VITAL WEEKLY is a weekly online-email publication that is generated out of The Netherlands by reviewer and sound artists Frans de Waard. VT is the OLDEST source for music reviews on the internet.. and it tends to focus on the obscure and experimental genres. Recently we sent 3 of the recent Instagon releases to VT for review and this week, in episode #877.. we got the results. We believe this is the 2nd review from VT that has mentioned a comparison to Throbbing Gristle within some recordings.. which is sweet.. also its great that vocalist Jenn Rogar received a nod for the tracks she appears on on the "Jazz for a Lesser Deamon" release.. so here are the reviews.. and if you want to read more reviews from Vital Weekly.. they can be found on the interweb at
www.vitalweekly.net
Reviews originally appearing in Vital Weekly #877:
INSTAGON - THEE PERPLEXITY OV A SHRINKING STEERING WHEEL (CDR by Auricular Records)
INSTAGON - JAZZ FOR A LESSER DEAMON (CDR by Thee Instagon Foundation)
INSTAGON'S GREATEST HITS (compilation CDR by Thee Instagon Foundation)
Music
by Instagon I surely heard over the years, and maybe even reviewed, but
I don't seem to easily find that relevant information. But maybe these
three will lead me to some coherent thoughts. Instagon call themselves an
'experimental sound art jazz jam band', whose membership is floating,
but with a nucleus of
Lob (lead bass, loops) and
Chad E. Williams
(guitar). Further instruments are drums, saxophone, trumpet, flute,
keyboards and vocals, sometimes with multiple players on boards. Their
releases count up to thirty in twenty years and are usually culled from
live recordings from a certain period - although these concerts are
sometimes sessions without an audience. The release on
Auricular Records
for instance has recordings from 2007 through to 2010 and show them in a
more experimental mood, I should think. Jazz is a word that doesn't
immediately come to mind when hearing this. It opens with the title
piece which lasts thirty-five minutes, of which almost the first half is the band
starting up with some vague rumbling before going somewhere. Spacious,
drifting, but also not too well recorded. Much of this recorded with
digital recorders with microphones attached to it, but to capture a band
of multiple players, and their amplification is not an easy task, and
not always the sound is very defined. That is a pity of course, but you
could argue that the rawness of the moment is captured by this, and none
is lost (nor enhanced). Its a long piece and spacious piece, just like
the closing thirty minutes of '
Thee Sickness Ov Losing Friends Over
Stupid Stuff On Facebook'. Spacious, drifting, not without a hint of
very early
Throbbing Gristle. In the two shorter pieces in between
Instagon goes out to free jazz a bit more, with bass and drums freaking
out, along with a marimba.
On '
Jazz For A Lesser Deamon', their 30th
full length album, we find live recordings from 2012. It sounds
different from the previous release, but that doesn't mean this should
be discussed in terms of progress. According to the press release this
happens to explore more the jazz side of the band. 'Garage-jazz sound'
is what they call it, and perhaps that is a most apt title for these
explorations in the world lo-fi recording. Lots of wind instruments
along with bass and drums, all set the mode from free to very free.
Maybe it's all too (free-) jazzy for me, these grandchildren of the
Sun
(Ra), with the big band playing, but I like the fact that it has a raw
energy and some excellent tunes that could work, when recorded properly,
work out as a fine soundtrack for a black/white film noir. The biggest
surprise are the final two tracks which has
Jenn Rogar on vocals.
Although primarily a folk singer, she is more like scatting around here,
and it makes things rather smooth. Now if progression is
anywhere on the list for Instagon, I'd say this is surely one (alone
with technical improvement on the recording side, like doing multi track
recordings; this music surely deserves that).
Of course the twenty
years of existence also prompted the release of a
greatest hits
compilation but then played by others, mostly friends I'd say from the
west coast. I recognized such names as
Nux Vomica, +dog+, Chad E.
Williams and One Infinite Loop and none of the others - fourteen hits
are to be found here. I am not sure, but that's perhaps because I am not
that familiar with all of those thirty full length releases, if these
are covers - playing their songs with your own instruments - or remixes,
in which sound sources from Instagon are used to create new songs. I
guess it doesn't really matter, and it's all more about doing a tribute.
All of the band's interests drop by here: the jazzy bass lines, sampled
rhythm patterns, noise, sampled melodies and all in between. I should
think more remix than actual cover, but perhaps I am all wrong about
this. Loud at times, quiet at others, maybe as diverse as the original
bunch. Including also the musical qualities of
Phog Masheen, Messier
7, Mile 97, Scott Heustis/Jeff Schwartz, Ogo Pogo, Corroded Master,
Stephen E. Elliott, Chopstick and Urban Sherpas. Nice one, and perhaps a
fine introduction also for some new names. (FdW)
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if you want information on how to GET any of these CD releases.. please contact instagon @ gmail.com
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