Saturday, August 30, 2008

Raglani - "Of Sirens Born" CD


Imagine my surprise to learn that this amazing and powerful set of drifting, narcotic kraut/dronescapes were created less than 4 hours from me - in (mostly) sleepy St. Louis, Missouri! Come to think of it, I've probably been in the company of Mr. Raglani at some shows in recent years...

Anyways, composer Joseph Raglani has been active with what local papers call 'noise' for some time, but this all-too-brief (35 minutes left me wanting more) selection of free-flowing, tonally-balanced sounds is far too nuanced to be consigned to that broad category. Inspired by the films of the great Werner Herzog and other filmmakers as much as by music, Raglani's organic-sounding tracks aren't so much melodic or rhythmic as evocative - mysterious and haunting, sometimes dark and other times light and full of life. These 5 tracks flow together nicely, actually being more involved and involving than simply ambient. These are wonderful tones to imagine and dream with. Maybe you like to meditate? Even that seems possible here. Congrats to Joseph on a supremely enjoyable debut journey on Kranky - may there be many more! (Kranky)

Raglani website

Pegasus Farms Records (Raglani's personal label)

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