BU.D.D.A.

For this album, co-released by attenuation circuit and Zhelezobeton, Bu.d.d.A. (Chris Sigdell aka b°tong and Sascha Stadlmeier aka EMERGE) have invited a number of international guests, including Bebawinigi from Italy as well as Drekka and Bees (Common Elder and King Elder) from the USA.

Rooted in the core duo of b°tong on guitar (this time more plucked than bowed) and synthesizers and EMERGE on violin, plus effects and field recordings, this release gains additional dimensions by adding the mournful piano work of Drekka – who is also credited with 'rain', and anyone who's ever seen Blade Runner will testify to the fact how much the sound of rain can contribute to an atmosphere. Vocals, too, are a new addition to Bu.d.d.A.'s sonic palette. Both the contributions of Bees and Bebawinigi avoid lyrics and traditional melodies, yet while the humming chant of Bees supports the drone structure of the piece, highly expressive female vocalist Bebawinigi turns loose one of her energetic multi-tracked outbursts and gently, but decidedly sets the atmosphere on fire, supported by guitarist b°tong, whose experience as a stoner rock guitarist in the band Leaden Fumes comes in handy at this point. All in all, Bu.d.d.A. on this album refine their common musical language and at the same time depart in several exciting new directions at once. The final piece by the duo alone, more rhythmic than any Bu.d.d.A. piece so far, even takes b°tong and EMERGE into some sort of free rock territory, a great promise of things to come.

File under: drone, ambient, free rock

(label info)