Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Carlo Mombelli & The Prisoners of Strange - I Stared into My Head

Upped by request

I only listened to this by recommendation from someone else, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It's not in the style of what I usually post, but I figure most of what I post is fairly open-minded, so don't let that keep you from listening to it.
I guess the cover is a nice place to start: Weird dream-like African Dada kind of sums up the music. In the broadest sense this would be jazz, but each band member's talent allows this to have the creativity of a RIO album without any of the bullshit that usually covers that territory. The band's willingness to introduce electronics is checked by their musicianship; it all feels organic in the most original kind of way. For example, the first track has Coltrane-like sax wailing over African rhythms, later there's traces of Webern's strings, and it's not clear who or what is making these sounds. In any case, some great new jazz that's passed most people by due to its humble South African origins, so check it out.

http://www.mediafire.com/?lrjy8v662q96z74

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