#5: Ultrafog, Babau, & more
Two Reviews, 10 tracks; Also inside, a whole lotta sardonic disdain, Reach's future plans, and a bit on gardening.
Recently, I repotted my houseplants. I’ve got a smallish branchy tree-type thing, lovely chunky red and purple leaves and a curiously soft stem — no idea of the name. It’s seemed to be thriving lately and I upscaled it to a home that should last for several years. There was a little node, just three leaves, growing close to the earth, and it didn’t make it through the move attached to mumma.
Since it popped off rather cleanly, I dropped it into a little shot glass of water, where it’s been sitting for a few weeks. Unlike a couple of the leaves of the main plant, who apparently were overstressed from the new digs and fell dead, this intrepid little one is doing just fine in its aqueous home.
But, it’s not rooting. There’s no sign of it stretching out those little fingers, showing it’s ready for soil. Not dead, certainly, but far from thriving, just “living”, making it through the days. In some ways, I’m feeling quite like this little one lately: frankly, the music journalism world seems hobbled lately for those not willing to approach platforms like RA, and (paid) opportunities are fairly dry for those who don’t have a routine position at another magazine or website.
Perhaps it’s my patience, which has never been a long ball of thread anyway. It’s been hard to cast my mind to the tasks of Reach, while also tending to my other gardens — both the literal, and the metaphorical ones which put money in the bank. It’s tough work waiting for seeds to sprout, especially when some have been in the soil for a very long time…
Ultrafog - Live
Self-Released - 03/05/23
I’ve had a love affair with the music of Kouhei Fukuzumi — Ultrafog — since encountering ‘Scent’ online around 4 years ago (this actually could be the start of a thread that leads me to where I am today as a writer). After that blinding EP for Motion Ward (my copy is running thin, and crackly), Ultrafog solo went quiet. He appeared on MW-adjacent label 3XL, as part of the Folder ensemble (with mdo and Nikolay Kozlov), and there’s some other dealings to be scrounged online, like a liveset for c minus and a split with mdo on Angoisse.
In all seeming, it was as if Ultrafog had turned his nose up at the amazing resume of ambient music he had built, which was somewhaat assumed from following him on Instagram and seeing him devote more time to guitar playing and other involvements in bands. There was a whisper of something, but it was during 2020 and before I knew it the mental reminder had been tipped out of the archive. Then, this album appears on the radar.
‘Live’ features a renewed formation with Kouhei Fukuzumi on electronics, joined by Pueru Kim, at the SuperNaturalDeluxe venue in Japan. The rejoining of the two, as I know now it to be, sits closer to live jazz than the intravenously induced relaxation of his Motion Ward material, and not just because of Kim’s saxophone. Fukuzumi’s billed ‘electronics’ are a multi-instrumental array, professionally constructed to the degree that I thought this was a full band, not a sole producer. The pair reach transcendant heights through a broad variety of experiments in structure and shifts between — ‘Phantom Chat’ dropping into ‘Fifty Five’ is, for me, the clear highlight of the show.
The drums on ‘Fifty Five’ start delicate, a glimmer of light for the rhythm, but build, chased by Kim’s earnest, soulful brass, into a heart-wrenching pinnacle that sustains in absolute beauty. I imagine the first pilot to ever break through the cloud floor of a grey day to discover the gleaming sun above must have had feelings alike what this sequence makes me feel.
There’s plenty more moments of resplendence on this album — ‘Lenexa (version)’ is another — but if you like your electronic jazz a little grittier, the first recorded joining of these two (I think), along with Hikari Shikasita on drums, was that album I missed in 2020: ‘Immersion I’ is incredible too (‘IX’ floored me, for a quick hit). For each pound of sadness I felt, thinking that Ultrafog was stepping away from this sound world, ‘Live’ doubles the weight in joy. Really one for treasuring, especially for remedy and medicating.
N.B: I actually completely missed another album of Ultrafog, ‘Sunshine’, which you’ll find on the same Bandcamp account, and I really recommend doing so — it’s great.
Babau - Flatland Explorations Vol.2
Discrepant - 5/5/23
Babau is Artetetra founders (check this label) Matteo Pennesi and Luigi Monteanni. I pull it out for a review in Reach because A) it’s REALLY fucking good and B) there are lots of important reasons why. Most of these reasons might be refuted by Monteanni and Pennesi, because I imagine or know them to be humble folk, but since this is my own place I’m gonna indulge.
The conversation begins with a clutch of problematic musical terms that, staggeringly, are still bandied about in ignorance of their meaning: “World music” has been largely grated out of most vocabularies (probably thanks to the hindsight view of Paul Simon & Peter Gabriel-alike’s and the 80’s “World Music” fests like WOMAD, in spite of all the groundwork they laid for wider appreciation of musical traditions and consciousnesses); Exotica, less a term and more a genre, might have been mostly ditched even earlier, but the same concept applies, of calling something ‘exotic’ when it’s just not from where white people are; Tribal, however, is in full effect, especially in the (largely white European upper/middle-class) techno communities, and broadly defines music sampling and mangling various traditional instruments, and drums that aren’t in a typical rock kit, and appropriating rhythms and esoteric ideas from outside the producer’s cultural heritage.
There’s not really a solid argument for continuing use of the term ‘tribal’, in as much the same direction as sensible people don’t like to say ‘world music’ — or more accurately, the opposite way: all music is ‘world music’, so the description is void, but there’s no ‘tribalism’ in white European techno, especially none that isn’t hinged on shamelessly robbing rich cultural concepts from across the world and lazily taping them to overplayed and watered down club/drug musics.
