N/Bu.d.d.A - (no title)
We get to check out Bu.d.d.a for the second time after we reviewed their monumental third album Erste Opfergaben (Marbre Negre, 2021). This album was recorded from 2020 to 2022 and created spontaneously and chaotically in a studio in Dortmund, by the founding members of Bu.d.d.a and Helmut Neidhart of a highly prolific project simply called N. The beautiful-looking blue artwork shows the ancient Papua New Guinea tribe called Mudmen. Just to get a little bit wiser regarding the mysterious mask. Here is what I could find of information regarding that.
According to one account, the Asaro tribe was defeated by an enemy tribe and sought refuge in the Asaro River. There, they encountered a man who granted them the ability to kill with their eyes. They waited until dusk to escape, but one of them was captured. When the captured member emerged from the muddy banks covered in mud, the enemy mistook him for a spirit and fled in fear, as many tribes in Papua New Guinea are fearful of spirits. Believing they had encountered a supernatural force, the enemy tribesmen fled back to their village and performed a special ceremony to ward off the spirits. The mudmen were unable to conceal their faces because it was believed that the mud from the Asaro River was poisonous. Instead, they crafted masks from heated pebbles and water from the waterfall.
The cool-looking vinyl is limited to 300 copies, and released by a label called Auf Aubwegen. The connection between an ancient tribe from Papua New Guinea and a drone-electronic act from Germany? Let us see if we can find the answer within the recording itself!
The first track is called Hoeschpark, Hoeschpark is a park area with a sports facility attached to it, offcourse located in Dortmund and opened in 1941. It was primarily made to attract unhealthy industrial workers to get out into "nature" and do some healthy activities. This track is over 20 minutes long and starts with a beautiful angelic drone from a dream... helped along by the sound of strings being gently plugged. Sensing the sun coming on, and the evocative mist levitating gentle to the blue sky. It´s quite beautiful, perfect ambient music with a touch of complexity. A darker stringed tone and some murky drones come later on, adding a bit of darkness to the track. At this point, we´re in that area... not in the morning, but in nighttime. Sensing the things that never sleep at this point, hearing the sounds of a living city in an isolated park area. Additional spoken-word vocals are added also, giving the mood a cool human element. Thunderous but subtle ritualistic rhythms get later on and give the track a menacing epic feel. Amazing journey within a track! Love how it transforms into something being optimistic and then... slowly descending into dark and complex areas of sound.
We turn the vinyl and jump right into the second track called Fohrenmood. Which I think, is a forest in Dortmund. The sound of beautifully reverbed guitar strings, and a strange hissing sound in the background. Effect-driven ghost´s vocals float in and out, u can just barely hear them. A hint of early kraut rock in here. Not actually sure where or when we get to the second track on the B-side, the two tracks have been mixed into one track on the B-side. We´re still in the forest, and I can hear birds chirping. And then the chirping stops, and we move into the last track!.
The last track is called Mare Tranquilltatis, a location not in Dortmund... but on the moon! Evocative stuff... almost religious. Drones made out of deep chanting voices, levitating ambient tones... and that inner machine sound that might come from the inner bowels of the USCSS Nostromo. Later on, the ambient tones get into a slowly built melody, giving me the sensation of being frightened by heights!
So what is the connection between the Mudmen and a German drone-ambient band? The tracks are about locations placed in Dortmund and the Moon. No doubt about it, the stuff they do is drenched in ancient mystery the same way the Mudmen are. But are we talking about an act that hides behind layers of sound, in the same way, the Mudmen use the mud masks? Might just be. Without a doubt, it functions as a perfect ambient album with some added dark complexity. It´s pleasant, but also menacing subtly. The kind of ambient album that u end up returning to since it has a variety of different moods. But it also catches the very realistic sound of existence ( in a way ), strong moments cannot exist without fragile moments.
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