08/01/12

Black Music Disaster
Black Music Disaster
Thirsty Ear

By Bill Milkowski

Matthew Shipp guests on this scary soundtrack to the monster movie in the deepest part of your id. Shipp’s droning The Phantom of the Opera-styled Farfisa organ tones open this otherworldly jam, a continuous 38-minute suite of improvised music. Drummer Steve Noble enters around the three-minute mark, pounding out humungous beats on the floor tom before offering up a rapid-fire ride-cymbal assault. British guitarist J. Spaceman from the group Spiritualized (and Shipp’s collaborator on the 2008 duo project SpaceShipp) unleashes some furious distortion-laced speed picking and wah-wah-inflected feedback squalls. In the midst of the maelstrom, multi-instrumentalist and sonic provocateur John Coxon from the British free-improv group Spring Heel Jack joins the fray with assorted electronic treatments as drummer Noble goes into full-blown “Wipe Out” mode, bringing the relentless jam to a turbulent peak. Hypnotic, unholy mayhem of the highest order.