A ritualistic veneration of the vacuum to which we are to return…
Set free by Dissociated Records (a new division of Signal Rex) on 6 May 2016 and confronted by Jason “the Space Occupier” Guest
Comprised of SG on “proclamation, rhythmic conduction, wind instruments, fire-water and amplified wood” and AC on “electricity, synthesizers, earth, wind instruments, repetition and space”, Portugal’s Tendagruta are a beautifully odd entity. Clearly, what we usually take to mean “musical instruments”, this demented duo do not.
A cavalcade of misshapen noises, resonances, hums, echoes, thuds, reverberations, crashes, clatters, crunches, clanks and silences, the six tracks that make up Ensalmo Do Sargaço are disturbing. Not only because the atmospheres and ambiences across this compilation would scare even the most unhinged of horror movie bad guys, but because they emanated from what I assume to be two humans. Something sinister resides within these tracks, and it is only too happy to rear its ugly head. Yet though there is a distinct menace and chilling tone across the soundscapes, there is a very present serenity to them.
As an aural dystopian vision, Ensalmo Do Sargaço is as harrowing as it is quietening. As a ritualistic veneration of the vacuum to which we are to return, it is traumatic. If this is what the future looks like, there’s little point in fearing it. We won’t be around to see it. As a limited run of 50 professional black cassettes – delivered with animal bones, no less – we can but hope it gets a wider and much-deserved release.
8 out of 10
Track listing:
- Urfuto Tripimivo
- Motim na Bouça
- Il Culta
- Desinova
- Monomossa
- Furna
