Review: Bhajan Bhoy ‘Electrisol’
On the press releases I receive, there is often a lot of ego-boosting and blowing smoke up the artists’ backsides; well, that’s the job of PR, I suppose, but the first line of this one resonates a lot with me. It says, ‘There are records that feel assembled, and there are records that feel discovered’, and this beautifully sums up where I’m currently at on my musical voyage.
It was describing Ajay Saggar’s Bhajan Bhoy project, which is next on my treadmill of discovery, with his latest offering Electrisol. It’s a collection of ten songs, combining elements of psychedelic folk, dub and shoegaze, all collectively wrapped up in layers of ambient electronica that hypnotise the listener. From the beginning of Africa Cup Of Nations, the hands of friendship are extended across to pull you into Saggar’s immersive environment, and you are soon transfixed.
The music itself is described as elements that ‘coexist in a strange but entirely logical ecosystem’as my listening mind is dragged all over the place. There are nostalgic echoes of Mr Scruff and Orbital as the pot of gold that is Palidena serves up rich, textured melodies, with joyous laughter casting thoughts back to childhood memories.
elements of psychedelic folk, dub and shoegaze, all collectively wrapped up in layers of ambient electronica…
Listening back to the album, Saggar commented the ‘tracks shimmer and float in their own sonic celestial universe’, and Mind Melt offers up more developed notes that move like tectonic plates. Meaningful and slow, it’s sprinkled with cosmic dust before its heartbeat is revealed. It feels like skin being ripped off to show what beauty lies beneath before Om Gong brings the music to life, with a softly pulsating and uplifting bassline.
The whole album is perpetual motion in true life form, with pockets of sounds bursting into existence at a moment’s notice. The chirping birds on The Nightingale’s Lament bring fond spring memories to the fore, whereas Flicker Dreams leaves me curious about its meaning with an array of, what I assume are film scores manipulated over a moving section of music. Buddha Bargeld leads you down another path of discovery with a plethora of experimental eruptions that rise and disappear like a fairground whack-a-mole.
Alongside Palidena, next track Desert Techno Club is probably my favourite, as it builds a new future on top of old classics. As the press release states, ‘This isn’t an exercise in recreating favourite records from the past’ but delving into their history and expanding upon them, which sums it up perfectly. The penultimate I Can See The Lights Of Heaven is an expansive oasis of gentle patterns ahead of Phase G#, a moving, somewhat emotional piece of music that will hopefully alter your perception of what has gone before it.
Label: Cardinal Fuzz | Feeding Tube Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Scribed by: Matthew Williams