ALL of this ire and distaste finds itself utterly inverted in Babau, who ingeniously weave together a meticulous (yet improvised) web of sounds, recordings, and more to create, as Discrepant call it with perhaps some sarcasm, ‘world music 2.0’. Their music learns from concepts from across the world, especially the music of the southern tropic, but is without appropriation — whole, entire, not sullied by colonial ideology.
It’s tough to describe without being able to grab your ears and yank you towards the speaker and shouting “SEE?! DO IT LIKE THIS!”. The energy laps up and down like a wave, reaching high crescendo like the peak of a tropical morning chorus, and then dropping to the gentle peace of the beach cooking at midday. The instruments and sounds used are as dizzying in inventiveness as the same cacophany of birds — bizarre inverted plucks and whoops that serve the same purpose but bear almost no direct similarity to traditional instruments. In short, it’s the digital jungle, synthesised.
I know it can be loathsome to always have a mind on Westernisation, colonial music practices and appropriation — music can just be for fun, it can! But, it must be done right. Moreover, the dull thing about people that care nothing for these matters is they end up dancing around the same campfire, following each other’s backs and shadows and making no meaningful distance towards the overgrowth of genuine creativity, which is away from the fire of their party.
Maybe it’s best to leave it to those like Babau, who clearly either really know what they’re doing, or are otherwise blessed with appropriate inspiration. Frankly, I have to question their awareness of what they’re doing: for all my seriousness in this review, the duo demonstrate none of it. It’s a chaotic mess and a jumble of fun and silliness, which just goes to show you can enjoy playfulness in music like this and still avoid the lobbed chalkboard eraser from critics and writers.
N.B: ‘Flatland…’ is only available to catch a snippet unless you get the tape, FAR from the full experience, but they did also release a “proper” album on the same label, which I’m going to enjoy as soon as I can rip myself out of this jungle.
I know, this Reach is pretty long. I’ve a lot to say about those records above, more than what I’ve written. In any case, Track Picks is getting a trim: it takes too long to write too much about these, as well as focus on the writing for the reviews, which is what I love anyway. there’s more on that below the playlist, but here’s some pieces — new, old, and forthcoming — which deserve attention, some of which will keep you club rats interested. Playlist on BMC here.
Another great release on Exiles to start us off. Dark droney goodness.
Volodymyr Gnatenko - Skat [S/R]
Cool mutant trip-hop from Ukrainian Gnatenko, ambient-ly inline with that xtclvr LP from a few months back.
Space Biology - Dub Zone [S/R]
Another Ukrainian ambient-dub talent, seriously deep grooves.
hironori nagatsuma - Medelmåttig täthetsförändring [S/R]
The elusive master returns with two new pieces — sound design skills off the charts.
Aleksi Perälä - FI3AC2159020 [S/R]
ALMOST forgot that I interviewed Aleksi (BIG time favourite) for Ankali’s blog, and you can read that here. Been jamming to Colundi tablas since.
Wordcolour - Overtones [Houndstooth]
Ooh! Another all-time inspirational artist I’ve interviewed :) Wordcolour, like Aleksi, has also got the Microtonal God’s blessing. Get involved.
Third installment from the Sage duo from Seattle doesn’t disappoint. Mindful dance music, with more talent and soul than most.
Automatisme - groove 14.2 [Outlines / Grooves]
Last edition I picked Skip Club Orchestra, but I’ve been fully hooked on this tape’s B side in recent days. I’m late to publishing a mix from Outlines founder Paide, for my radio show PAIJATA, so check that link soon after publishing to hear it — it’s seriously good...
I couldn’t not include this… my favourite piece of music among many months.
Bruce’s evolution from electrifying club productions has been in the works a while, and this debut “singy” shows the care involved with that evolution. Incredibly exciting EP — watch!!
… Given the difficulty of my commitment to the newsletter, it’s really almost time to switch on the paywall. I did warn you! This may seem counterintuitive — “you struggle to make time for the task, so you’re asking for money for it?” — but I have full faith in my ingrained terror of letting down those relying on me that this will be a spur in my side.
The second prong to this narrative is that I’m really having a very hard time making it to the rent line these past few months, which looks set to continue for as long as I strive in writing and the odd bit of music PR. Many of you dear personal friends reading have stated your interest in supporting this project financially (and I hold you to no obligation — I’m more than aware of the difficulty of the times), and I’m encouraged by you to make the switch. To (try to) make it more fun, if you can spot typos and formatting errors or inconsistencies in my work I’ll give you three free months.
Much of Reach will still remain free and you’re not all gonna have an email next week demanding money (unless that’s automated, and in which case, sorry). I’ve been listening to some of your feedback and the letter will be streamlined, with Reviews appearing more regularly (around twice a month) and the Track Picks remaining a monthly job since it takes time to compile and order (there is always an order - listen on BMC), but will be a bit longer than normal and include several favourites from reviewed albums.
The free monthly version will include a very basic overview of the music covered: lists, and sharing of albums worth listening to, as simple for me to reproduce as possible. The meat, but no seasoning. The paid version will have the words and, maybe in time, more. We’ll see. I’m trying to curb my promising more often these days, along with the self-admonishing tongue, which is why I’m not apologising for the missed longform articles.
Pessimism aside, there are some interesting opportunities on the rise, which I’m looking forward to being able to share: some are related to the hastily assembled Reach #4, so read that if you’ve not already. Before I go, I’ll thank you once again for reading, and ask you one question:
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