Tuesday 11 June 2013

Music - Part 93 - Date Palms



Date Palms – The Dusted Sessions (Thrill Jockey)
LP/CD
10 June 2013

There seem to be more and more drone artists appearing in a music form that was previously sneered at, but, to be fair, the genre seems to be developing into something more than monotone ramblings.   Acts are layering and adding instrumentation to make it more interesting whilst maintaining the hypnotic appeal.

Take the Date Palms duo of Gregg Kowalsky and Marielle Jakobsons.  On The Dusted Sessions they’ve been joined by electric bass, electric guitar and tanpura, and the sound is something pretty good.  It’s minimalist, but has some great additions in the form of Country, jazz and the intriguing Indian Classical.  It all adds up to a very unique sound.

Apparently inspired by a visit to the Yuba River, three tracks reference its name – amplified violins create an eerie but calming sound in an almost Country style.  Imagine riders on horseback riding slowly along the riverbank, dust kicking up behind their hooves making their way into the sunset behind the inevitable clouds.  Yuba Source Part 1, Yuba Source Part 2 and Yuba Reprise carry on the same theme, the later of the three fading away calmly and beautifully.



Side two of the album is notably harder and darker.  Percussion and electric guitars make their mark on Night Riding The Skyline although the violin does make another appearance at the electronically effected close.  More electronic effects mark the start of Dusted Down which again starts slowly and soon rises into heavier territory, maintaining an element of calm and resisting the urge to go that little bit too far.  Analogue synthesizers move slowly behind an intermittent flute as the track closes a special album with serene and endless feel.

It’s all good stuff, and, if cult movie classic Westworld was to be remade for the twenty-first century, then The Dusted Sessions would be the perfect soundtrack. 

All stirring stuff.

8/10

Links

Published on Louder Than War 10/06/13 - here



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