many electronics live; we've really wreaked havoc on some inadequate systems.

Your latest record is much more electronic than your previous outputs. How did this shift come about? Do you think that the shift between analog versus digital changes the meditative atmosphere at all?

Jon Porras: We’ve always pushed ourselves to find new sounds and new ways of expanding the project. After touring Europe, I was fascinated to see how embedded electronic music was into pop culture. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with being from the west coast, but I grew up with an ambivalent perspective on electronic music. Being exposed to it later in life was revelatory; I guess I wasn’t ready for it before. It helped to have a friend deep into electronics; I think his sensibilities sort of rubbed off. Also, synthesizers can occupy a larger frequency range, so our live sets have been more dense since incorporating electronics. Synthesis allows for optimal sound design. You start with an oscillator and build from there, making artistic judgments along the way until you reach that perfect sound.

Evan Caminiti: We've always used both analog and digital instruments. There are more digital elements on this record, but you know, almost all the synths were analog, we used a bunch of tube amps; there is just no substitute for these things. This shift came about because of the desire to expand our techniques and try new things. We just weren't inspired to create a record structured around the guitar as the primary instrument. We've made a lot of albums that took that approach already. We have always been drawn to a hands on approach so we gravitated towards synthesizers that allow the user to sculpt the sound from the ground up. Your options open exponentially when you move from the setup of guitar, pedals, amplifier, on to synthesizers -- massive octave range, full control over the stereo field, a vast array of timbres... it goes on. I love guitars, but it's refreshing and inspiring to work with something so open; it's like a blank slate.

Do you have particular records that you use as a tool for getting into a meditative zone? Are there any positive or negative experiences of note stemming from meditative states in your life?

Jon Porras: Pandit Pran Nath’s Earth Groove is a great album to help cleanse the palate.

Evan Caminiti: I listen to Alice Coltrane's devotional tapes pretty often, and in situations like being a plane, where I'm feeling on edge, those songs have an amazing calming and empowering effect. On the opposite side of things, I've certainly been in situations where I get on the bus after a long improv session or a deep listening [session] and I'm just not ready to deal with all the chaos of the day-to-day BS after been in such a deep zone. It's like crossing a barrier and you then have to re-acclimate to the outside world.

Listening Station: Meditative Inspiration

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Barn Owl Band Interview: A Bilateral Reflection On Meditative States

Saya Woolfalk Artist Interview: The Possibility Of All Kinds Of Mixing

Rachel Hays — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 16:57:25 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Saya Woolfalk Artist Interview: The Possibility Of All Kinds Of Mixing

To experience Saya Woolfalk's work is to become immersed in a scientific folklore where biology and anthropology inform fables of utopia. In Greek, "utopia" translates literally as "no" (ou) and "place" (topos), and in a collaborative series with anthropologist Rachel Lears, entitled No Place, Woolfalk posits ways in which "no placeians" can more readily become a part of a utopian society. In her most recent development upon this theme, Woolfalk has incorporated a new element -- that of dual consciousness and foreign beings, via the narrative of a fictional species called Empathics. Through the use of psychedelically-colored exhibits, scientific slide shows, dance performances, and a very multi-disciplinary artistic practice, Woolfalk is learning how to use art shows to create utopian worlds in and of themselves.

When one enters 3rd Streaming in New York City to witness Woolfalk's current show, Chimera, one is immediately drawn to mannequins wearing felted costumes and floating on brightly-painted, patterned murals. These are Empathics, a new and fictional species in Woolfalk's work, who contain genetic elements of both plants and humans. Their existence is a sci-fi-inspired commentary that speaks to many things -- including the transformation of identities through biological hybridization -- but the more important underlying vision is that of increased unity across all forms of existence. To express this singular vision through craft, Woolfalk utilizes an impressive array of mediums; murals and installations are supplemented by huge, full-color lithographs of Empathics in their costumes, as well as paintings created "by them" and displays of objects used in their fictional rituals. Folkloric and scientific, fable-driven and meticulously chronicled, Woolfalk's exhibits also show her as both participant and narrator. In her videos, Woolfalk narrates as a scientist, with the resolute calm found in any biology film. But her work deviates from the usual script in that the scientists describe a transformation they themselves undergo. Woolfalk and "other scientists" find evidence of Empathics in the wilderness of Upstate New York, and through exposure to their bones and spores, decide to undergo a series of changes that will lead them towards becoming chimeras themselves. Over the twinkle of atmospheric music, animations break down the ways in which spores enter the human body -- but one soon finds that this is not only a biological transformation; it is also mystical. The scientists enter a ritual of guided dream therapy to learn how to embody their new state of plant-human consciousness, and through the introduction of a performance art element, the transformed beings emerge from behind the wall where the video is being projected, donning costumes that are on display. The merging of a complete physical and digital reality is what Woolfalk says makes her utopian-driven work "real". "When you come in[to the gallery], I want you to be in a world -- but it's our world," she explains. The world within the exhibit also reacts to the world outside the exhibit. Mythology dictates that Empathics create beautiful headdresses to disguise a second head which sprouts as part of their shift to dual consciousness, and such guises helps keep things from getting awkward in public or at their jobs. They also literally sell their skins; magical costumes they shed during the process help bring in extra income for their research. Regarding this very intentional detail, Woolfalk laughs and describes living in Brazil and studying folkloric performance, where "people are engaging in fantastic stories about struggle... and simultaneously selling trinkets because they need them... they actually help pay the bills."

SAYA WOOLFALK ARTIST INTERVIEW CONTINUES BELOW

Woolfalk's work is "becoming more of a fable" as it progresses, acting as a fantastical other reality that reflects the artist's real-life external influences. The creation of Empathics, for example, was first inspired by the works of feminist science fiction author Octavia Butler, who discussed the idea of plant-human utopia. "Originally, it was about physical action and ritual that would make [a] new place," explains Woolfalk. But when conceptualizing what this transformation process would look like, Woolfalk began speaking to biologists at Tufts. Through discussions of the natural world, she began to "rethink physical adaptation and metamorphosis". "It's not just that humans can just act on their environment and become whatever they chose to; the places that they are, the things that they encounter cause micro-transformations," Woolfalk continues. Such a statement is more than just environmental or a comment on slow changes through intuitive guidance. Woolfalk seeks to "break down categorization -- not just human, animal, or interracial, but also intercultural or interbiological." She welcomes "the possibility of all kinds of mixing", and notes that her next iteration upon this theme "is the idea of consciousness between humans and technology." As Woolfalk continues to develop as an artist, she is not only incorporating the influence of anthropologists and science fiction writers, or folklore and biology. She is also growing to incorporate her audience as part of the exhibits. For her, "Audience has become part of the structure and circuit. I consider how their experiencing what I'm doing in order to feed it back more clearly." Woolfalk's multi-faceted works all shrink down to a very natural process of evolution -- one that welcomes the inclusive mixture of many ideas and techniques. Though each of Woolfalk's works is fully-conceptualized prior to its creation, its final product is ultimately unpredictable, subject to flux as her ideas morph through what she consumes and how her mind processes. Each piece is "changing and emerging as it's restructured by the logics I've been thinking about," she explains. "[It is natural] to work in two dimensions -- then three dimensions, then four dimensions... There's a porous relationship between the pieces. It's an organic process between logic and intuition."

Come catch the last days of Woolfalk's exhibits and your chance to feedback into collective consciousnesses. Chimera at 3rd Streaming in NYC Chimera runs through April 25th, 2013. A talk entitled "Brave New Land: Science Fiction in Contemporary Art" will take place on Wednesday, April 24th, 2013, featuring Saya Woolfalk, Chitra Ganesh, and Simone Leigh. Doors at 6:00; Discussion promptly at 6:30. Space Is The Place @ Disjecta in Portland, Oregon The group show, featuring works by Saya Woolfalk, Wendy Red Star, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, and David Huffman, will end on April 27th, 2013. Admission is free, and Disjecta is open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Saya Woolfalk Artist Interview: The Possibility Of All Kinds Of Mixing

Amanda Charchian Artist Interview: Saying YES To Raw Honesty

Maria Schettino — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 20:25:26 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Amanda Charchian Artist Interview: Saying YES To Raw Honesty

Whether it's a symptom of repressive cultural conditions or a question of derivative creativity, nudity in art causes a ruckus. Rashly criticized as an easy way to draw attention to one's art or an exhibitionist ploy for attention, bare bodies are often a point of contention for both critics and viewers alike. The fine line between artistry and exploitative eroticism is often a blurry one. Ultimately, the intentions of the artist and the emotional subtleties communicated by the work itself determine its merit or lack there of. In the case of 23-year old Amanda Charchian's photography, revelation is the goal. It is a desire to construct timelessness that inspires her to photograph nudes. She favors skin over clothes because of its raw honesty, the removal of clothing a path to seeing ourselves in our purest most vulnerable forms.

(18 IMAGES AND 1 VIDEO IN FULL POST)

"I appear defiant because I have something to rebel against, something to be resistant to. Every artist I admire has something to say, to instigate, a passion to ignite." -- Amanda Charchian

To Charchian, those who criticize the use of nudity in art for its overused "shock" factor are failing in their analysis. "People have the inability to appreciate the subtle differences between artistic nuances," she says. "How could anyone pass our purist physical state- something you can't pretend doesn't exist - as 'unnecessary' or 'overdone'?" Intentionally or not, stripping the human body often presents it as something exclusively erotic, limiting it as an object of desire and a vehicle for pleasure. Nudity and eroticism are commonly joined conceptually, but Charchian cleverly asserts that clothing is often the culprit in over-sexed societies. "If clothing truly controlled lust and other 'sinful' inclinations surrounding nudity," shequestions, "would we be such a sex-crazed society? In my travels to countries like Egypt and India where women are the MOST covered, the men are also the most hostile and aggressive with their eyes. It is pretty basic psychology that restriction creates desire." Repression has long been considered a catalyst for desire. The inability to separate nudity from eroticism is symptomatic of societal brainwashing and forced out of likely arbitrary, social, or religious mores. "When you specifically are told you can't have something, you want it more," Charchian explains. "In a culturally conditioned and ultimately stunted state, one cannot separate eroticism and nudity. But in my perception of nudity through the lens of a naturist, there doesn't always have to be a sexual tension." "To say that these [nudity and eroticism] always go hand-in-hand would be to ignore individual sexual idiosyncrasies or fetishes," Charchian continues. "Some people find a lot of eroticism in the fully-clothed. Sexuality is a complicated part of our existence, and that is why it is fascinating to me." As stated on her website, Charchian is an investigator of "the state of alienation through realms of the physical, psycho-social, and spiritual human condition." Although it is not her specific intent to be provocative, Charchian is a rebellious insurgent within a constrictive culture, battling for openness in an otherwise restrictive society. She says "'YES' in a world of No." With art as her agent, she is, by default, a kind of creative hellion. "I appear defiant because I have something to rebel against, something to be resistant to. Every artist I admire has something to say, to instigate, a passion to ignite." Charchian, does not, however, take her freedom of expression for granted. Her parents escaped an oppressive Islamic regime in Iran, which affected her massively. It is perhaps the reason for the amount of "deep celebration of female freedom and sensuality" she conveys within her work. "That wouldn't be possible if I lived in Iran," she says.

