1099 - The Black Delta Movement - Beanpole
Background - Formed 15 years ago, 1099 is an instrumental post-rock collective from Trondheim, Norway.
Having released two double albums, a self-titled debut in 2012 and “Young Pines” in 2015, the Norwegian five-piece group is about to issue their third album “Blindpassasjer”, which means Blind Passenger in English and is set for release on May 11th via All Good Clean Records.
Featuring 12 instrumental tracks all recorded, mixed and mastered in Autumnsongs Recording Studio in Trondheim by Rhys Marsh, the new album has a quite dark and melancholic atmosphere.
With influences as diverse as Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Swans and Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore, 1099 combine elements of post-rock, space-rock and dark jazz to conjure a sound that is intensely engrossing and all of their own. FACEBOOK.
One of the good things about an instrumental band is that language barriers are not an issue, that said in the last few years, I have found myself increasingly engrossed by songs sung with lyrics I cannot understand. Whilst the album 'Blindpassasjer' might not challenge me lyrically, with some certainty I can confirm it really does captivate me musically. If this was a ship then post rock would be it's sturdy anchor, allowing the music to turn gently with the tide in varying directions with even the odd wave of jazz along the way.
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Background - Hull’s 6 Music-supported psych-rock outfit, The Black Delta Movement, have this week announced details of their debut album, ‘Preservation’, due out via Clubbed Thumb Records (distributed by Non Delux/Cargo Distribution) on August 3, 2018. In-line with sharing news of the album’s release, the group are sharing the video for recent single, ‘Butterfly’. The band will be performing a one-off show at The Strongroom, London on June 23, 2018.
Recorded with producer, Mike Burnham (Fuzz Club Records, Holy Wave) at his Lovebuzz Studios, London, ‘Preservation’ emerges as the segue between The Black Delta Movement’s early years, and where they are sonically propelling towards. Speaking about ‘Preservation’, which ties together influences drawn from BRMC, Thee Oh Sees and The Black Angels, frontman, guitarist and primary songwriter, Matt Burr says, “‘Preservation’ is literally preserving a series of songs that we felt really proud of that either never got recorded or we felt had grown over the years.”
Over the years, the band have earned approval from the likes of Anton Newcombe (The Brian Jonestown Massacre), Alan McGee (Creation Records) and Barrie Cadogan (Little Barrie/The The/Primal Scream), alongside sell out UK/EU tours and previous slots with the likes of Drenge, The Jesus & Mary Chain and Temples. The band will support the release of ‘Preservation’ with a full UK tour throughout September and October, dates to come shortly. WEBSITE.
Back in March we described the bands forthcoming album as "Sometimes full on garage rock, other times timeless psychedelic grooves, more often a mixture of both, the bands flowing psyched out vocals and potent guitar driven rock, is highly contagious" Along comes the video for 'Butterfly' our second song feature, and one that I reckon confirms our initial observations, and some!
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Background - Beanpole's unreleased LP is on it's way and the single "Farmer Loved An Onion" has now been shared. The LP, 'All My Kin', which features members of Primus and Spent Poets, will be out 8/31 on Chimera Music. When speaking about the song, guitarist Larry LaLonde says, "To get the vibe of recording a Beanpole song, you have to place yourself in a secluded farm valley full of mutant hillbillies trying to recreate melodies that were found on a broken record of Disneyland ride music."
As for the album, Chimera Music's Sean Lennon states, "It's a concept album for post-modern America. It chronicles the epic tale of Chicken Boy and his dangerously interrelated family. Years of isolation have resulted in the birth of a child who is part man and part poultry. Despite obvious adoration for their uniquely feathered offspring, having fallen upon hard times they consider the unthinkable: will Chicken Boy be sacrificed to feed his hungry family?" Bassist Les Claypool adds, "If Fellini, Dali, and Captain Kangaroo got together in their teens and ate peyote, this is the album they would have recorded."
All My Kin is the strange and somewhat unbelievable album collecting the music of an artist by the name of Beanpole. “Starving artist” must have been their mode of recording as stories of farming, eating, and disfigured animal-human hybrids course throughout the record. Very little is known about Beanpole, but it is widely recognized by collectors that most of the music originated from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some sources maintain Beanpole is still active, although evidence remains unsubstantiated.
Primus’ Les Claypool claims he attempted to release a decade’s worth of Beanpole recordings on his Prawn Song label in the ‘90s. We’re told that the tracks were delivered to the mastering studio on worn-out cassette tapes and dusty DATs. As legend has it, when Claypool played the mastered tracks to his distributor, the response from company executives was poor. As a result, Claypool was summarily dismissed from his business relationship with the distribution company, effectively ending his label. For nearly 20 years thereafter, the tracks were to remain forgotten. Fast forward to 2016 when Claypool was touring with Sean Lennon as The Claypool Lennon Delirium. Les played the old, neglected recordings to Sean, who decided that the world was finally ready for Beanpole! CHIMERA.
Lovers of music that is more than a little bit beyond "out there" may well find 'Farmer Loved An Onion' something to engage with. The vocals made me think of Tom Waits initially, a little smoother and deeper, but definitely having some bar room gusto. The music is equal to the challenge adding even more "out there" intrigue, and somehow I have to say this is one of those albums I just have to hear the day it's released.
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