Album review: Maranata - Royal Hex

Free-noise duo Maranata have collaborated with some big figures in the experimental scene including Maja S.K Ratkje and C.Spencer Yeh. On this effort, released on a 175 cassette run (remember that, it’s important), they collaborate with Sayaka Himeno, Sakaya Himeno of Japanese all girl trio Nisennenmondai. This is probably the main thing that piqued my interest, as she is a drummer of the highest order and she shows it with aerobic but tightly controlled drumming which takes as much from free jazz as it does from Lightning Bolt.

My first impression of this album was that it had a very low-fi aesthetic, as might be expect. You may recall, however, that this was a cassette, and after rigorous cleaning of the heads I discovered that this wasn’t the case at all, or certainly much less than I expected. The perils of using a non-digital format…

If I haven’t exactly been forthcoming in describing most of the album, it’s because I was a little flabbergasted. It’s an assault on the ears, firing through a selection of genres, and while it may only have appeal to noiseheads, it is worth noting that it is very diverse and subtly unlike any other album I’ve heard to date.

Jon Wesseltoft’s guitar is almost ever present, bringing in at time punky and doomy motifs and at times simply noisy. Dag Stiberg performs saxophone duties. As well as its contribution to jazz, people like Mats Gustafsson have used the saxophone to add noise, and this is certainly the role here. The saxophone is just as ever present as the guitar but lower in the mix, sounding a little like a screamed vocal at low volume. It does, however, rear its head at appropriate moments, giving it almost a tidal feel and any moment where it prevails seems to have a rather climactic air to it.

It does have some less dense moments, the start of the second side – Royal Hex (each track is a side long) is a good example, where the sound is more groove oriented, as the drums slowly speed up bringing the music back into the noisier territories where it belongs.

Aquarius Records compared the album to Borbetomagus jamming with Lightning Bolt and, to be honest, I’m not sure I can top that.