Amanda Charchian Artist Interview Continues Below

"YES" has become more than just a word for Charchian; it is a way of life. Appearing in her work both physically and symbolically, these three letters represent an ideology that fosters positive energy and the overwhelming power that comes with it. "'YES' is a mantra," she states. "It is a word, but somehow it is beyond a word. It transcends its own meaning. For example, when our brain hears the word 'NO', our survival instincts, stress responses and heart rate increase immediately. But when the brain hears the word 'YES', absolutely nothing happens. It is a very spiritual word." Her piece eYES, for example, is a meticulously-assembled sculpture of the letters Y-E-S made, from Swarovski Spectra crystals and nickel-plated steel. The healing nature of the materials and the profundity of the message are a testament to Charchian's affection for nature and her interest in mysticism. Citing the "historical and philosophical interplay between surrealism and occultism" as one of her influences, Charchian composes imaginative images that are undeniably mythical. A photograph from the series entitled Sworn In Swarkestone depicts a woman wearing a glorious black cape that spreads like the wings of bat; she stands with her eyes closed towards the heavens, in front of a mysterious faded stone building. The scene is ethereal and preternatural and indeed evokes a kind of pagan charm reminiscent of the occult.

AMANDA CHARCHIAN ARTIST INTERVIEW CONTINUES BELOW

Utilizing almost exclusively analog cameras, she believes that "film captures the energy that is emitted from organic matter better than digital does." There is something about those lustrous silver oxide bits that is pure magic. Film is tangible and therefore more natural. "Perhaps it is because it is a physical object that takes up space," she hypothesizes. "It can record another physical object better." Taking this idea even further, Charchian also keeps a number of "magical items" inside of her camera bag. It is an ephemeral collection of creative aids that are ever-present and always evolving. Some items she keeps handy include prisms, crystals, glitter sticks, expired film, fresh flowers, and vintage track filters. "It is always changing depending on what I have found along the way," she explains. Creative tools in hand, her process as an artist involves translating pervading ideas into concrete projects. Channeling this spiritual inspiration, she is more of an instrument than an architect: "My strongest works were ones that appeared to me as a fully formed vision that seemed impossible. The planning part comes from trying to manifest that otherworldly flash on the psychical plane without losing the divine nature of the original inspiration. Sometimes an idea haunts me literally every five minutes until I make it happen. It's like being on the verge of orgasm for a very prolonged amount of time." Harnessing ideas and following them through to actualization is a means of transferring what comes from the subconscious realm into objects as works of art. Where photography is concerned, it is a way to capture a very distinct moment and cement it in time. However, Charchian does not shoot photos to remember things; she shoots to create an entirely independent event -- a new memory. The shutter of a camera captures only an instant revealing what is not cognitively perceivable by the human eye. "When you freeze time for an image, it extends beyond time, thus making it timeless," she says. Within a circular time perspective, this frozen moment is a way to make that moment last forever. It creates a sort of temporal infinity. It does, indeed, become timeless.

www.amandacharchian.com

Ω THE ENTIRETY OF AMANDA CHARCHIAN'S I IMAGINE YES IS THE ONLY LIVING THING SERIES

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Amanda Charchian Artist Interview: Saying YES To Raw Honesty

Midday Veil – Great Cold of the Night Music Video (w/ Director & Musician Interviews)

Vivian Hua — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:49:57 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Midday Veil – Great Cold of the Night Music Video (w/ Director & Musician Interviews)

Though they have long been manufacturing their own visual aesthetic, Seattle's Midday Veil recently enlisted the help of director Steven Miller and cinematographer Ian Lucero for their newest music video for "Great Cold of the Night". The final product is a dizzying take on spiritual death and rebirth, made possible by zombie-like witches and their "cannibalism" of a carefully-sculpted red velvet cake. Midday Veil's Emily Pothast and director Steven Miller take turns to offer their commentaries in the Q&A interview below, followed by a stream of the music video itself.

"The basic concept has been sort of developing for years, due to our interest in mythology, especially ancient mystery religions that involve sacrificing or dismembering a god/hero and taking him into the underworld in order to give him a secret awareness of the processes of death and resurrection." - Emily Pothast

Responses from Emily Pothast of Midday Veil and Director Steven Miller

On The Technical & Artistic Side Of Things

Q&A by Vivian Hua Looking on Steven's website shows that a lot of his photography involves heaps upon heaps of human bodies creating a tangled mess of chaos. Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Steven's visual habits or the sexual heap of a narrative? How did the collaboration first form? EP: Well, as the discussion of the concept got more ambitious, we realized that this was turning into something we weren't really equipped to try to direct or shoot on our own, especially since we were going to be performing in it, so I contacted Steven because I know his aesthetic and I thought it would be a great fit for the concept. I also knew that he has worked on lots of collaborative projects in the past, and that he had a lot of the skills, gear, and contacts that could help us take this thing from the realm of fantasy into reality. I'm so thankful that we got in touch with Steven. We gave him the very basic sketch of an idea and he developed it into a storyboard, really fleshing out the idea (sorry) into a complex narrative. He also brought Ian Lucero on board as Director of Photography, which was huge. Ian is a video genius. SM: When Emily asked if I wanted to direct a music video, I thought, "Of course! This is what I've been waiting for." I'd only made two short films before but I knew I could make a [music video] because so many of my photos are so involved. I asked Ian Lucero in Portland to shoot the video because I didn't want to direct this huge affair but film it completely wrong. We were perfect for each other, informing one another about lighting and camera angles and pacing. I think Emily and David knew that I could get a group of strangers to molest each other and make it look visually interesting; I'm guessing that's why they hired me.

Was it always planned that the music video would be a merging of narrative footage and live concert footage, or was that something that evolved as the filming went along? What do you feel were the benefits to including both? SM: Yes, it was always planned that way. I really wanted to fuck with the tropes of music videos. So often a video shows a band looking cool and rocking out with cuts to a completely different narrative that has nothing to do with what's going on with the band. But what happens if the audience turns on the band? When the narratives collide? The look on David's face when Amanda [Manitach] moves out of the audience and into his space is perfect. He's annoyed, and it's funny. It's also the turning point; what starts as a standard video quickly mutates into a horror story. I did love the irony of having the band pretend like this was no big deal. They keep playing hard while their keyboard player is chased out of the building and then later consumed.

In Midday Veil's previous music videos, processing and live manipulated footage had quite the presence. Some of my favorite parts of this music video involve the merging of those graphics with live footage, particularly when David falls down the rabbit hole. Was there a sense of needing to preserve a bit of your previous aesthetics? What did the workflow for post-production look like? SM: I watched the videos Midday Veil had produced before and knew I wanted to maintain some of that analog video synth aesthetic. It fits the music well, and I knew I could use it as a story element. At the beginning of the story, the video processing was a visual symbol for the effect of the ritual - what the witches brought into being became a glitch in reality. Then, as David goes down the rabbit hole, the processing floodgates opened wide. The David cake acted as soma; the ingestion of it produces wild flashes of color and echoes of past and present. Each bite brings on more and more psychedelic nuances until the audience seemingly dances into a frenzy for all eternity. As for post-production, first I had to learn [Adobe] Premiere and After Effects because I'd never made a video before! After a couple of lessons from my pal Reilly and endless hours of editing, I had a rough cut to show my co-editor Ian Lucero. He liked it! Then we shot more: Emily's solo shots in my apartment with the smoke machine that brought the fire department, David falling through space on my dining room table, cake close ups and the skull footage. Finally, with all of this we made the fifth rough cut that had 80% of the edits in place. This is where David ran the entire video through his video synth to get effects footage. Ian also recorded the whole thing to VHS, which became another effects layer. Then Ian and I spent a good 100 hours over five days to finish it.

On The Spiritual & Conceptual Side of Things

Q&A by Thad McKraken Your new video basically involves keyboardist David Golightly being buried alive by a coven of witches as a sacrifice to some creepy daemonic super witch entity so the rest of Midday Veil can rock out that much harder or something like that. Where did this concept come from, and how does David feel about all this high strangeness (and the inherent awesomeness of gold lamé underwear)? EP: Haha! I guess you could say that the basic concept has been sort of developing for years, due to our interest in mythology, especially ancient mystery religions that involve sacrificing or dismembering a god/hero and taking him into the underworld in order to give him a secret awareness of the processes of death and resurrection. The first spark of the idea for the video actually came to us last spring while David and I were hiking at Moran State Park on Orcas Island. There are some stone structures out there that were built by the WPA in the 1930s, and they really look like they should be used to have a rock show that culminates in a human sacrifice. Weird dungeon/picnic pavilion vibes. As the concept developed, it ended up making more sense to use Seattle locations, but we did spend the better part of a day brainstorming after stumbling onto those structures. A few weeks later we were at brunch with a Seattle artist named Amanda Manitach (who appears in the video as one of the women in white slips, whom we called "maenads" during production). We started telling her about our idea, and the cake orgy just sort of emerged during the conversation. Some of Amanda's work involves the eroticized use of messy food, and that was definitely an inspiration in the early stages. At least... a cake orgy at a rock show seemed like a logical project for us to work on together! As far as the golden shorts go, David is an excellent sport. Also, he looks great in them, so there's that. SM: I heard Emily and Amanda's idea for a cake sacrifice, then found out the song is over 11-minutes-long and knew that there had to be more involved in the story. At that first meeting, I had the idea to bring in a coven of witches to call in the dark goddess and instigate the maenads into action. As for the burying alive -- a friend did an O.T.O. ritual years ago where she was symbolically buried and sequestered from all humans for a month before being reborn into the world. I really liked that idea but wanted to make it literal, since I knew it would be disturbing to see. I'd been wanting to create that visual ever since I asked Canadian band Les Jupes if they'd do it for a band photo years ago. They said no, but David didn't mind at all! From there, I wrote a script that is basically the video as you see it.

