| Artist: Radio Massacre International Albums: Still & Threads Released: April 2013 |    |
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Entering their rehearsal space in late 2011/early 2012 Radio Massacre International reveled in their own sonic abandon. Combining both minimalism and sensory overload RMI realized two live studio CDs, Still (69'06") and Threads (67'54"). Believing that too much thinking ruins a good jam, RMI steps into the flow and comes up with a two-hour plus sonic excursion that is so many things at once. The riot of sound and forms somehow melds into a coherent, idiosyncratic and enigmatic whole. Referencing their own Zabriskie Point (2000) album, the obscure The Cosmic Jokers (1974) LP as well as a healthy dose of early free-form Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream bootleg recordings, RMI journey into a fascinating musical darkness. Along with creative sonic synthesizer inventions and intermodulations come dreamy electric piano introductions, forlorn Mellotron pads and effusive synth leads. Motor-like sequencer patterns arise, drive out and then recede as the moment and mood calls - often augmented by live bubbling drumbeats. Holding its own very well against the diversity of tones, timbres and rhythms, the guitar plays with the urgency of poetic reportage - ranging from plaintive blues infused fuzz-riffs to echo laden glissando and e-bow drones. Strategically inserting sections of silence into a musical realization can provide one of the most intense listening experiences possible, and occasionally on Still and Threads this intimate and rare occurrence may be had. These works are dynamic, following the natural compositional arc that unfolded in each distinctive session. There is a secret language transmitted by music, and RMI speaks it very well. Their ideas may seem out of place in the light of day, as RMI's music is better suited to the small, courageous hours of the night. Still and Threads are like two deep dreams - fantasies we dare not wake from.
- Chuck van Zyl/STAR'S END 30 August 2013 | |
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