Hellfire. Black Midi
The more I listened to Hellfire the more I thought, finally, here's the band influenced by Frank Zappa in the truest and wide-scoping way possible. It all comes by. The madness, the extremities in the music containing an endless number of references and influences, the enormous musicality pushing musicians to their limits, etc. And then I read an interview with Geordie Greep and it all falls into place: 'Hot Rats' is one of his favourite albums and one that influenced him a lot. (Thank you, 'Oor'.) Listen more closely and you'll hear more, Much more. My guess is though, that anyone who is able to sit through the album - and this for many will be an issue- can come up with their own favourites. I don't want to spoil your fun there. As every few seconds something else happens on Hellfire. I couldn't listen to 'Schlagenheim', came in on 'Cavalcade' and was totally convinced by Hellfire. I do not promise I will listen to the album a lot. For that it perhaps is too much to chew off on an ordinary day. When I do though, I am sitting on the edge of my seat. There isn't a single dull moment on Hellfire. Where does a band with young musicians, like Black Midi is, get the imagination from? There's more of it than most bands would use in decades. In this case it is a great compliment. Hellfire is a grand tour of music.
This album is a straight tip for Kairos. Haris Noit is a Japanese vocal performer who now lives in London. Nearly all you hear on Aura is Hatis Noit's voice, except for some field recordings. The voice is in the classical range, though self-taught. In the background looped vocals are heard, providing the "music". Some percussive sounds come by every four bars or more sometimes. Vocal interruptions like bird song intersperse the classic singing. Musically it could not be further removed from 'Nina Hagen Band', what Nina Hagen does there certainly is akin to Hatis Noit's vocal performances. Can I listen to this for a whole album? Of course not, but on "a good day" Aura does get to me, trained as I am by Wino's 'Kairos' show on Concertzender. (Yes, I'm even further behind, I know.) As I wrote, this music would fit there perfectly. Now time will tell if Wino has read this short review concealed as a tip. The fact that Ben Lukas Boysen has played a role in the re-recording of the music, should be an extra incentive here.
Time to jump into the time machine and pretend to travel to the later 1960s where the band Spygenius finally releases its new, 7th album. The album was released to critical acclaim and warmly welcomed by the fans. The single shot into the charts and all was well. And then I wake up. It's 2022 and Spygenius releases a totally anachronistic album that is fun to listen to from start to finish. The band doesn't hide for a second what era in music it likes best. Beat music with the first hints at psychedelia or more than just a hint. The song always remains the most important. I'm not surprised that links to the Dutch band Johan are found, a great pop-rock band as well. Spygenius is a band from Canterbury in the U.K. that is able to recreate times gone by with original songs. The songs may have come together in a dark time, Covid, the outcomes have that bittersweet feeling that combines the sad with the happy, making it fun to listen while feeling the sting every once in a while. If you like this kind of music, you know everything you need to know.
Wout de Natris
You can listen to and buy the albums here:
https://bmblackmidi.bandcamp.com/
https://hatisnoit.bandcamp.com/album/aura
https://spygenius.bandcamp.com/
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