I found the concept particularly fascinating, because one of the themes that has been interpenetrating my psychic life as of late has been that of female energy consuming and feeding off the masculine -- as if the previous era of humanity has shifted and now it's time for the sacred feminine to devour the dark war mongering energy that "mankind" has created. Terence Mckenna, Whitley Strieber, and others have described encountering entities that have an almost insectile-multi-eyed-telepathic-hive-mind characteristics. I don't know if you're up on insect sexuality, but the feminine typically reigns supreme in that micro-verse. There are no King Bees, if you catch my drift. Thoughts? EP: Oh wow. Well, I mentioned the inspiration of mystery religions, myths that explore the inner workings of sex and death, which definitely relate to the core processes of nature. These myths are at the root of Christianity, but while the basic mechanism of the dying/resurrecting godman is alive and well in the character of Christ, the "feminine" and erotic aspects of the eternal that were also present in early versions of the myth have been considered taboo for most of Western history. Elsewhere in the world, the Dark Devouring Mother is acknowledged in figures like Rangda or Kali, but in the west, the worship of the sacred feminine has been driven underground, where it has nevertheless persisted in the form of esoteric practice and witchcraft... It's interesting that you mention bees because there is such a close association between the symbolism of beehives, the Great Goddess, and witchcraft... SM: I've encountered that insectile DMT universe, but I don't think that was at play here. It wasn't until I saw the video completed that I recognized what I was trying to invoke. A coven of witches create a ritual that stir the women at the concert to unleash their subconscious desires to consume David AND call forth the Great Cold of the Night simultaneously: the ritual invokes both the id and superego of feminine energy. David gets buried and consumed, then reborn anew as the dark goddess' consort. For me, the story isn't so much about creating a matriarchy as a balancing of the energies. They walk off together hand-in-hand at the end of the story to symbolize that balancing. I'm guessing this story says more about my own subconscious; since I was a child, hermaphroditic angels have always been the enlightened beings in my dreams.

I'm interested in the cake, because it looks -- and I imagine, feels -- freaking amazing. Can you tell me about it in-depth, please? From all angles. EP: Um, I thought about trying to make a cake myself for a second, but I quickly abandoned that idea and figured we'd probably have to find a professional cake decorator to make it as good as it needed to be with the limited time we had to work with. But then one night I was talking to our bandmate Timm's girlfriend Marleigh Atherton about the idea, and she announced that while she had never made a shaped cake before in her life; she was super down to try! There's a store in north Seattle called Home Cake Decorating Supply Company; I accompanied Marleigh on a trip there to get everything she couldn't find at the grocery store. Then she spent two full days at our house baking and sculpting it. The body was made of multiple red velvet sheet cakes, stacked with layers of cherry pie filling, then carved away to make the shape of a torso. The "skin" was made of fondant, which can be mixed with colors and rolled out into flat sheets for sculpting. You only see it for a moment in the video, but it looked surprisingly realistic in person. The face was actually not edible. I made that part, using caulk that resembles icing on a plastic mask to give it David's features, and then Marleigh painted it to match the fondant. The hair and beard were built up around the face with more cake and then Marleigh applied brown and gold icing with shaped tips to give it just the right texture. The other thing to note about the cake is that it was made from scratch and tasted amazing. Even though it was essentially a prop, Marleigh wanted it to taste good, which I think ended up being clutch as far as the overall enjoyment of the cake by the people who got to lick it off each other! All in all, it was a very lovingly crafted object, and I think it was really powerful that she made us such an incredible, detailed thing to be destroyed. Marleigh also appears in the video, as the maenad who first reaches into the chest of the cake to tear out the heart, and later mounts it, looking like the Whore of Babylon from Metropolis. So good.

The ending scenes are an obvious erotic mess, full of breasts, butts, and the eating of fake flesh. How much direction was given there? Was there much goading necessary, or did the free-for-all spiral into madness quite nicely by itself? SM: I gave some direction about what would happen once the cake was presented because I knew we'd only have one shot of an unsullied cake. There was plenty of alcohol distributed at the show, so when it was time to freak out, people just went for it. I only stopped the action a couple times to give minor direction and mostly just shouted above the music when I wanted particular people to molest each other or mount the cake, or feed Emily. Basically I just encouraged people to go further, and they did! Meanwhile both Ian and I shot everything from different angles and tried to stay out of each other's sight lines to double the available footage.

The last time I saw you guys live, I was mildly tripping on mushrooms. Emily handed me a maraca at the beginning of the set, which was a very tribal improv freak out thing. I got so into shaking that maraca that I actually gave myself a huge blister without even realizing it. I was somehow so wrapped up in the music that I completely blocked out the mounting pain. You could say it was a mild form of possession. With that in mind, do you see a lot of potentiality in the live musical experience as a means to create new ideas regarding spirituality and therefore spiritual ritual? Also, do you ever sit up at night thinking about the potential consequences of handing maracas to tripping people? EP: I definitely think there's a link between music performance and spiritual ritual, and while these might seem like new ideas given our very secular culture, I think it's essentially as old as humanity. There is this book from the '80s called The Death and Resurrection Show that is all about the performative nature of "shamanism" and its impact on the emergence of the performing arts. It's almost cliché, since so many mediocre musicians like to imagine themselves as "shamans," but there's a reason we want to identify rockstars with that archetype. There's a deep history there. I'm sorry my shaker gave you a blister!

What is the underlying theme and concept behind your new album The Current? Is it kind of like tapping into the psychic grid connecting us all and finding your path — what Christians refer to as the Holy Spirit or what Vivian refers to as Intuitive Navigation? Or am I completely off track with that? EP: You know, the concept of this album is a little more open-ended than some of the things we've done in the past. The first song on the album is called "The Current", and it was written as a jam in the studio that I had to go back and write words for, which isn't exactly the easiest way for me to work. There is an artist in Seattle named Sharon Arnold who curates these box sets of art multiples with a written component, called LxWxH. A couple of years ago, she asked me to write something for one of the boxes, and I contributed an essay called "The Current". At the time, I was trying to find a way to weave together the works of two visual artists whose work was very different from one another. I liked the image of the current because it is evocative of both the literal currents of natural processes and also the common thread that emerges within an artist's work over time, as older works are given a new context when they enter into dialogue with new works, or even the way that versions of "self" or identity can be conceived of as snapshots along an invisible axis that winds through time. Currents have no content of their own, but they help create the form of everything. So yeah, your idea about the Holy Spirit is probably not far from the mark! Of the six songs on this album, two, "Choreia" and "Remember Child", are new versions of songs that appeared on our very first CD-Rs together as a band. The identity of those songs has changed widely since we first conceived of them, and those songs have seen us through a lot of changes. New band members have joined, and a couple of members have left, but there is still a continuity within the music. There's a continuity with our videos, too, although the latest one obviously, uh, takes the cake. We're actually about to issue a super limited, tour-only VHS compilation of all the videos that Midday Veil has produced over the past few years. It's 56-minutes long, which is a lot of video! There are common threads there, too, especially the exploration of video feedback, which uses the inherent properties of video to generate emergent forms that seem to illuminate a hidden world of the forces of nature.

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Midday Veil – Great Cold of the Night Music Video (w/ Director & Musician Interviews)

Christopher Mir Makes Chicken Scratch Enticing.

Vivian Hua — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 22:16:40 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Christopher Mir Makes Chicken Scratch Enticing.

The childish use of color and scraggly linework of Hamden, Connecticut-based artist Christopher Mir are misleading; if these works strike you as digital MS Paint drawings made by a youngster, you'd be dead wrong. Herein lies the most well-rendered chicken scratch you've ever seen, set down with acrylic paints and enamel, and full of fascinating characters, unusual settings, and off-kilter subject matter. In the full post, Mir offers some words about the inspiration behind a select number of pieces. Despite their simple and straight-forward presentations, Mir's inspiration is often rooted in current events and older artistic works, as well as symbolic and esoteric knowledge.

(9 IMAGES TOTAL) The Alchemist "This is based on an image from a book called Alchemy and Mysticism. In the original work -- from the 17th century I believe -- the man in the foreground isn't blue, but in the painting I wanted to make him into a Krishna figure or a water being. He's there to water the trees and put out the fire. The entire image is open to interpretation, but in my mind, the symbol of the tree refers to our own feeling of being grounded -- rooted within the body -- or of being uprooted -- lost in thought or egoistic delusion."

Mir currently has a solo show at Benrimon Contemporary in NYC (514 West 24th Street, 2nd Floor) through February 23rd and another next month at TMproject in Geneva, Switzerland (2, rue des Vieux-Grenadiers).

Shaman

Snake Handler "Some Southern Baptists use snake handling as part of their religious practice. My family on my mother's side are Southern Baptists, and I like to work with images that relate to this aspect of my heritage. I also see this image in particular as a symbolic representation of male dominance and/or arrogance. The fact is that we are all female. Males are a mutant version of the female body template." Wedding Day "This reminds me of Crazy Cloud (Ikkyu) who wrote a cycle of poems called "Skeletons" in which the world is populated with living skeletons. It is a profound meditation on impermanence and death. It is also not unlike the many "Death and the Maiden" images that Edvard Munch produced." Underwater Ali Family of Trees Miss Multiverse "This painting is based on an Ellis Ruley painting. I was thinking about the Persephone myth as it relates to creativity. So in this case Persephone is a beauty queen with attendants. My reading of the myth: one needs a degree of innocence and childlike wonderment in order to make art that really connects with people and sustains itself." Just Between You and Me "This is a painting of Kevin Richardson embracing a lion. Kevin is a South African animal behaviorist who has been accepted into a lion pride. I got the image as a screen capture from an Associated Press video on line. Coming to terms with our own animal nature -- or how we are or are not a part of that nature -- is a recurring theme for me." Not one of Mir's works. :) Ω

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Christopher Mir Makes Chicken Scratch Enticing.

Leah Gordon’s Kanaval Takes A Photographic Look At Haiti’s Carnival Via Mythology, History & Oral Traditions

Vivian Hua — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:34:17 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Leah Gordon’s Kanaval Takes A Photographic Look At Haiti’s Carnival Via Mythology, History & Oral Traditions

Lansè Kòd (The Rope Throwers) 1996

Every year, Carnaval comes and goes across the entire world, tantalizing everyone with its fanciful costuming and celebratory antics. But beyond the tourist circuit of Carnival lies another Carnival, in locales with a connection closer to the festival's origins. Haiti is one of many countries that celebrates Carnival at their own pace, and over the course of many years, photographer Leah Gordon was able to capture the beauty of those festivities in Jacmel, a coastal town in the south. Kanaval is a black and white photographic series, true -- but it is, more importantly, a series on awareness, about culture, and inclusive of mythology. After this series was taken, Haiti suffered its devastating earthquake and Jacmel was completely decimated. Gordon's photographs, along with her heart-felt introduction to the series and the many oral mythologies passed down to her from carnival participants, can be viewed in the full post. Together, they forever capture a wonderful space in time and call attention to Haiti's creative and spiritual existence. We begin with a tale from Madanm Lasiren, which is just the first of many.

