“Svana Kirtan“
With opening song “Blood Looks Good in the Veins,” UBURGRUND may have invented a new style of music – noise funk. It is such a good track, featuring scuzzy static and general clamor, occasional vocal samples, and a sweet, subtle funky beat created by the noise machines. Not that I needed much encouragement, but it won me over to this album immediately.
Although less straightforward, there are many other rhythms that pop up throughout this album that help create a compelling music mix. Not that any of them are straight ahead dance beats, but they do lay down a structure from which much of the commotion is built. And speaking of commotion, another standout track is called “अभिमन्यु और पितामह भीष्म के बीच भयंकर युद्ध” (which Google tells me is Hindi for “Fierce war between Abhimanyu and Pitamah Bhishma”). The track sounds like the recording of a mini war (is there such a thing as a mini war?). UBURGRUND may open your third eye ear with “Svana Kirtan.”
“Limerent Alien” by NAVA SPATIALA and UBURGRUND
Is this just another typical romcom story where alien meets human? Why no, it’s a trip to the outer reaches and a view into the obsessions of an alien with this noisy split album between Uburgrund and Nava Spatiala.
The first half (at least time-wise) is made up of six tracks by (I’m guessing) Uburgrund that follows the contact between our limerant alien and our human from attraction through to, well, let’s call it consummation. It’s a wonderful presentation of noise(s) right from the first track, which features lots of spacey knob twisting, alien noises, pulsing, and on the fourth track [“Contact 4 (delectare)”] even some rough synth that at times brought to mind a very warped “Frankenstein” by Edgar Winter Group.
The final track is “Endless, Nameless” by Nava Spatiala. It is a delightful noise trip starting with what may be synths and distorted guitars, but constantly changes over its half hour run time; it’s a dense noise bed that evolves and adds and subtracts many different sounds as it plays out. It’s really well done. It’s a slightly different feel than the Ubugrund pieces, but certainly complements the first half of the album. I like to imagine it’s the alien traveling back home, reporting on his interaction with the human.