If, Bwana – 33 Birds Went
Since 1984, If, Bwana has existed as an ongoing, freeform music project of Al Margolis, he of Pogus label fame. Following numerous cassette albums in the ’80s and early ’90s, 33 Birds Went emerged in 1995 as the second-ever CD released by this outfit that features different guests each time out. Don’t be fooled by the bright rubber ducky on the cover, because the music on this compact disc will grab you by the shirt collar, dunk your whole head into a vat of Whisk, then throw you down the laundry chute for an all-night journey through a vast nocturnal netherworld. The first track, “Mal Air,” is a live group improvisation that billows out some prime, dark, avant-garde chamber classical flotation via bass clarinet, percussion and synth accented with gorgeous female singing. “Ellensbirds” finds cut-up bird samples and the same singing lady battling it out in a titanic reverb tank. The final three tracks, “Pi = Sinbad,” “Debtetc” and “Flute Thang,” continue the madness with sparse, super dreary and sometimes woozy sound worlds delivered delivered straight to your headspace via bass clarinet, cello, oboe, percussion, sax and snyth. It’s all so strange…yet somehow meditative.
Label: Pogus Catalog Number: P21007-2 Format: CD Packaging: Jewel case Tracks: 5 Total Time: 58:16 Country: United States Released: 1995 More: Bandcamp, Discogs, Official, Pogus, Soundcloud
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