Inwards Opened the Floor. - Staraya derevnya (2020)
Self-described as a “British-Israeli kraut folk collective,” this is a group of folk musicians blending modern and traditional instruments into a bizarre mix of pleasant melodies, punishing dissonance, and exploratory soundscapes.
I associate this with my pandemic lockdown listening, athough it says it was released in September of 2020 after that chapter was behind me and I was getting back to normal life. I suppose the oddness of the music compliments the oddness of rushing through the grocery store in a mask and gloves and trying not to touch or breathe anything, whether or not it actually happened in that sequence.
Things on the avant-garde edge of any genre are kind of hit and miss for me. I mean, of course they are. That’s the point.
For some music that gets lionized in retrospect as a bold new direction, I can see how our modern music world wouldn’t be the same if not for these artists who went over the edge to show us the way. John Cage, Ornette Coleman, etc.
Other things don’t necessarily stand the test of time. I suspect noboby is going to be talking about these guys in 50 years, but that’s probably not their fault. They’ve made some challenging and entertaining music.
