leslie keffer + nyoka shoje ~ bayou version (shield maiden, 2024)
In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river, marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They typically contain brackish water highly conducive to fish life and plankton ~ wikipedia
there are many types of drone music ~ from wall-of-sound type and harsh abrasive textures, to mellow tones sustained in the air, pure sound fields of transparency. and that's natural, in the sense that music is a part of nature as well, (a living) being produced by human creatures, which are part of nature as well, want they or not. while most of what we normally consider music is usually an expression of purely human affairs (thoughts, ideas, emotions), drone music always tends to reflect something way more basic. a pure element, refined to complete transparency in almost alchemical sense ~ to see the essence of it. as Maeror Tri, german drone music pioneers stated: "the purpose of this is to reveal primordial forces, the very foundation of consciousness...". "and nature" i should add, because the foundation is common here.
for example why we should think of a vinyl record as something artificial when it's no different from a tree bark ~ it ages, it can be scratched, it can be destroyed in fire... but it has a history written on it. the only difference i can think of is that every tree has its own history and no bark is the same. nature is very good at making copies, keeping each and every copy unique, but what for? we can follow "the nature" (as some separate object in our mind) by trying to do the same, or we can just accept the fact that through us nature tries the new ways to copy things, to sustain them. and that's why our uniqueness is important, even if it's unseen to the modern eye wearing the market value glasses.
this album, the first to jump-start a new Shield Maiden label, doesn't try to impress you from the first seconds. it won't be picked up by social media algorithms, it's not something you can impress a party with, only if that's a sleepover party of some droneheads like myself. but this album is meant just to be there. somewhere in the depths of Bandcamp. and i'm glad it exists. because sometimes, late at night or early in the morning, when the life is slow, i can silently enjoy it. not necessarily thinking all the thoughts i had above. maybe not even thinking at all. just being like a tree by a slowly moving stream. soaking some sunlight. and being grateful to be there.
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