Electric Mud is like a panoramic view of progressive rock...you need that macro lens to really capture everything this band has to offer. Electric Mud considers themselves a "...riff 'n' groove/prog 'n' blues...post-progressive rock band..." The "post-progressive" moniker has been bantered about quite a bit recently; a term that can be almost as vague as it is precise. Sometimes the search for all things prog takes unanticipated tangents...time to hop on the Autobahn and cruise around Germany with the radio cranked...
Cruising to the prog buffet this week I start with a plateful of a deep dark tune called "Canary in a Cathouse." The logical side of my music memory takes an immediate hit when a futuristic version of "Bridge of Sighs" seems to be wafting through my headphones, rattling my eardrums, and oozing down my spine. After the quizzical brow curl, I start to melt into the darkness that is this song. There is a definite Robin Trower influence--but there is also much more. Electric Mud digs deep into the prog garden soil here...the guitar has that gritty, "cigarettes-and-whiskey" feel to it while the bass keeps a steadfast barrier around the entire piece. Electric Mud is an adult dose--and fortunately I have my ID with me. Let's trudge further into the garden, shall we?
The next offering on the carving board is called "Burning in Water, Drowning in Flame." Electric Mud continues to fill the canvas with dark colors...the funk starts coming at you slow and determined...think Fire Garden with an Atlas Volt chaser. I feel Mark Knofler channeling through on the steel guitar as well. Solid drumming blends well with just the right amount of keyboard high notes to keep that fire from charring everything within earshot...
Electric Mud redefines fusion; whirling the emotional depths of Brian Eno with the fluid genius of Gentle Giant, and folding in the structured jazz stylings of Steely Dan while wrapping the entire creation in a dark mood swing that is Tool, you are well on your way down the prog garden path to the land of Electric Mud.
Liner Notes...Electric Mud is a relative prog newcomer, hailing from Springe/Hannover, Germany and coming to life sometime in 2011. More a concept than simply just a band, the minds behind the madness that make Electric Mud are founder and only actual member Hagen Bretschneider on psychedelic bass and autistic sound concepts. Nico Walser is credited with realizing the sound and performs schizoid synthesizers, guitars, bipolar sound consulting, and somnambulic engineering. Lennart Huper performs the manic guitar riffs, and Manfred Lohse put together the neurotic videos. Credits as viewed through a different lens to say the least...
The final serving from this week's dark and heavy prog feast is another thought provoking piece called "Deadend Mind." Immediate mind games as the song appears to end just as it begins; winding down with a slow and definite whoosh. The somnambulism is just getting started however, as Electric Mud hits you from angles you never knew were there. You feel the pulsating strobes bouncing off the inside of your head, and just when you realize some balance is back in your gait, another round of psychedelia batters your equilibrium as vertigo sends you reeling...
The music clip chosen for this week's viewing and listening pleasure is an exceptionally inquisitive song called "Black Dog." Another episode of Electric Mud luring you in with extensive soundscapes and layered riffs, only to pummel the logical side of your brain with a cacophony of noise, rough textures, and the feeling of floating through a dark hollow. Electric Mud is not a band for the faint of heart--but they do make music for the strong minded deep thinkers of the prog world. Learn more about Electric Mud and broaden your prog horizons at https://www.reverbnation.com/electricmud1
and https://soundcloud.com/electric-mud-1. You can also follow the band on Twitter @Electricmudd
and of course...Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Electric-Mud/497175683678980.
Just remember to dim the lights, check behind the sofa, and pour a dark German draught,,,you'll want to make it a long night...
Another week, another prog band exposed to the masses...and the progressive rock education continues. Electric Mud blends so many variations of the prog theme into a sound that hits with an authoritative thud, you almost need a shield. But therein lies the rub; the darkness settles all around you but in such a way as to almost protect you from the chaos it causes. Take some time and hunker down here in Deutschland and really listen to the music of Electric Mud; you'll be amazed at what you discover...
So as September continues to roll forward and seasons fall off the calendar, let us savor the bounty the prog garden has to offer and continue the search for all things prog...until next week...
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