Showing posts with label sun araw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sun araw. Show all posts

August 17, 2011

ETERNAL TAPESTRY & SUN ARAW "Night Gallery" LP/CD (Thrill Jockey)


  Sun Araw's Cameron Stallones joins psych juggernauts Eternal Tapestry, for the rawest collaborations we've seen in some time.This is not a split record, nor is it two bands playing one another's music.This is the result of two very like minded, vastly different musical entities, sharing their own personal ideas to create something completely free of boundaries.Six well seasoned musicians holed up in a studio, playing a loosely written piece of music, with no real end in sight.Their vision is focused, yet loose and varied.If you are familiar with Sun Araw's heavily sedated dub-psych wizardry, and E-Tap's hazy instrumental washouts, then you already have  a bit of insight to what this might be like.Now multiply that by 100, and drop a few hits of alien LSD and a handful of downers to the mix, and you've got Night Gallery, which is somewhat of a tribute to the 70's t.v. show, made by Rod Sterling of Twilight Zone fame.It's one massive piece of heavy psych music, spread out over four different movements, and clocks in at just under thirty nine minutes.Sounds about right, given that both parties' have a reputation for accessibly long attention spans.Swagger over awe.
  Night Gallery's moods shift from delay-drenched guitar meditations, to cavernous saxophone and organ wailing, to thunderous riffing and pummeling percussive freak outs on the spot.It's supernatural repetitions carry a continuous flow of glittery waves of golden energies, and collide and break into a wide range of good vibrations.It's terribly easy to listen to, and manages to sound a bit different with each spin.This music is perfect for all kinds of levitation practices and cult rituals alike, or just getting lost in the pure and simple magic of mind altering sounds.Wow.

May 10, 2010

SUN ARAW - "On Patrol" LP/CD (NotnotFun)



When I first heard this dude a few years back,i was pretty skeptical of what i might find in this stuff,considering his semi-clever/goofy moniker and album titles.But alas,you cannot judge a book...yea.After a handful of releases on various indie tape labels etc,Sun Araw(Cameron Stallones)has totally perfected his craft.The songs on "On Patrol" are solid as ever,and more cohesive and dare i say "accessible" than previous efforts.And there are alot of them.He is a long time collaborator and ex-member of LA's Pocahaunted,and current guitar man for Long Beach psych outfit -Magic Lantern.Both are worth looking into for sure.Pocahaunted's new LP "Make It Real" is amazing.A great new direction for them.

Right off the bat On Patrol floats us into heady dub and psych territories that you might expect from him.Noodling reverb-soaked guitars,thick dubbed out bass lines,echoed voices and spacey synth washes...it's all here.But something is different.What is this awesome clarity?Production value?These are not-so-familiar terms with Sun Araw,being known (and adored) for his cavernous recording style and low low fidelity sound.But this new found clarity works wonders for these songs,and still retains a nice lo-fi,bass heavy feel,it's just more up front and present here.Utilizing a ton of instruments that includes,but is not limited to guitar,bass,congas,bells,woodwind,analog synth,drum machines,samples and voice effects,this album is layered nicely and has a very full sound.Something that I think as missing from earlier recordings.Mostly instrumental,with only a few vocal parts throughout the record,the bouncy dub jams make this a pleasant and interesting listen.I find new things in this with every play.Killer artwork to boot.WEED.