Madanm Lasirèn (Madame Mermaid) 2003

Madanm Lasiren Andre Ferner, 59 years
Lasiren is a spirit that lives under the sea and does mystical work there, she is a Vodou spirit, I dream of Lasiren all the time. That is the reason I do Lasiren for Mardi Gras. I chose Lasiren because my grandmother, father and mother all served the spirits, I love her & honour her. The baby that I carry in my arms is the child of Lasiren who is called Marie Rose. When I walk the streets I sing her song which goes ' I am Lasiren and I cry for Lasiren, when I work mystically in the night bad luck can come my way'. I prepare for Lasiren by putting on a hat, a mask and carrying an umbrella. I put on a necklace and gloves. This necklace is called Mambo Welcome, it is a fetish. Because Lasiren is a fish she has to disguise herself as a woman to be at Mardi Gras. My mask and hat cover her fish's head. And the dress she wears covers her fish's tail. The chain I wear is a sacred chain. Each year I change the disguise and fashion a new baby. In order to get inspiration I go to the place where the big beasts live and they instruct me how to do Mardi Gras. I have been doing this for 18 years. Before that I did another Mardi Gras call Patoko. This was a group of men who were dressed as women, with a nice dresses and high heeled shoes. We did a marriage between men and woman on the street. After that we had a group called the duck who carried brushes in their hands wearing blue trousers, white t-shirts, new sandles and a scarf around our waists. We swept the streets of Jacmel. I have always found a way of doing a Mardi Gras.

Kanaval will be on display for free at PHI Centre in Montreal (407, rue Saint-Pierre), from February 25th to April 27th, 2013. Opening night happens at 7:30pm on February 23rd, and its $175 ticket price (or a $400 VIP ticket) includes Haitian food, giveaways, and performances by Haitian dance groups, Haitian band Doody and Kami, and The Arcade Fire, who have a blog dedicated to their own trip to Haiti. All proceeds will go towards KANPE, a non-profit "born of a desire to play an integral part in the fight to help Haiti break free from a vicious cycle of poverty", through programs in health, education, agriculture, counseling, and other community services. Full event details can be seen at PopMontreal.

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Esklav Yo (The Slaves) 2001 Jij (Judge) 1995

Gordon's introduction to her series, Kanaval:

"Haiti seems to be on a fault line of history. Whilst much of the rest of the world seems to have efficiently papered over any cracks where history could accidentally seep, bubble or explode with a veneer of consumerism and wage slavery. Haitian culture is a potent vessel for this history, continually transmitting, telling, retelling and reinterpreting Haitian history. Though school fees are excessive for the majority of the Haitian people, and the education standards poor, you will be hard pushed to find a Haitian who doesn’t know the vast and intimate details of their own history. Haiti’s history is not an easy one, but it is a significant and important one. It is the history of the decimation of the indigenous Taino Indians by the Spanish invaders. Subsequently it is the history of the most profitable, and correspondingly brutal, French colonial plantation system in the Caribbean, which was fuelled by the Transatlantic slave trade. The intensity of French barbarity in the pursuit of profit, coupled with whispers and rumours of the French Revolution in Europe, led to the Haitian revolution. This was an uprising of African and Creole ¹ slaves against the white plantation owners. By the late 18th century dissent was rife amongst the slave population. In 1791 the dissent came to a head and turned into a rebellion which led to a 13 year struggle for the freedom from slavery and finally independence. Vodou was both the inspiration and precipitation of the long fight for Haiti’s independence. On 23rd August 1791 ², a Vodou priest called Boukman performed a ceremony at Bwa Kayman, in the north of Haiti. Slaves and maroons ³ gathered from all over the region. Boukman sacrificed a black pig for the African ancestors, and in its blood wrote the words ‘liberty or death’. Inspired and invigorated the slaves returned to their plantations and spread the message of rebellion. Within days the fertile plains of cash crops were burning with a passion for freedom that did not dampen until independence in 1804. May 1803, former slave and rebel leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines dramatically created the flag of the black insurgents at the Congress of Arcahaie. He took the French tricolour of blue, white and red, and ripping the white out of it, declared he was ripping the white man out of the country. The red and blue were stitched together, the initials RF (Republique Française) were replaced by Liberté ou la Mort, ‘Liberty or Death’, and Haiti’s flag was born. Time was finally running out for the French rulers. The diffusion and transmission of Haitian history uses the drums, songs, dances and possessive ritual of the Vodou religion. It uses the improvisational songs of Twobadou groups and the collective melodies and rhythms of Rara bands. Haitian history uses the words and poems of its great literary tradition and the unique visions of its painters, sculptors and flag makers. Haitian history, and not only the revolutionary history, is also replayed through the masks, costumes and narratives of the carnival in Jacmel. Each year, Jacmel, a coastal town in Southern Haiti, holds pre-Lenten Mardi Gras festivities. Troupes of performers act out mythological and political tales in a whorish theatre of the absurd that courses the streets, rarely shackled by traditional parade. Whatever the carnival lacks in glitz and spectacle, it makes up for in home-grown surrealism and poetic metaphor. The characters and costume partially betray their roots in medieval European carnival, but the Jacmellien masquerades are also a fusion of clandestine Vodou, ancestral memory, political satire and personal revelation. The lives of the indigenous Taino Indians, the slave’s revolt and more recently state corruption, are all played out using drama and costume on Jacmel’s streets. There have been many times that the future of Jacmel's carnival has appeared unstable, but it continues to struggle and survive. Haitian culture is tough and resilient, as it needs to be. It is a vibrant, living avatar for not only Haitian history, but for all our histories. Carnival is dead, long live Kanaval. *************************************************************************************** This introduction was written two weeks before the dreadful earthquake in Haiti. I have been haunted by the almost prophetic first line. I decided I didn't want to change it. The suffering on the human level and devestation on the material level in Port au Prince is hard to contemplate. All the churches have fallen and all the morgues are still standing. Many of the houses have fallen but all the tombs in the cemetery are standing. It is as if Death has won its bet against Man and God. The beautiful old town of Jacmel, where all these photographs have been taken, has been decimated. As I numbly traipse along what remains of the historic Grand Rue in downtown Port au Prince I realise that architecture has always been another avatar for history. In Haiti the material was always transient and weak, and now feels almost none existent, but the imaginative and creative is fierce. If there is a positive side, perhaps it is this, that people will sit up finally and really take notice of Haiti's creativity. Haiti has so much to give and we really should be grateful that such a genuinely unique place exists. Kanaval is not Dead. Long Live Kanaval ¹ Caribbean born of African descent. ² Named International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition by UNESCO. ³ Runaway slaves living in remote mountainous areas in close-knit communities."

Kouvrefe (Curfew) 2009 Bounda Pa Bounda (Cheek by Arse) 2003 Chaloska (Charles Oscar) 1998

Chaloska (Charles Oscar) Eugene Lamour a.k.a. Boss Cota, 61 years
The Chief Charles Oscar was a military commandant in charge of the police in Jacmel. He died here in 1912. He was tall and strong with big feet and teeth and feared by all. At a time when there was political instability in Port-au-Prince, when President Sam had just been assassinated, Charles Oscar took his chance to take 500 prisoners from the local jail and kill them all. There was so much blood it made a river of death. The population was so angry that that revolted and tore the police chief to pieces in the street and burned him down. He was killed in the same violent way that he had treated the people. This story has always been very striking to me, and in 1962, I decided to create the character of Chaloska for Carnival. I designed the military uniform and made the big false teeth with bull’s teeth bought from the market. Each year I change the costume a little by designing a different hat for the group to wear. When I created Chaloska I also wanted to create some other characters to go along with him. I created Master Richard and Doctor Calypso. Master Richard is a rich man with a big bag full of money and a huge fat stomach. He walks with the group of Chaloska buying justice and paying the judges. He represents the impunity and corruption that hides behind Chaloska and is the real chief of the city. Doctor Calypso is an old hunch back with a black suit and a stick in his hand. He works for Chaloska and checks on the health of the prisoners, always reporting that they are healthy when they are dying. These characters are still here in Haitian society so it is good to parade them on the street. It is a message to all future Oscars that you will end up this way. The group goes to different places in town threatening the people. The boss Chaloska always finally dies, and the others call for mercy as they are cowards, but then another Chaloska immediately replaces him. This is to show the infinite replication of Chaloska which continue to produce the same system. There will be Chaloska until the end of the world. They started with the beginning and will not end until the end.

Pa Wowo (The Way of Wowo) 2004

Pa Wowo (The dance steps of Roro) Edmond Paul, 30 years
Pa Wowo is a Mardi Gras that I’ve been doing for a long time. It is part playing around and part theatre on the streets of Jacmel. We try to create an ambiance of festivity. Pa Wowo has created a character, a role he plays scenes just like theatre, as it's an ancient Mardi Gras. He has a pipe because in the past all peasants had pipes in their mouths. He has a skirt of leaves because it is part of his disguise. The skirt is a symbol and the skirt means everything. It is the best symbolic costume for the Pa Wowo because he doesn’t have any family, he doesn’t have any thing, no-one to help him, not even the possibility of his own clothes to wear. So Pa Wowo represents someone who has nothing, no-one, nowhere to stay and no money. Truly people understand my message, which is if you have something you must help those with nothing. I have done this Mardi Gras for 15 years. I decided to do it to give continuity when the last person that used to do it died. I’m not sure it will continue after I am gone but I am always fighting to do it whilst I still can. Over the years Mardi Gras has a lot of sections missing and I’m doing Pa Wowo to make sure that carnival has a good power and to make sure that Jacmel shows a good face to the world. Because firstly I am a Jacmellian. But you know exactly if we keep trying perhaps Jacmel carnival is the best in the world. We feel that carnival in Jacmel is important for the face of Haiti in the world but it is always a fight as the government never supports us.

Zèl Maturin (The Wings of Maturin) 1995

Zel Maturin (The Wings of Mathurin: character from the St. Michel Mardi Gras) Ronald Bellevue, 40 years
We did not invent this story. It came from older people, but we are keeping the tradition going. As a child I was scared to death of the Zel Maturin but the very next thing I wanted to see was to see them again. My favorite Zel Maturin is the red devil as he is always the strongest, most resistant and goes on until the end of the play. The play is a fight between good and evil. The first scene has people with suits, ties, tuille masks and bibles all kneeling and praying. In the second scene St Michel the Archangel come from heaven to give them protection. With him are other angels in pink satin dresses and a small angel in blue and white. Then the Zel Maturin arrive to steal the angels. There is a long procession of Zel Maturin but St Michel kills them by using his mighty sword. The strongest devil, the red devil, myself, arrives. This devil fights much harder but after a long struggle he is finally killed. All the devils lie dead on the street conquered by St Michel the Archangel. But then the black devil arrives. He is bigger than the others and wearing chains. He is chained mystically because his mystic powers are so strong that he must be restrained. He carries a skull and presents it to the four cardinal points and hits the red devil three times. Once the red devil is revived all the other devils leap awake. The black devil is a Vodou devil whereas the other devils are just Christian devils. The Vodou devil has greater forces than the Christian devils. As you can see from the masks on the wall I am not exactly a bible person, well you don’t play the part if you don’t like the part.

