August 2021 – Page 2 – 7th Level Music

Gordon Koang releases “Disco” in time for your end of summer parties.

Legendary South Sudanese pop star Gordon Koang releases a new track, “Disco,” off of his forthcoming Coronavirus / Disco 12”, out today via Music in Exile. “Disco” follows the recently released “Coronavirus,” but the new single was actually written by Koang in 1997.

Although it’s been a highlight in his live performances, this is the first time “Disco” has been recorded and made available for his audience to dance to at home. Written as a love song, “Disco” shares his trademark messages of peace and unity, dance floor style. Beginning with fast and almost rap-like vocal delivery in his native tongue, Nuer, the energy is high from the very start. With pulsating bass lines and interweaving instrumental melodies, the band is almost mesmerizing and urging in their accompaniment. When asked what he wants listeners to feel when hearing this song, he says “I need them to be happy, to listen to the song, to know that they will get advice from this song, to feel it in their heart, when they listen to music they will
be comfortable, be happy!”

Listen to Gordon Koang’s “Disco”

The Coronavirus / Disco 12” is his first offering since 2020’s “idiosyncratically joyous”
(Bandcamp) Unity. After two weeks in hotel quarantine (following a visit to his family), Gordon and Paul returned to Melbourne, eager to record music once more. With lockdown lifting, Gordon headed to the studio with a new band featuring Zak Olsen (ORB, Traffik Island) Jack Kong (Baked Beans, Traffik Island), David “Daff” Gravolin (ORB), and Jesse Williams (Leah Senior, Girlatones). This new release is the result of these studio sessions, jamming and recording at Button Pusher in Preston, Melbourne.

The “Coronavirus / Disco 12” will feature a pull-out poster from Gordon, encouraging listeners to stay positive during this difficult time.

Order “Coronavirus / Disco 12.”

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you split.]

[Thanks to Jim at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Butterfly 3000

Released without any singles dropped ahead of time, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard‘s newest album, Butterfly 3000, was a mystery up until its release…and still is in many ways. The cover alone has things hidden in it, the lyrics are full of introspection and philosophy, and it’s an electro record to boot. This from a band known mostly for its psychedelic sounds, or even thrash metal.

The album opens with a track called “Yours,” an indication that the album is a gift to all of us. The poppy, happy synths bump hips with Michael Cavanaugh‘s joyful drumming and you instantly know that this KGATLW album will be different from any you’ve heard before now. The album was made in quarantine by the band members sending each other samples, loops, and tracks via e-mail and digital download. Frontman Stuart Mackenzie has famously said the album cost nothing for them to make as a result.

The vocals on “Shanghai” blend into the synths to the point where you’re not such which is shadowing which. “Dreams” could be the track that sums up the whole album. Every track is about some kind of journey, growth, or peeling away of illusions. “I only want to wake up in my dream,” Mackenzie sings. Where does the dream end and reality begin? It’s difficult to tell at times, and sometimes you’d rather stay in one than return to the other. The song melts / morphs into “Blue Morpho,” which will probably end up in an Australian sci-fi movie soundtrack in the near future.

“Interior People” is the closest the band gets to a “classic” King Gizz-type of jam with its rolling beats and guitars, but those know when to step back and let the synths and electric piano move to the front. “Catching Smoke” is a standout, with electro-disco synths and hip-shaking beats. It reminds me of some of Bayonne‘s work. “2.02 Killer Year” is probably a treatise on 2020, but it’s so damn peppy that you can’t be sad while hearing it. I mean, it’s full of bright sounds, lasers, hungry hippo bass, and even harp plucks.

“Black Hot Soup” seems to harken back a bit to the psychedelia of Gumboot Soup, but still keeps synth effects on the vocals. “Ya Love” mostly repeats the title as the band jumps back and forth between happy puppy synths and rollercoaster rhythms. The electric heartbeat of the title track closes the album alongside a building synth riff that takes off like a new butterfly emerging from its cocoon and fluttering toward the sun.

The whole album is like that – a liftoff to a brighter future. We could all stand to follow KGATLW’s lead and move forward instead of letting 2020, or our past in general, weigh us down.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you float away.]

[Thanks to Jacob at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Review: Arthhur – Occult Fractures

Looking at the cover of Occult Fractures – the new album from Chicago’s Arthhur – you might guess that it’s a psychedelic rock record, or perhaps a doom album with its images of a skull, bone, and some sort of black ooze creeping from under a door.

No, it’s a dance-rock record – and a good one.

It opens with “Antihistamine Money,” which is over eleven minutes long, and percolates with vintage synths, funk bass, and LCD Soundsystem-like beats while lead singer Mike Fox sings about the club scene, those who put on airs in such a scene, and learning not to give a damn about them while you’re having fun. It’s an amazing track and a bold burst out of the gate for Arthhur. Luke Dahlgren‘s bass on “Doom Journalism” sounds like it’s plugged into a Red Bull can while they sing about the twenty-four -hour news cycles (“Fear is the engine, and they are the wheels. We are the drivers.”).

“Ripped and Dumb” is a funny track about people wanting to improve themselves not to better themselves, but actually to impress other people (and not realizing those people don’t give a crap). Sure, the subject says, “I don’t like you or any of your friends,” but who else is he trying to impress? “(Immanentizing the) Eschaton” is another long track with tick-tock percussion from Matt Ciani and guitar work that moves around the room like an intriguing stranger at a party while Mike Fox sings about trying to bring about the post-afterlife in the here and now. Heavy stuff, indeed, but it’s full of krautrock grooves, so don’t let it worry you.

“Keep Moving” drips with funk and is full of lyrics about getting up when the chips are down (“When the dark closes in, don’t stop.”). “No Results,” with skronking, crazy saxophone work by Joe Duran and Noah Wood, is pretty much a straight-up punk rock tune that knocks you back on your heels. “Never Enuff” gets back to the soul / funk grooves and has those formerly angry saxophones now playing sexy bedroom grooves. The title track is a slow-building jam that reminds me of Ghost in the Machine-era Police mixed with a bit of yacht rock. “Ripped and Patient” closes the album with a slower instrumental version of “Ripped and Dumb” – almost like a record player winding down due to a power outage.

It’s a sharp record, and I’m keen on catching these guys live sometime. I’m sure they’d put on a fun show judging from this funky mix of styles.

Keep your mind open.

[Don’t forget to subscribe before you split.]

[Thanks to Matt Ciani.]