PRICE:
$15.50
IN STOCK
ARTIST
TITLE
Barra Barra
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
MIA 015CD MIA 015CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
4/26/2011

This is the debut full-length release on Miasmah from Kaboom Karavan -- the Belgian collective led by Bram Bosteels. Kaboom Karavan has a history in theater, film and contemporary dance, but that doesn't really help shine a light on their music. They have collaborated with musicians all over the world including Miasmah's very own Kreng, and released a debut album on Mexico's Umor Rex imprint, but again, this probably only gives a small indicator of what the collective actually sound like. There is something effortlessly surreal about the band, and surrealism is an aspect of art often attempted and very rarely perfected. Here, Bosteels abuses his choice of instruments (and players) to the point where the listener would barely be able to place which instruments were being used at all, in fact at times you'd be hard pressed even to place what sort of music it was. Through a haze of pizzicato strings, clouds of sullen reverberation and clamorous percussion, you get the feeling that you have been catapulted into a universe just outside of perception. Jazz and Dadaism might be the cornerstones of Barra Barra but these disparate influences are twisted and melted beyond recognition, leaving only remnants on the finished product. Barra Barra is a complex album which takes patience to navigate through; you could hear the German clanking pre-industrialism of Einstürzende Neubauten, the slow, brooding doom of Bohren & Der Club Of Gore and the stuttering abstraction of Black To Comm, yet it still feels fresh and distinctly current. Unusually, the most fitting comparison might be the work of The Brothers Quay, as the ticking, creaking, stuttering songs feel perfectly matched with these flickering, haunted images. This is what makes the album such an appropriate addition to the Miasmah canon, and one that will haunt your dreams (and nightmares) for months to come.