Gason Bo Kote Lanmè-a (Boy by the Sea) 2000 Nèg ak Konk (Man with Conch Shell Horn) 2001 Fantonm (The Phantom) 2009 All photographs are shot on black and white film on a Roleiicord 2 ¼ sq camera and are 95cm sq Giclee Prints on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Paper mounted onto di-bond aluminium. Gordon's book, Kanaval: Vodou, Politics and Revolution on the Streets of Haiti is also available for purchase on Amazon. Ω

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Leah Gordon’s Kanaval Takes A Photographic Look At Haiti’s Carnival Via Mythology, History & Oral Traditions

Psychoactive Soundscapes: Top 20 Mind-Bending Albums For 2012

Thad McKraken — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 21:49:37 +0000

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Psychoactive Soundscapes: Top 20 Mind-Bending Albums For 2012

Well, it's now past the supposedly prophesized Mayan apocalypse, and of course no obvious signs of eschatological judgment have been wrought down upon us, which was much to be expected. There is something else we need to address though, before we can just write this shit off for good. If you were paying any attention to what those of the neo-spiritualist ilk were saying for the last decade or so, the conversation always involved a shift in consciousness rather than a rogue asteroid raining fiery death from above. Nobody said it'd be instantaneous.

Prophecies regarding a sudden massive shift in the perceptual limitations of our species always struck me as being beyond improbable. Whereas I'd be the first to admit that more of us these days are getting turned on to the higher cosmic functionalities of our brains, I'd also point out that it's probably little more than a numbers game. There are more people, period. I'd wager that for every turned on occult-dabbling tripster, there are two new closed-minded evangelical sex repression nutsos. Occultist super freaks just don't proselytize, and they probably blew their money on drugs and albums rather than bribing politicians, so there's that. Our society still revolves around boring after all and will for some time to come. What the fuck are you going to do? But it's not like all hope for a revolution is lost, the times -- they are a-changin', after all. Terence McKenna foretold a spike in novelty leading up to 2012, and it's not like novelty hasn't been spiking. The great singularity might have to wait, but technology has opened up consciousness to a new array of bizarre potentialities, the implications of which we can only barely conceive of at this point. At the heart of all shamanistic extra-dimensional informational summoning rituals lies the evolution of language from spoken word to projected internal telepathic metaphor, the language of our dreams. Meaningful scenarios projected from mind-to-mind, manifesting as direct experience. It's where we're headed with all these interconnected smart phones, tablets, and such. A picture is worth thousand words and now we can send each other videos instantaneously with our shiny new synthetic telepathy. Videogames continue to increase in complexity replicating alternate reality scenarios in our heads ad infinitum. Think of how rapidly our lives have changed in comparison to our parents' and even our grandparents' generations. Your everyday world can now be filled with an increasing array of deliciously magickal shenanigans. Marijuana has now been legalized in two states, one of which just so happens to be my home state for the last 11 years: Washington. This is the biggest victory in the war of consciousness I've seen in my lifetime, and something I never saw coming as a cynical 18-year-old stoner. What no one's saying about this matter is that one of the fundamental tenets of Western occultism involves a focused practice of weed-based sex magick, which is now totally legal. People are going to figure it out eventually. Combine that with a wide array of art-summoning gadgets, and you're well on your way to re-programming yourself into the next age psychic stratosphere. In the next fifty years or so I'm sure we'll debate whether or not 2012 was the beginning of a widespread shift toward a higher order of knowing. Again, these things take time. People have been fighting for pot and gay rights forever, and the defenses have finally started to crack. LSD in next. More importantly, the fact that we're finally starting to recognize the environmental nightmare brought forth by our materialistic insanity is more than a good omen. I know what's been shown to me. We've dug ourselves a hole that we can only fly out of through a psychedelic mindgasm portal. It's where we're headed. The environment's going to force our hand on this one. The UFOs aren't going to just stop lighting up the skies, the storms aren't going to stop hitting and then where the fuck are you going to turn? Sorcery, that's where.

Say what you will about 2012, but since consciousness is comprised of linguistic information, the idea of a coming apocalypse in itself propagated some rather delicious undercurrents of sound rippling through the Akashic record this year. I've never written more than a top five list in my life, but when I was thinking back on the insane amount of mind-bending albums that dropped in the last 12 months, I was kind of in shock. Most of this stuff's fairly obvious, at least in my world. Was it people like Terence McKenna and his mechanized Timewave Zero prophesies, inspiring people like Grant Morrison to write the great Invisibles hypersigil, that summoned this record deluge of psychoactive soundscapes into motion? I have no idea. Did the Mayans get in every band's head and subconsciously encourage them to bring their A game in 2012 as it might be their final chance? Whatever happened, it appears a software update embedded itself into our collective psyche and we went berzerk. An aspiring mystic could use any one of these mind-warping albums to put a hex on their internal mind tunnel and help elevate our collective superstructure heavenward. One might now use these recorded sound patterns in conjunction with the aforementioned pot based sex tantra quite legally in a hip music town like Seattle if one were so inclined. I've been told by the gods that it's a very "time safe activity". Reach for the stars true believers, or to quote Seattle's THEESatisfaction: "Let the musicians, be your physicians."

[nextpage title="20. Scriptures - Self-Titled"] 20. Scriptures - Self-Titled (Translinguistic Other) PURCHASE RECORD ON TRANSLINGUISTIC OTHER This album took a while to catch up with me. Coming from the local psych freak out Translinguistic Other label, I was kind of expecting it to be more, you know, psych freak outy. But it's way more subtle vibes here in the more minimalistic tradition of trance induction, and that threw me for a few listens. Also, it's kind of post-rocky, which is a genre I've always liked but thought was getting a little overcrowded. Also, it's kind of instra-stoner-metaly, which is a genre I love but has also been getting a tad overcrowded as of late. Also, it's kind of country twangy, which in Seattle has been retardedly overdone in the last five years. Then I realized I hadn't honestly heard a post-rock-surf-twang-metal band (Did I mention the surf rock influence? That's not so overcrowded) ever and that it was some incredibly well thought out, expertly crafted shit. Also, when the extra layer of delayed distortion guitars finally enter the mix after slow building for a while, you feel sufficiently out of sorts. These guys are self-described "devotional slow-burning-psyc-metal". TLO approved. Scriptures by Scriptures [nextpage title="19. House of Hayduk - City of Quartz"] 19. House of Hayduk - City of Quartz (Koolarrow Records) PURCHASE RECORD ON KOOLARROW Albums like this are the reason you get into writing music reviews in the first place -- i.e., for the totally random free stuff you end up discovering and the unexpected joy that lies therein. Vivian e-mailed this to me and asked me to take a listen, having absolutely no idea what the fuck it was at all. I had a day off in the middle of the week and intuitively decided to give it a whirl after taking my perfunctory day off morning vaporizer hits. What a peculiar album to unwittingly thrust on another morning stoner! Delightful, really. House of Hayduk has chops and is very calculated in how they use them. There's no flaunting; most of the time you think you're listening to a sparse kind of space garage thing and then they stop on a dime, darting in a completely different direction with a gorgeous precision. It's a cool effect. There are passages of doom-metal-electro-noise-drone and then a long stretch where they sound like a less overpowering Psychic Paramount. All fairly otherworldly. So after listening a few times completely bewildered, I had to do some research to get to the bottom of it. Apparently they're a film production company/band or something "based out of Los Angeles and Copenhagen", and Roddy Bottum from Faith No More is the bassist. Yeah. So, if you were just wondering, "What the fuck is Roddy Bottum up to these days?", this is what, bitch! [nextpage title="18. Kingdom of the Holy Sun - Phrarmacokinetics"] 18. Kingdom of the Holy Sun - Pharmacokinetics (Self-Released) Kingdom of The Holy Sun is probably the most impressive new Seattle psych band I got hip to this year. Super mellow trance haze energies here, and when your album starts off with a song called "Acid Test #2", has "Acid Test #1" a few songs later, and then "Acid Test #3" a few songs after that, my guess is these dudes and one dudette are more than a bit familiar western society's pre-eminent super hallucinogen (2, 1, 3 go!; I have no idea, that's how high they were). Normally I'm not one to get super excited about overtly retro stuff, but when it comes to being all retro in regards to the one period in American history when LSD was legal, free and clear, then well, retro away, my friends. What's compelling with this is upon first liste,n it occurred to me that it's almost nouveau retro as it immediately reminded me of a combination between Wooden Shjips and Bright Black Morning Light. Also, the singer sounds a lot like Jim Morrison. It's kind of the same track over and over again, but that's kind of the point. How long was I in there, getting ravished by those telepathic spirit beings? I really got lost up in it there for a spell, didn't I? Yeah, yeah, you did brother; welcome back to earth. Have some orange juice. You're gonna be fine. Everybody's gonna be fine. Oh, and this record is free on their Bandcamp site, so there's no reason you don't have it. Pharmacokinetics by Kingdom of the Holy Sun [nextpage title="17. Goat - World Music"] 17. Goat - World Music (Rocket Recordings / Stranded Records) PURCHASE RECORD ON AMAZON Easily the most fun record of the year, Sweden's mysterious Goat take you on a ride straight down super groove highway and up into outer space. Again with the retro sixties, early seventies vibage. Shit just makes you want to shake it -- or nod your head vigorously at the very least (sometimes you're at your desk writing about music and that's the best you can muster). Shrouded in mystery, they may or may not be the latest incarnation of a devotional voodoo tradition from the unknown depths of the Swedish countryside. Who knows? Either way this stuff's about connecting with your inner rhythmic mysticism and whether the whole press angle's just a clever lie to remind you of that or not is fundamentally irrelevant. What's important is putting yourself in an open headspace where you can be taken over by their bongoed-out-wah-pedal-drenched-voodoo-Swede-funk. Classic times. Editor's Note: In our 2012 year-end Album Covers of the Year article, we have spoken to the artist and designers behind the geometric album cover for World Music. Stay tuned; the piece will be published on December 27th, 2012. [nextpage title="16. The Mars Volta - Noctorniquet / Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Octopus Kool Aid"] 16. The Mars Volta - Noctorniquet (Warner Brothers) Omar Rodriquez-Lopez - Octopus Kool Aid (Omar Rodriquez Productions) What can you say about the mighty Mars Volta? Loathed in the coked out indie crap early 'aughts by far too influential tastemakers Pitchfork (avg. album review score 4.14), probably no one I've ever known in a hip new psychedelic (or prog band for that matter) would admit to liking them publicly, and yet they've probably played a larger role than just about anyone in pushing popular music toward over-weird overdrive territory. What's odd about the Volta is that since dropping their debut EP in 2002 (God, it's been a decade now hasn't it?), they just started running at a quicker pace than anyone could rationally keep up with. Consecutive albums Deloused in the Comatorium, Frances the Mute, Amputecture, and The Bedlam in Goliath pushed their formula of hyper-trippy jaw-dropping prog excess laced with surprising melodies in every direction it could and maybe should have logically gone. If you're gonna release 75-minute prog epics, you should probably drop them like every 5 years or so. Stuff takes a while for the squares to digest properly. That could have easily been their output for another decade at least, but they put out that and two more discs in addition to a brilliant debut EP. Impressive, but where do you go from there? Sensing this conundrum, after the sheer brilliance of where in my mind they peaked, the occult-themed Goliath, The Mars Volta reigned in the odd time signature-shifting, extended guitar solos, and general show offy-ness of those records, ramped up the songwriting focus, and put out Octahedron. It's not a bad album, and "With Twilight as My Guide" is one of the best songs in their catalog, but sometimes you don't know you miss something until it's gone. I liked their epic serpentine progcraft, apparently. The songs are cool too... but. Noctourniquet follows in roughly the same vein, although this time with way more electronic bleepery and bloopery afoot. Good call. Again, they're pushing themselves in new directions, which is exactly what you'd want a band to do but I suppose I miss the wankery. I like it more than Octahedron and maybe just a bit more than Amputechture, making it my fourth favorite Volta full-length from the last decade. See, not everyone can keep up with this shit. PURCHASE NOCTOURNIQUET ON AMAZON + PURCHASE OCTOPUS KOOL AID ON AMAZON Especially when O. Rod puts out seven more solo discs a year on his own. Prolific doesn't even begin to describe this guy; he's a super freaky voodoo child and all that good shit. Actually though, most of the solo discs I've heard by him are basically just instrumental jamming Mars Volta when you get right down to it. It's not bad -- not super essential, either. All the album art rules; never a bad thing to space out to when you're high. For the jazz heads really. What makes Octopus Kool Aid different, though, is that it's a collaboration with Le Butcherettes front woman Terri Gender Bender. As if mirroring TMV's new direction, the song structures are fairly straight-forward, and if there's a guitar on the record, it sounds like a keyboard. It's an Omar Rodriquez album with barely any guitars, and I'm not disappointed. Very trip-hoppy electro kind of feel to it all. Apparently this is going to turn into a new band called Bosnian Rainbows, and he's going to start actually letting people other than him write songs on the next Volta record. Expect new and exotic sound flavors emanating forth from this camp moving forward. You've been warned.

