Art of Primitive Sound

Musical Instruments From Prehistory: The Paleolithic

★★★

Imagine an album made up of basic natural items or simple instruments being played in an improv fashion, almost similar to EAI. This is that album completely. Slightly unnerving and patient, the musicians here pull every single texture and range out of their given items. It's much like letting two musicians into a forest or riverbed and letting them play around with what's around them, and I'm not too sure that it's all that enjoyable. 

It's interesting, but not something I'd come back to at all. It takes you to musical realms you haven't visited or even imagined before, but they're not all that great or inspiring. Simply more sounds and structures that are not found in almost any style of Western music, perhaps a tad in Eastern music though. 

It only seems to get darker and more sparse as the album pushes forward, perhaps going further back in time. It makes you wonder how people actually played music with these instruments; I'm willing to bet it's not in the fashion that these musicians do, but who knows. Maybe throughout history our perception of music has become so skewed that we cannot, in complete comfort, suggest that this is how our ancestors entertained themselves or kept their culture and traditions alive. 

Everything resonates with me in some way, from the track "Flying Rhombs", which reminds me of a revving car, to "The Horn, the Tortoise, the Bow, the Flintstone" which is reminiscent of some organic electronic music that has been coming out recently. The instruments by themselves are interesting enough, but seeing how these musicians work with them adds another layer of both mystery and questioning. There's a great discussion to be had about the origins of our music and its future. But that's for someone else. 

Favorite Song: The Horn, the Tortoise, the Bow, the Flintstone