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God bless the freaks! In this increasingly homogenized world any appearance of the mutant tendency is a cause for celebration. Think of it this way, the impulse towards rebellion and originality were traditionally the purview of artists and mystics. Artists inherited the previous generation's themes and modes with the implicit mission of rejecting and reinventing them. Mystics have always used the singular and visionary of the inner as a method to change the uniform and stale outer. Both of these models have been usurped. In the mind's eye of the public art has been reduced to pretty picture making. As for religion, when did Jesus become a Republican?
What roles do art and religion play in this world? As far as I can see, art has become subservient to decoration. Musical expression has been reduced down to that lowest of common denominators; the talent contest. While I'm sure that many find solace in their chosen faith, where is its' dissenting voice? Nowadays we get religious justifications and approval for everything from this brutal war to funeral hazing of dead soldiers who MAY have been gay. What ever happened to love thine enemy? What ever happened to the meek inheriting the Earth? The meek are not only not inheriting the Earth, they're being priced out of it and taxed for it.
It's into this stale slipstream that the nuts in Cloudland Canyon release their great new album, "Requiems Der Natur 2002-2004" (Tee Pee Records). This album is the cure for what ails ya! The tracks feature hypnotic synth washes and odd repetitive snippets of water, wind and animals. The odd blend of motorik, Kraut-Rock inspired madness and the warm organic and churning field recording samples give this album its' engrossing tension and charm. Sonically there are splashes and dashes of such noisy luminaries as Ash Ra Tempel, This Heat and Can. Repetitive loops of ruffled and crinkled warblings fold in on themselves with a fierce single-mindedness. Hushed and strangled mantras swell, congeal and finally sputter out into their constituent parts.
This is one of those sound worlds it is best to experience as a unit. Although it is separated into songs the strength of this release lies in its totality. So if you're aching to bust out of the gray world and spend a little creative time in a technicolor hysteria, check out Cloudland Canyon. Their music is a naked freak-out by moonlight in an electric forest.