Octopus Kool Aid by Omar Rodriguez Lopez

[nextpage title="15. Midday Veil - Integratron"] 15. Midday Veil - Integratron (Translinguistic Other) PURCHASE ON TRANSLINGUISTIC OTHER

SEE ALL POSTS RELATED TO MIDDAY VEIL Most interesting concept album of 2012 goes somewhat unsurprisingly to Seattle's most consistently interesting band, Midday Veil. The premise is simple: rent out the Integratron in the Mojave desert and record an improv album therein. What's the Integratron you ask? Well, a geodesic dome structure designed for sound amplification created by former Lockheed Martin aeronautical engineer George Van Tassel, of course (pictured). If you're to believe the late Mr. Van T, calculated meditation sessions led to a summoning of beings from Venus, who took him aboard their ship and taught him about sacred techniques of sonic rejuvenation, which is where the idea for the building/device originated. The Integratron is said to serve three major purposes: antigravity achievement, rejuvenation, and time travel, and so the album is thusly divided into three instrumental tracks with those titles. It's some out there shit. Probably the least structural record on this list. It's an album you'd want to listen to if you were, say, going to try and throw yourself into a mind state where feats of anti gravity, rejuvenation, and time travel were all possible. If you focused your will intently enough, I'm not saying that any of these things can't happen with the aid of this album. Van Tassel got the idea by willfully summoning UFOs, after all. In a way, this is an appropriate final recording of MV with their now departed drummer Chris Pollina, as it's more of a rhythmically-oriented type of mind expansion. His steady pummeling holds down the grounding framework for your thoughts to float on up into the outer reaches. 2012 also saw Midday Veil drop their video for the 23-minute epic "Moon Temple", off their Subterranean Ritual II album. Definitely a high water mark for epic hallucinogenic mindfuckery. In early 2012, I performed a self designed auditory acid magick ritual to align myself with the coming aeon of telepathic unity. After all that strangeness, I threw on the video all enormo-projected on my wall. I couldn't tell where my visions began and the video ended or vice versa. Genius level shit here. Externalized encapsulations of internal psionic mushroom dialogues from the astral master hive mind. Dig. [nextpage title="14. Baroness - Yellow & Green"] 14. Baroness - Yellow & Green (Relapse Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON What a balls out fucking record this is. It's always hard to reinvent yourself completely as a somewhat established band, it's even harder when you're somewhat established in the world of metal. Metal fans just aren't super forgiving, which is why so many bastions of loud basically find an agreeable formula and ride it out for the entirety of their careers. Baroness weren't having any of that. This is pretty much a psychedelic prog epic with vague metal undertones. I imagine a lot of diehards were totally pissed, especially those of the more weed-shunning, Pabst-swilling variety. All consciousness is part of a continuum, and it's odd how the cycle of epic drug rock perpetuated itself through the noosphere in the 'aughts. More than a decade ago, when I first moved out west, Tool, who had been growing increasingly noodly, toured with King Crimson. Then The Mars Volta came out -- who as far as I could tell, were sort of trying to out King Crimson every band on earth while still holding together more of a pop framework and making things waaaaay art-trippier. Then genius level thrash stalwarts Mastodon started delving into increasing Mars Volta territory (they're admittedly huge fans). Now Georgia's second biggest metal monoliths Baroness follow suit, but put their own spin on it, dropping this mind frying slab of neo-Pink Floydian excess. Fantastic stuff, and just like with Mastodon on The Hunter, I had no idea these dudes could actually write songs to save their lives, but the vocal work and cohesion are rather impressive here. All these cuts are decidedly song-oriented at their very core. Of course, the album shines most on the moments when they kick into that southern fried radtastic dual guitar lead shredding thing they do. It's their bread and butter, and they probably shouldn't lose track of that. And then there's the eeriness. This is a sort of a mopey album at times, which at first didn't jibe with me entirely. I got used to it after I remembered how bleak all those Pink Floyd discs I hold up on such a high pedestal are. Maybe it was the dark vibes, but 2012 also saw the dudes in Baroness almost die in a van wreck. How awful. Put out your best work as an artist only to probably have like half your fanbase turn their backs on you for not being “hard” enough because they're drunken retards, then you almost die. You should really go buy this record because I doubt they have great health insurance. It'll be interesting to see if they go back to even angrier territory as a way to deal with the shitstorm life just dumped on them. Maybe they'll get hooked on pills. Will we ever see anything else like this from them again? Who knows. Either way, there will always be this massive testament to boldly pushing the envelope and watching it bend. Nice work with that fellas. Editor's Note: In our 2012 year-end Album Covers of the Year article, we have spoken with Baroness' John Dyer Baizley about the intricate album cover for Yellow & Green. Stay tuned; the piece will be published on December 27th, 2012. STREAM THE ENTIRE RECORD [nextpage title="13. Om - Advaitic Songs"] 13. Om - Advaitic Songs (Drag City) PURCHASE ON AMAZON Speaking of metal bands who just pick a formula and continually ride it to paydirt, 2012 also saw the cash in reunion of the legendary Bay Area stoner metal institution Sleep. As great as Sleep are, I've always maintained that the two bands formed in their wake, High on Fire and Om, are even more compelling. They also just happen to be two of the most monolithic bands imaginable. Everything each act does is amazing in its own way, but admittedly insanely repetitive. I have like five High on Fire albums and if you threw one on, there might be like a ten percent chance I'd be able to tell you which one it was. Which is why this Om album is so great. Finally, they're doing something different. Oky, let's be honest. This band can truly only play one song but IT'S SUCH AN AWESOME SONG. Not awesome enough to eventually get sort of boring though, and I'll admit that I was less than super stoked on their last two offerings. This one finally tweaks the formula just enough. In a nutshell, there is a lot more samples and layering stuff going on. But you take that preternaturally awesome song, add sort of a fresh spin on it and voila, greatness re-attained. The best part about Om are the astral vibrations. The album art always involves religious iconography, and that's what Om's music does: uplift the listener. This isn't the hard stuff you put on to get black out drunk and rowdy to. You throw it on to get high as fuck and contemplate the meaning of existence. Maybe you talk to Jesus if that's your sort of thing. Anything's possible when your bands named after a timeless meditative mantra. [nextpage title="12. THEESatisfaction - awE naturalE"] 12. THEESatisfaction - awE naturalE (Sub Pop Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON Ahhh, Seattle. Home of the two time world champion Seattle Storm and now the biggest openly lesbian trip-hop act ever. If you don't see the connection between those two things, you've probably never been to a WNBA game. Let's just say there's an overflow of potent sacred feminine energy here and leave it at that. Sexual politics aside (we just legalized gay marriage as well, just sayin'), THEESatisfaction deserve mad 2012 psychoactive soundscape style props for dropping and incredibly challenging record that rewards repeated listens. That's normally the best stuff. It's so far removed from nearly anything you've ever heard that it takes a while to catch up with you -- or probably more accurately, you take a while to catch up with it. They're just throwing together such a colorful pastiche of varied elements here and putting their own spin on all of it. I'm also a huge fan of how these admitted "queens of the stoned age" play the rarely treaded short attention span-style of calculated mindfuckery. Just when you're getting used to one brilliant psychic sound tunnel, they bounce to the next, reminding the listener of the higher consciousness's infinite and surprising shape shifting novelty. Sometimes this sort of tactic can work even better than protracted time-stretching riff or beat worship. They also get extra love for raising the question: how catchy is too catchy? I swear the song "QueenS" is not only the single of the year (which should have been on crap like Target commercials if the suits had any sort of direct line to the underlying pulse of the multiverse) but also so catchy it weirds me out a bit. I literally had to take like a month off of listening to this disc because that track embedded itself so deep in my psyche that I couldn't escape its hyper-infectious groove. I eventually got past it, but methinks there might be some witchery afoot with these two. Editor's Note: This record also made our Top Albums of 2012 Staff Picks list. [nextpage title="11. Six Organs of Admittance - Ascent"] 11. Six Organs of Admittance - Ascent (Drag City) PURCHASE ON AMAZON Oh hey and shit, wouldn't it be awesome if Comets on Fire got back together and put out a new album in 2012? Well, that didn't happen but you take what you can get. Like the best Six Organs of Admittance album to date made with a bunch of now Seattleite Ben Chasny's Comets peeps. Truth be told, I've liked everything that SSOA have dropped thusfar, but it doesn't even come close to shining as bright as the disorienting sonic maelstrom COF conjured forth in their prime. I mean, the Organs were basically acoustic... until now. Yep, I suppose inspired by his old mates, Mr. Chasny decided to totally let loose here. "Oh yeah, remember how I can totally slay?" Well, now we all do. Thanks for plugging back in, sir. Actually it's kind of funny; after the first few cuts, this album starts to make you think it's going to get lost in excessive-blues-wank-territory, but it then wisely pulls back and goes all mellow-acoustic-weed-drone for just long enough to break up the shredding. Certainly not a new Comets disc as it definitely retains the Six Organs songwriting style, just with a new ramped up ethos. Will we see a new Comets on Fire album some day soon? I'll take the fact that the space bros have been cavorting together again as a good sign. What the fuck is Howlin' Rain anyway? Comets on Fire minus everything that's interesting about Comets on Fire. I've literally described them that way to other people when asked. Pull it back together kids, for the heads. The planet needs you. [nextpage title="10. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music"] 10. Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music (Williams Street Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON Any rapper that brags about how much he reads gets more than a few bonus points in my world. To quote KRS One: "There's no excuse if there's a free library and you don't go near it." If you must boast ad nauseam, that's at least a dope (god, I'm white) thing to brag about. Seriously though, a lot of this is straight-up gangsta shit, but not the gangsta shit that's purpose is glorifying meaningless violence and bling. More the old school gangsta shit designed to boldly call out the institutionalized racism that is the American drug war. I have no idea why every rap album isn't about this stuff, but all we get's "some ballin' and some dancing", according to Killer Mike. I'd blame it on a thematically corrupted and continually crumbling educational system. Like nearly every rap album I've ever owned, R.A.P. Music is a tad inconsistent, but when it shines it really fucking shines. There's something more going on here though -- a spiritual underpinning that made it unavoidable for this list. Dude's self-described ghetto gospel can certainly tug at your heartstrings. It can make you feel empathy. When he spits about young black kids' abuse at the hands of racist narc squads, I can feel the endemic pain, bringing me nearly to tears on several occasions. When he repeats, "This is for the dads and the granddads/ And all the little homies that ain't never had dads" on the track "Willie Burke Sherwood", it cuts to your spiritual core. God, I did have it pretty lucky despite my more than dysfunctional upbringing didn't I? Preach on, sir. Mr. Mike also gets mad psychoactive soundscape props for making the best rap video in the history of EVER for the song "Reagan". Presidential lords of the drug trade framed as puppets of the oil lobby Illuminati surveillance state. Ronald Reagan as the Anti-Christ. It's all covered. Say it with me: "I'm glad Reagan's dead." Chokes me up every time. [nextpage title="09. Tokyoidaho - Self-Titled"] 09. Tokyoidaho - Self-Titled (Neon Sigh Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON My first exposure to Seattle's excessively brilliant shoegaze captains Voyager One was one of those supremely coincidental sequences of events that everyone wanders into from time to time. A true sorcerer learns to live in this state perpetually. I had just moved to town a few months prior and somehow managed to land a pretty hot girlfriend despite barely knowing anyone. We moved in together retardedly quick due to mutual crappy living situations, and one day, I got unintentionally locked out of our new apartment. This is in the days before everyone had cellphones, so I killed three hours by walking all the way from Wallingford to the U-district and doing some CD shopping along the way. I'd read about Voyager One briefly in the much missed and long extinct Tablet zine a few weeks prior, so I figured I'd gamble and grab the value-priced disc when I stumbled on it (again, remember when you'd just buy albums you'd never heard anything off of on a whim, at a store?). As it turned out, we ended up eating acid that night and put on From the New Nation of Long Shadows as we fucked for the first of seven times. Legendary Times. What a perfect album for just such a situation. I've considered it a classic ever since, as I do their third full-length Dissolver. Those records should always come up anytime anyone has a conversation about the greatest shoegaze albums in history, but they seldom do. Dudes just never got that kind of exposure, although it's not like they're unknown. So, Tokyoidaho is named after a Voyager One song and features the primary singer-songwriter bro. As a matter of fact, I have no idea how this is any different than Voyager One at all; it sounds exactly like them, and thank god for that. I'd rate this right behind Dissolver as V1's third best record. Truth be told, they sort of lost me a bit with their swansong Afterhours in the Afterlife, and maybe this was their way of rebooting the franchise just like that X-Men movie from 2011 or the Star Trek reimagining from a few years before. Just like with those, the reboot works. I've never dated a woman that doesn't eat this stuff up like candy. Then again, most of the girls I date are pretty baked a lot of the time as they're hanging out with me and that's how I roll. Try it out; you'll see what I'm talking about. [nextpage title="08. Aesop Rock - Skelethon"] 08. Aesop Rock - Skelethon (Rhymesayers Entertainment) PURCHASE ON AMAZON The thing about poetry in 2012 is that if you can't weave it into some sort of a narrative or set it to music, it's cripplingly boring. The beauty in disjointed language structures is that they strive to re-create completely unexplainable altered states of consciousness. At least, that's the idea. This sort of William S. Burroughs/Henry Miller-style writing seems