Artist: Badun
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As I'm sure regular readers are aware by now, I absolutely love music when it's soaked in ominous dread. Dead Letters Spell Out Dead Words, Ondo and Raison d'Être are three artists that come to mind when I consider the niche and now I can add the Danes Svartbag to the list. The Rump label has put out a bunch of interesting electronica - Badun, Karsten Pflum, Snöleoparden, etc - but Svartbag's self-titled debut is by far the best of the bunch. Opener "Black Capricorn" is all slow-creeping darkness, the kind of stuff that backs you in a corner before consuming you completely. That the track is so obviously guitar-based is kinda surprising too, especially since so much of this stuff seems to traffic in sounds so heavily processed they end up resembling vague dark shapes. The low-end buzz grumbles and moans as the drums endlessly cycle and taunt, all gradually building and eventually rumbling to a stop like a freight train. Call it dark-ambient, evil shoegaze, whatever you want, it's all good, I just know I like it a lot. Be aware, it's a mighty big download (15mb), but man oh man, is it worth it.
Svartbag - Black Capricorn
All the various people at Rump Recordings (Karsten Pflum, Badun, etc.) list their favorite music of 2007: http://www.rump-recordings.dk/chart_pop2.html
The playlist for my radio show this week:
01. At the Gates - Suicide nation
02. TALK 1
03. Moving Oos - Stronger
04. Eskju Divine - Hold on
05. Mechanical Bird - Sunday
06. TALK 2
07. Mixtapes & Cellmates - Quiet
08. DS13 - Thrash lifestyle
09. Montt Mardié - Metropolis
10. Junior Senior - Can I get get get
11. TALK 3
12. Niccokick - Love & neon lights
13. Kristofer Åström - I collect knives
14. Death Breath - His protoplasmic worship
15. TALK 4
16. Mob - Ghost track
17. MZ412 - Unhealing wounds
18. Ugress - Manhattan sapphire
19. TALK 5
20. Shining - Låt oss ta allt från darandra
21. No Hope for the Kids - Rainy day
22. Moneybrother - Det blir ingen dans
23. Amandine - For all the marbles
24. TALK 6
25. Familjen - Det snurrar i min skalle
26. Last Days of April - Aspirins and alcohol
27. M:40 - När bomberna faller
28. TALK 7
29. Espen Jørgensen - The immaculate conception
30. Motorpsycho - For free
31. The Carny - Man under the sun
32. TALK 8
33. Karin Ström - Klaustrofobi
34. Badun - Pulsen
35. Meshuggah - Future breed machine
36. Värttinä - Mero
37. TALK 9
38. Randy - Better than art
39. Closer - Open casket
40. Alog - Buffalo demon
41. TALK 10
42. On Trial - Speaking of witch
7
The self-titled debut by this Danish trio is situated squarely in the fertile soundscape where electronica, jazz and post-rock meet. Like Norway's Alog, Badun's tracks tend to be short and evocative, but they rely more heavily on their rhythm section to guide the way. Fretless bass and Fender Rhodes sonics abound, and the percussive brush strokes are infinitely subtle. This isn't difficult music, but neither does it play safe by being merely ambient-pretty or groove-anchored. Instead, this music glides aloft on its own glitch-driven air currents, remarkably sure of itself even if the listener is sometimes left guessing. It's all a bit on the chilly side aesthetically, but if you just stick it on without analyzing too much, this is intriguing stuff.
- Kevin Renick
If you dug that Badun track I posted yesterday, the label is giving away another mp3: http://www.rump-recordings.dk/badun_fyrtaarn.mp3
New track from Danish minimalist electronic/jazz artists Badun off their new self-titled album on Rump Recordings. Actually, the label minimalist is kind of a misnomer as the music is anything but - it's just that the sounds are small, in the style of the micro-/"clicks + cuts" genre. I find myself wishing that Badun was a bit more adventurous melodically, but the drummer side of me loves the playfulness of the beats. This track in particular is essentially a five-minute drum solo. It's a fun listen, but it's also not much of a song, so if you're not into extended jams, you probably won't dig it. I'm on the fence. I appreciate that an electronic act can embrace jazz in such an unstructured and artful way, but I'm also a fan of composition. Or maybe it just needs a more diversified palette of sound? I'd love to hear them collaborate with more live musicians.
Badun - Kompleks
Rump Recordings will be releasing the debut self-titled album from Danish electronic/jazz act Badun on April 2. Listen to samples at myspace: http://www.myspace.com/badunband