Michael Evans and Dave Nuss create a percussive jungle of sound unlike any others. It's not a surprise that when the two musicians came together they'd leave behind an beautiful mess of music in their wake. They are pushing the gamut for sure but how else could they get it done really? Their entry in the Natch music series touches upon key elements of each musicians work over the years recalling moments of Nuss's involvement with the long running free improvisational group No Neck Blues Band who have become nothing more than an institution in New York's "underground" music community, while it touches upon any number of moments from Evans career with a vast number of collaborators over the years.
Throughout Evans and Nuss's contribution focuses on what the two do best in the percussive alleys of their minds while also opening up their compositional reach into some fully formed song craft. such as with track highlight "Dancing Stars". Beyond some loose thematic thread of dark hippie-isms gone awry into a psychedelic nightmare. A devotional air runs throughout creating an sonic atmosphere and vibe that similar attempts of a dark free improvisation can often lack when in the wrong hands. Definitely a keeper in the series.
Michael Evans & Dave Nuss's entry into the Natch series is available now via Black Dirt Studios. Did I mention that it's free as always? So really there is no reason not to dig in and let the good times roll!
Black Dirt Studio have been offering up some heady jams as of late via their collaborative series Natch. They have been releasing a steady stream the past few months & only seem to be picking up steam. That's really saying something for a series whose first start out of the gate was the recently featured Black Twig Pickers & Steve Gunn. Now with the addition of three more solid entries in the bag, including folks like Pigeons, Rahdunes, & Stellar Om Source Natch has been able to firmly cultivate a solid vibe & keep me guessing who will show up to jam next.
The latest entry into the catalogue, Natch 3, sees Aaron Moore & Carter Thornton two dudes I'm not too familiar with. The duo bring some pretty damaged electronic noise squall to the table that has been relatively absent from the series thus far. I wouldn't say noise rock is what's going here as there is something that feels somewhat premeditated & sculpted anchoring it down contrary to the more free wielding almost punk nature that I somewhat identify with the genre. The promo video's occult night-time vibes go a long way in saying what's going on here.
I must say that the latest entry in the series is quite a treat & in my opinion may be the apex of the catalogue thus far. Natch 0 sees Dave Nuss, Rahdunes, Stellar Om Source, & Aswara meet up for a 1 time sound excursion sure to leave a few brains fried. It works as a prequel, if you will, to the Natch series recorded before the series really got off the ground floor. As such it's our lucky stars that the series was started so these jams can reach some anxious & possibly otherworldly eardrums.
Back on the chronological track (kind of... oh wait I started with 3!) Natch 2 features Pigeons, Dave Shuford, & Margot Bianca. This collaboration does a fantastic job of blending the unique voices of each musician. It seems as if it were the product of a solid band lineup rather than a artists who just happened to be in the same place at the same time. The movements & styles of each compliment & play off one another in a way that seems to imply a deep musical bond. A bond which is lost within it's own bubble of existence in no hurry to jump on any passing notion letting each thought & action they express seep into your bones.
Black Dirt Studios Natch series is available for FREE via the Natch Tumblr. No limited, editioned, exclusive bull waggery here to distract just some solid jams by a bunch of cats striving towards their third eye (ear).
The good people behind Black Dirt Studios have announced a new series of collaborative recordings titled Natch. The first pairing of the batch comes in the form of some backwoods fried string music by Black Twig Pickers & Steve Gunn.
The music which skillfully unfolds develops upon key points of both the Pickers' & Gunn's oeuvres. The droning & buzzing frets of acoustic guitars, fiddles, and what have you are off & running, subtly blending elements of folk, blue grass, with moments of improvisation that owe as much to laid back jamming as it does to serious & technical improvisation. Meaning all you nerdy folk heads out there will have something to grab and decipher while the rest will be able to hang along for the ride & groove.
