Blancheneige

This instrumental album fuses many different instruments and styles from around the world with recurring asian and eastern european influences. The overall sound is diverse, professional and relaxing.

The finely balanced instrumentation reminds me of Gong at their best and the first tune is somewhat reminiscent of The Flying Teapot (which should suit the tokers!). They too were capable of such fusion of East meets West, and the orientalism that is evident soon into the music, is the epitome of what we need to express culturally and hope that it has an effect from the roots upwards. I have just read about some new piece of military hardware that has 'effectively' destroyed three members of the Taliban from two miles away. Apart from striking me as a little bit cowardly, haven't we got enough guns already? Why spend millions of US$ on machines of death-dealing, when it could have been done with a single bullet and saved the tax payers a lot of money which might have been better spent elsewhere. If we can join musically, that means culturally, but still the bombs fall. What kind of a world is this? One were the power-mongers don't listen and don't care, so it seems. Fine tune, now for the fine world.

The second track is more obviously 'eastern', because there is a sitar in the mix. Kind of like saying the sound of an explosion is 'western'. Preferred the subtlety of the first track myself. If it was a didgeridoo would it necessarily be antipodean, (depending on where you are reading this from, if anyone is). The curious background noises feel Mediterranean, and the rumbling sound like distant impacts wiping out indigenous populations at some monsters whim. The piano play and remainder of the track bring back memories of Gong's brilliant Gazeuse! So, were they forty years ahead of their time, or are we still in the same place despite the promises of postmodernity? The ending like Siouxsie's Oh Mein Papa from, coincidentally an album called 'Join Hands', again ahead of her time in a lot of respects, or again I ask, are we actually learning and progressing beyond the new microprocessor from our technology giants? This is not about a technical fix, it is still cultural and still it seems, despite its valiant efforts, ineffectual.

Meshugge draws from diverse sources and I feel like I'm wandering through some bazaar, full of a variety of buskers, using both traditional instruments and plugged into amplifiers with other more modern tools of musical expression. The dirge builds wonderfully.

L'Elephant is a testimony to a wonderful animal, one that seems to have its own sense of conscious philosophy being aware of life and death, while we as humans decide on its ultimate fate. A nice, fairly loose arrangement. Percussion from here and a wandering, nomadic sax layer of sound work well together. Now I am thinking early Weather Report, Pat Metheny, Jan Garbarek and their ilk. Nice track. And although the associations I am making musically are from many years ago, this does not make this dated at all, just a proof in creative format, that little has changed. Maybe musical expression isn't enough, maybe too many of us are happy to download and just get stoned? Il s'agit d'une pipe, ou est-ce l'image d'une pipe?

By the time La Mousson arrives, again with its more than obvious 'Eastern' lilt, the bongwater must surely be getting dirty. It's texture is one of minimalism and starting to show the limitations of what can be achieved which oddly fits into my interpretation of world politics and philosophy, even if we get as far as being philosophic. The latter is usually after the events of the former. Why do we want to spend so much of our lives in a hashish induced coma or an opium den? Perhaps because it renders us devoid of any real ability to action against the controllers of our world, and they do control it. Don't fool yourself into thinking that the perpetuation of representational democratic capitalism is the answer, if it was, why is the world in such a sorry state?
OK, I have had my rant but the music inspires me and fills me with an awe, but not one in itself due to the music but what it represents to me, and all things being subjective I will star it accordingly and as fairly as I see fit. I am an existential epistemologist so apologies in advance if I'm bursting anybodies bubble...

I won't write much but I just had to ask: Are you guys sent down from heaven?

Közel tökéletes keveréke ez a keleti zenének, a távoli India szívéből, és a harsány klezmernek, amit a jazz öntőformája fog egészbe a kellő finomsággal. Lüktető ritmusai anyaméhként kényeztetik az elalélt tudatalattit. Talán haldokló pillangó szárnyának verdesését követi a csillogó réz, szerencsére a kicsiny állat erőre kap, és tovaszáll távoli tájak mesés fűszerzamatát hagyva csak maga után.

Első hallásra Atlas Projekt-re emlékeztetett, de talán hajaz hangulatilag a Nigunra is... Igazából elég egyedi, így veszett fejsze nyele hasonlítani bármihez is.