Praise for Phurpa‘s Trowo Phurnag Ceremony from San Francisco’s aQuarius Records: Ever wonder what a SUNNO))) record might sound like if instead of guitars and amps, it was just vocals? Well wonder no more. This new record on Ideologic Organ, a new label run by SUNNO)))’s Stephen O’Malley, offers up an incredible collection of ritualistic Tibetan vocal music, from a Russian group called Phurpa, and is easily the darkest, heaviest, most intense and breathtaking record we’ve heard in ages.
Anyone who has heard Tuvan throat singers live, or experienced the chanted prayers of Tibetan monks, know the power of the human voice, the mysterious harmonies, and strange overtones, with Tuvan’s adding an extra tone, each vocalist creating his own harmonies, or Tibetan monks creating specific overtones, much like the sounds captured here, but these voices while similar to classic Tibetan Buddhist rites, are actually unike any monastic chanting we’ve ever heard.
If you edited out the breaths, this could be some fucked up Lustmordian drone record. A thick near static wall of rumbling, reverberating sound, but the voices here are so organic, so pure and emotional, so much more intense and moving than any sort of synthesized sound. And with all five members singing, it creates this deep, lustrous, impossibly dark and downright scary, rib cage rattling harmony. A low end thrum that is so powerful, but not just sonically, these sounds connect on a much deeper level because of their pure humanity, no instruments, no effects, no amplification. This is some deep and primal soundmaking, similar sounds have been created and used for worship and mediation for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.
It’s the first instrument, the human voice, here pushed to its limit, creating a sound few can conceive of. A sound conjured up from the lungs, the heart, the soul, devastatingly powerful, and impossibly massive. The pieces here augmented with traditional Tibetan instruments, but usually only to introduce a song, otherwise, it’s a symphony of rumbling tones and deep vocal thrum. The sound darkly meditative, and mysteriously mesmerizing, occasionally building into a sound heavier than ANY metal record you’ve ever heard. And when the chants finally stop, it’s like a vacuum, all the air sucked out of the room, the utter and inevitable silence that follows such deep devotional sound.
So utterly gorgeous, totally and breathtakingly mesmerizing, consider this a should have been Record Of The Week. Absolutely a new favorite, and again, just about the most amazing sounds we’ve ever heard…
One of THEE most gorgeous cover designs we’ve seen from O’Malley yet, one that perfectly suits the music. A faded out image of a hand, holding some sort of mysterious ritualistic implement, an instrument perhaps, in front of a barely visible hooded figure. A truly haunting image, with Cyrillic characters printed over the top in a clear reflective spot varnish. The records housed in printed inner sleeves with stark black and white images of the cloaked members of the group, all seated on a stage, surrounded by their instruments, so completely visually breathtaking.
Originally released on CD by Sketis Music, Russia, 2008.
At 40 years old, Aquarius is the oldest independent record store in San Francisco. We try to only carry music we love, and we’re always searching for more new, cool, weird and wonderful music. All of which we then share with you, our loyal customers.
Tags: Album of the day, Aquarius Records, Editions Mego, Ideologic Organ, Phurpa, Stephen O'Mally, sunn o))), Trowo Phurnag, Trowo Phurnag Ceremony
This entry was posted on Saturday, July 9th, 2011 at 1:57 pm and is filed under 2011, Album of the Day, Roadburn Recommended . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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