to be completely lost on a lot of the increasingly binary thought prone tech generation, which is sort of depressing. But they seem to dig Mr. Rock, and that's a positive sign. I have absolutely no idea how the hell a guy who admittedly doesn't read much can pull this kind of thing off so effectively. Outside of a few brief narratives, none of his songs make much logical sense at all. It's all about creating a mood, and the mood he creates is a sprawling shape-shifting psychic vista of clever brain-warping word salad. It's kind of like listening to a less violent episode of Super Jail! through your headphones: more bizarre surrealist suggestions than your brain can even begin to keep up with. You just keep catching more and more detail with repeated listens, but again -- it's really about the weird ass headspace his flow creates. Just as mind-altering as an orgy of guitar noise, if not moreso. To quote the man himself: "Anything else would be ri-godamn-diculous!" [nextpage title="07. Ancestors - In Dreams And Time"] 07. Ancestors - In Dreams and Time (Tee Pee Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON In the last four years, Los Angeles' Ancestors have quite quickly established themselves as one of the absolute greatest stoner/doom metal acts of our era. Seriously, I kind of couldn't believe when I randomly checked and noticed they'd dropped yet another full length back in April. That's now three full-on epics in four years (and an EP I just downloaded while writing this as well, WTF?). Sort of amazing for a band who I can't imagine aren't working day jobs. Especially impressive when you take into consideration the massive scope of the work. I know the word "epic" is bandied about waaay to much these days, but when talking about Ancestors, it can't be avoided. Shit is EPIC in all caps. Every time you think a riff should go on for three minutes, it goes on for seven. If you think it should go on for seven, it goes on for eleven. Classic time-stretching shamanic sound tactics. Wouldn't even occur to me to do what they do, but I'm certainly glad it occurred to them, because it takes you way the fuck out there. What truly makes these records great though isn't the non-stop tidal pummeling doom riffs, but rather the unexpected songcraft subtleties. Like how the opening track essentially has a chorus of melodic "oohs and ahhs" and is promptly followed by a piano ballad featuring gorgeously ethereal female spirit vocals. They don't even start guitar soloing on this outing until nearly 30 minutes in. It's a hyper-epic-stoner-melodic-prog-doom sort of thing. Kids are at the top of their game and you wonder how long they'll be able to keep it up. Sort of like with the Volta; how much of this can one take? In Dreams and Time's six tracks have an average running length of eleven minutes. It closes with a near twenty-minute cut. You'd think this would get tiring but it just feels natural here, not like a pissing contest. If you manage to make it all the way through the album, you feel like you've accomplished something of value. Makes eating an orange feel like taking a trip through a citrus mountain as they say. I didn't have time to check out the new Neurosis album that dropped in 2012, but I can wholeheartedly assure you; this is better than that. Editor's Note: In our 2012 year-end Album Covers of the Year article, we have spoken to the artist and designers behind the geometric album cover for In Dreams And Time. Stay tuned; the piece will be published on December 27th, 2012. [nextpage title="06. Gaytheist - Stealth Beats"] 06. Gaytheist - Stealth Beats (Good To Die Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON The fact that this is the only real non-psychedelic album on this list and it's ranked number freaking six should be a bit of a testament to how much it rules. Christ, this could even be considered punk rock (psych rock's supposed natural enemy). The problem with both the punk and indie rock movements basically involves the idea that people can make better music by not knowing anything about how to play music. It was supposed to be a populist thing and I get it, but ultimately you're left with some supremely faulty logic. So, you're going to be better at something by totally sucking at it? It's not like it doesn't work on occasions, but I might point out that nearly all the punk and indie icons are peeps who brazenly outshine the rest of their peers by means of raw charisma alone. Anywho, Gaytheist could definitely be considered a punk band. They've got their snotty Jello Biafra-esque anti-authoritarian swagger down pat, except they're funnier than Jello ever was. More importantly though, they utterly fucking destroy. God, the rhythm section never lets up for a second on this album. One minute songs feel like three because they've shifted through so many rapid fire breakdowns so quickly. Despite that, a lot of this is really catchy and (gasp) some if it's in major keys. Like pop tunes with Dave Lombardo on drums or something to that effect. Ultimately though, this is in fact quite a head trip mainly because of the lyrics, which are a lot more intricately thought out than you'd expect. Actually, watching them live a week or so back (strongly recommended), I found myself being all like, oh, that's what that song is about, huh, it's even cooler than I thought it was then. These are all tracks I'd heard ten or more times by that point. Near subliminal style freakiness, despite the fact that it's all being yelled right in your ear. Editor's Note: This album also topped our Good To Die Records Year One Retrospective. STEALTH BEATS by Gaytheist [nextpage title="05. Liars - WIXIW"] 05. Liars - WIXIW (Mute Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON I know what you're thinking; there's not nearly enough electronic weirdness going down on this list. I agree. What's up with that? Fortunately, Liars decided to go all Kid A on their new album and pulled it off with typical aplomb (or was it panache?). But I wrote about that already and interviewed them this year for the third time, so you can just read all that there (and see older interviews here). I will point out, though, that in that interview I specifically asked them about the influence of weed on their music due to I-502 coming up on the ballot here in Washington (and the fact that the dude was taking bong rips backstage at the Showbox the first time I interviewed him). They expressly dodged the question, probably for obvious legal reasons. This is why things like I-502 are important. [nextpage title="04. Guided By Voices - Class Clown Spots A UFO / The Bears For Lunch"] 04. Guided By Voices - Class Clown Spots a UFO / The Bears for Lunch (Guided By Voices Inc.) Okay, okay, Guided By Voices aren't truly a psychedelic act, either. In fact, they're total fucking drunks. But they're certainly more than a bit tripped out in a subtle way. Psychedelic was always one of the four P's in their time-tested formula for success (along with Pop, Punk, and Prog). Robert Pollard's also openly talked about writing the song "Gold Heart Mountaintop Queen Directory" about an acid experience he had staring in the mirror as well, so there's that. In addition, his lyrics have always involved various levels of mysticism based on his life long, albeit admittedly distant interest in all things occult. On a base level though, I consider anything excessively creative to be inherently psychedelic, and there's no greater testament to the true potentiality of the human imagination than the near supernatural output of one Robert Pollard. Jesus god man, even I didn't expect this astounding a return to form in 2012 (not that he'd ever lost it). I was skeptical about the GBV reunion albums and after the first of 2012, Let's Go Eat The Factory, I continued to have my doubts. It was an outing guilty of the inconsistency that Pollard's critics always accuse him of and are rarely even remotely right about. But then Class Clown Spots a UFO dropped, and after the requisite three or four orientation listens you need with every Pollard disc, it took me straight to GBV nerdgasm heaven. I like roughly 85% of everything I've heard from the guy, but this was his finest disc since, errr, Isolation Drills, I guess. I mean, he never stopped putting out five records a year (and another two solo discs in 2012 as far as I know), so how could these be any different? Tobin Sprout, that's how. The Lennon/McCartney-esque duo of the late '90s is back after all these years, and wow, what a difference the varied songwriting attack makes! Also, they're back to doing the sort of cut-up-pastiche-lo-fi approach to album creation they essentially invented back in the day. Sooooo brilliant. Class Clown was already a lock for top five on my list and when The Bears for Lunch came out in November, I thought there was no way it would even touch it. Buuuut, it might be even better. My lord, you could probably make a fairly good greatest hits record just from their 2012 output alone, and they're releasing another full-length in early 2013. Pollard is also a fairly excellent collage artist and did both of those album covers. Again, this is a guy who consistently puts out genius level shit peaking again at age 55. Surreal, to say the least. PURCHASE CLASS CLOWN SPOTS A UFO ON AMAZON + PURCHASE THE BEARS FOR LUNCH ON AMAZON [nextpage title="03. Soundgarden - King Animal"] 03. Soundgarden - King Animal (Republic Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON And the most unexpected surprise album of the year goes to... Soundgarden? Yeah, that Soundgarden. Truthfully, I didn't even know they were planning on releasing anything anytime soon until I saw a friend's post on Facebook. When I went home to download it, I was kind of blown away by the ridiculously low four dollar price tag. More bands should attempt this kind of thing. I bought this and the new GBV record on the same day for what one album used to cost ten years ago. Again, I wasn't expecting it to be very good; I suppose maybe because they'd been broken up for so long and are getting up there in age. Wrong. You know it's funny; I grew up in the '90s (I was a freshman in high school when Nirvana broke), I live in Seattle, and yet I can honestly say that the odds of me randomly deciding, "Hey, I want to listen to a Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Nirvana, or Mudhoney album" are roughly a hundred to one. But I'd say I probably still throw on something by Soundgarden like once a month. They were always the most psychedelic of the grunge bands, which was kind of odd because none of them were stoners. Their early band days were apparently laced with excessive acid-fueled drinking binges however, which should maybe be more than a bit obvious to anyone who's seen the "Black Hole Sun" video. It's amazing what a little bit of Lucy in the Sky can do, and also probably a little bit of early Pink Floyd worship as well. Cornell's always cited Piper at the Gates of Dawn as one of his absolute biggest influences. Okay, enough prattling on about that; I'm just trying to explain to myself why a bunch of drunks (or former drunks) would throw an overly spaced out breakdown sesh into every single one of the tracks on their new record. Maybe they just know their audience. Above all else though, this album owns because of the songwriting. It's what's been missing from loud rock and metal for quite a while now. Yeah, you can be all hard, and not be stupid, and actually write songs kids. See, uncle Soundgarden will show you how. Admittedly though, the Garden are one of those bands most mere mortals just can't ever measure up to. It's like picking up a basketball and thinking you're gonna be able to play like Lebron James. Not many can do what these guys pull off almost effortlessly. Chris Cornell writes clever neo-spiritualist lyrics and his vocal range is unholy. Kim Thayil is the best lead guitar player of the grunge era by a long shot. The rhythm section is not only unique but also consistently destroys. Cornell spent most of his solo career proving just how hard this kind of chemistry is to replicate. Almost impossible to compete with, and basically why King Animal is the number three album on this list. [nextpage title="02. Astra - The Black Chord"] 02. Astra - The Black Chord (Metal Blade Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON The reason they call it "taking a trip" in the first place is because it's supposed to take you somewhere. With that in mind, Astra take you to the exotic outer reaches of retro sonic eternity on The Black Chord. Again, normally I'm not much of a stickler for retro, but when you can brazenly outdo your aging masters, I'll gladly pay attention. This already ranks up there as one of the best psych prog records ever. Sure, it hearkens back to the heyday of bands like Yes, Peter Gabriel-era Genesis, and classic King Crimson, but it somehow manages to outclass all those rubes and trumps their 2009 debut, The Weirding, in every way imaginable. Everything is just so well-sussed out. The way one guitar lead transitions into the next keyboard solo and then a swirl of tranced out riffage, then back and forth and up and around again should sound severely wanky, but it doesn't at all. It flows like manna from sound heaven. They even manage to throw in decent unforced vocal melodies on top of all the extravagance and lyrics about voices in their heads and such. Music for people with extended attention spans, for sure. Man, 2012 was a fairly amazing year for Southern California psych rock with this and the Ancestors disc, kind of making us Northwest coast tripsters look a bit like slackers. These cats apparently often perform live with a visual projection company called Operation: Mind Blow. How cool is that? Also, this came out on Metal Blade? Yeah, what the fuck? 2012, the year tripping went mainstream, and you said there was no global shift in consciousness. Well, maybe you were totally right as I doubt anything here (other than Soundgarden, The Mars Volta, and possibly GBV) made much of a dent on the charts. As mentioned, these things take time. [nextpage title="01. El-P - Cancer For Cure"] 01. El-P - Cancer For Cure (Fat Possum Records) PURCHASE ON AMAZON Rarely are choices for album of the year this utterly fucking obvious, but I couldn't for a second even think about putting anything above this in 2012. Back in 2002 (God, again, ten fucking years ago now) El-P's Fantastic Damage changed my entire perception of what hip hop could be. More accurately, it just made everything else seem retardedly stupid. Dude's a thousand years ahead of his time. I've always seen the potentiality in hip-hop being the combination of technology and linguistics. It's a good idea on that level for sure (although it almost always loses me with the misogyny and materialism). El Producto gets it, always has. Following up his absolute genius instrumental mixtape Weareallgoingtoburninhellmegamixx3, which I just so happened to dance my ass off to while tripping balls in 2010, El-P further ups his game into fast tempo drugged out club-banging territory on C for C. This stuff hypes me up more than nearly any metal record I own. Just complete fucking godhead shit. Most importantly, this is one of the like four hip-hop (okay, this is really trip-hop, let's face it) albums I own (including even the prior Producto discs) where I actually listen to every song on the record. Guy just drops hit after hit, tune after tune. The way he captures the confused terror and amusement presented by the smoked out information/overpopulation age lyrically is unparalleled. Here's a bold statement, this isn't just the album of the year; THIS IS THE BEST HIP-HOP ALBUM OF ALL TIME. Oh, and he also produced that entire Killer Mike record I was just talking about. The bar's been set pretty high kids; let's see if we can ramp it up another notch next year. (Oh, and if you didn't notice, I just completely unintentionally gave you the top 23 mind-bending albums of the year... ooohhh... the number 23... spooky). Ω

