Band Name: Various
Album Name: Inderma Records: Volume 1
Best Element: Original, interesting bands
Genre: Improv/ambient
Website: http://www.indermamusic.com
Label Name: Inderma Records
Band E-mail: indermarecords@gmail.com
In the spirit of Russkaja, Morricone Youth, Iver, and Blue Ink Rebellion, here’s another bizarre and awesome new thing from Independent Clauses: Inderma Records. Yes, it’s an entire record label this time. Inderma Records specializes in improvisational music- music that hasn’t been made before it is performed/recorded and probably won’t ever be played in that way again. It is spontaneous songwriting that tests the chemistries of musicians to the maximum. It’s kind’ve like jazz, only without a commonly accepted point of reference. The collective state of mind of the group is the point of reference for a song.
These bands range from the rather complex, multi-person antics of Alchemy is Fire to the ambient, fuzzy Theanti to the dissonant and clangy duo Lamps to the extremely quirky, lo-fi pop of Cody Pike. Each have a say on this comp, whether it be Alchemy is Fire’s 15-minute long improv freak-out “Intergalactic Antics”, or Lamps’ two six-minute contributions, or Theanti’s shorter, glitchy ambient pieces.
Although this album is extremely interesting and exciting to me as a lover of new and interesting music, the point of improv isn’t to sit around and listen to it in your house. Improv is a live experience and as such, these recordings merely serve as impetus to go see the bands live. Cody Pike and Theanti have higher replay value, but bands like Alchemy is Fire and Lamps have little replay value. This is not to say they aren’t brilliant bands- it’s just that recordings are not the preferred method of hearing them. But sometimes there is no other way.
I’m thrilled that Inderma Records exists to help out bands like these. I think everyone deserves a fair shake, and the good people up at Inderma are making it easier for bands to do what they love. Everyone should hear this album, just to see what is happening- and since Inderma is a non-profit organization that makes all its albums available on their website, you can. Go there. It might inspire you.
-Stephen Carradini
independentclauses@hotmail.com