Inner Paradise - Yurōpa Zindahbād
written by Mads Heilskov
Yurōpa Zindahbād is their seventh and final release and features seven tracks recorded in various European countries over several years. The sound is quite diverse, to say the least, but can be summed up as consisting of cut-up loops of mantras and samples with tribal rhythmic elements and reverberated noises of different kinds, sometimes in the foreground and sometimes in the background.
These vary between what feels like field recordings from rituals and busy streets and more synthetic noise sounds. The beats and mantras at times remind me of 80s aerobic videos only to venture into what can probably best be described as primitive metallic synth punk (thinking of track 3 here), while most of them fall between “ethnic” field recordings and harsh noise territory.
Throughout the tape, the pace and tone shift effortlessly between the somber and spiritual to the upbeat and almost comical, and most of the time I feel like I’m listening to some weird old field recording of an ancient mushroom-fuelled ceremony that is constantly being interrupted by commercials, billboards, plastic prophets, and street salesmen. As the reader might gather, the style and vision are unique but also confusing and truly psychedelic. It's not hippie-psychedelic, mind you, but more like a trip inside a mind that is utterly disturbed and caught between worlds.
As such, this tape is caught between two worlds; an ancient one which is calm and with a spiritual focus, and a modern one that keeps zooming in and out on…nothing…and without aim while constantly letting itself be interrupted by buzzing noise. This, I think is the essence of Yurōpa Zindahbād: the confrontation between old and new, the spiritual and the commercial, the inwards-looking and the outwards-looking, the solemn monastery, and the noisy city. It thereby holds up a perfect mirror for us of a world that will destroy your soul and tell you not to worry because, you know, yoga, meditation, incense, a healthy diet, and green tea, all very refined and expensive, will save you and give you peace – at a very fair price.
Of course, Inner Paradise says it best in the liner notes: “Everything is tracked, wear Nike, drink Coca-Cola, watch porn, exploit and be exploited, buy online and wait for the war. Always accept therapeutic capitalism, enjoy greenwashing, enjoy pinkwashing, get a tattoo, go to Israel for a Goa party, and love the war. The screen is mass destruction”. In sum: instead of buying your stupid meditation kit and green tea picked by children, buy this tape, and then go on and do something worthwhile with that life you don’t deserve.