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine

Psychoactive Soundscapes: Top 20 Mind-Bending Albums For 2012

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine » spirituality

Transformational Festivals: Where Ecstatic Spirit and Sonic Celebration Unite (w/ Timeline & Preview Guide)

Table of Contents

Grassroots Origins

Broken Deer – Polaraura Album Review

Tuva’s Meridian of Musicality, Spirituality, and Cross-Cultural Place: A Primer On Tuvan Throat Singing

Related Links

From the Lungs of Central Asia

Styles & Techniques of Tuvan Throatsinging ¹

Footnotes ___ Back to Top

Barn Owl Band Interview: A Bilateral Reflection On Meditative States

Jon Porras

Evan Caminiti

Barn Owl

Related Concept: Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening Philosophy

Barn Owl Band Interview (cont'd)

Listening Station: Barn Owl Through The Years

Listening Station: Meditative Inspiration

Saya Woolfalk Artist Interview: The Possibility Of All Kinds Of Mixing

Amanda Charchian Artist Interview: Saying YES To Raw Honesty

www.amandacharchian.com

Midday Veil – Great Cold of the Night Music Video (w/ Director & Musician Interviews)

On The Technical & Artistic Side Of Things

On The Spiritual & Conceptual Side of Things

Christopher Mir Makes Chicken Scratch Enticing.

Leah Gordon’s Kanaval Takes A Photographic Look At Haiti’s Carnival Via Mythology, History & Oral Traditions

Madanm Lasiren Andre Ferner, 59 years

Chaloska (Charles Oscar) Eugene Lamour a.k.a. Boss Cota, 61 years

Pa Wowo (The dance steps of Roro) Edmond Paul, 30 years

Zel Maturin (The Wings of Mathurin: character from the St. Michel Mardi Gras) Ronald Bellevue, 40 years

Psychoactive Soundscapes: Top 20 Mind-Bending Albums For 2012

music art film review - REDEFINE magazine » spirituality

Transformational Festivals: Where Ecstatic Spirit and Sonic Celebration Unite (w/ Timeline & Preview Guide)

Table of Contents

Grassroots Origins

Broken Deer – Polaraura Album Review

Tuva’s Meridian of Musicality, Spirituality, and Cross-Cultural Place: A Primer On Tuvan Throat Singing

Related Links

From the Lungs of Central Asia

Styles & Techniques of Tuvan Throatsinging 1

Footnotes ___ Back to Top

Barn Owl Band Interview: A Bilateral Reflection On Meditative States

Jon Porras

Evan Caminiti

Barn Owl

Related Concept: Pauline Oliveros' Deep Listening Philosophy

Barn Owl Band Interview (cont'd)

Listening Station: Barn Owl Through The Years

Listening Station: Meditative Inspiration

Saya Woolfalk Artist Interview: The Possibility Of All Kinds Of Mixing

Amanda Charchian Artist Interview: Saying YES To Raw Honesty

www.amandacharchian.com

Midday Veil – Great Cold of the Night Music Video (w/ Director & Musician Interviews)

On The Technical & Artistic Side Of Things

On The Spiritual & Conceptual Side of Things

Christopher Mir Makes Chicken Scratch Enticing.

Leah Gordon’s Kanaval Takes A Photographic Look At Haiti’s Carnival Via Mythology, History & Oral Traditions

Madanm Lasiren Andre Ferner, 59 years

Chaloska (Charles Oscar) Eugene Lamour a.k.a. Boss Cota, 61 years

Pa Wowo (The dance steps of Roro) Edmond Paul, 30 years

Zel Maturin (The Wings of Mathurin: character from the St. Michel Mardi Gras) Ronald Bellevue, 40 years

Psychoactive Soundscapes: Top 20 Mind-Bending Albums For 2012

Styles & Techniques of Tuvan Throatsinging ¹