“I believe we are enriched in life by interaction with mysteries, even if whimsically or as a thought experiment. Zeroing in on the ‘unexplained sky burner’ allowed me to step into the zone of the unknown in a playful, and mentally necessary way I think.” ~ Paul Dickow (aka Strategy)
A portal to explore the tropical wilderness
Imagine yourself on the edge of a world of infinite possibilities. The title Unexplained Sky Burners refers to an aerial incident above the Willamette Valley, located in Oregon, when a mysterious fireball soared through the atmosphere and disappeared into the light of the rising sun. The effect of this X-Files sighting on the music’s elusive energy remains to be determined. Portlander Paul Dickow describes his latest Strategy album as both a love letter to the myriad strains of breakbeat house and “a specific attempt to grapple with iconic samples in a kind of archaeological dissection, a process of understanding by doing.”
The artist elaborates, “I believe we are enriched in life by interaction with mysteries, even if whimsically or as a thought experiment. Zeroing in on the ‘unexplained sky burner’ allowed me to step into the zone of the unknown in a playful, and mentally necessary way I think.”
The first track establishes the pace for the entire album, a breezy swirling dance, lively and energizing, “Frontiera” (6:02) What I hear is a snappy bim a chkah with an extra alternate beat, the frontier is fast moving and light. Perhaps there are stories in the melody, with no words. “Unexplained Sky Burners” (5:38) is very specific, consider objects ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide, undergoing aerodynamic heating producing a streak of light, both from the glowing object and the trail of glowing particles that it leaves in its wake. Objects smaller than this are classified as micrometeoroids or space dust, vaporizing more than 100 km (330,000 ft) above ground over a period of several seconds. Imma bim a hup hup hup, expansive improvisational drones and restless forces at play, flowing across the night sky, would we ever see them in the daylight?
A breezy swirling dance, lively and energizing ::
Island beat, bright blue skies, Caribbean spin, bright blue water, “Blue Situation” (6:57)—endless beats getting faster slowly breaks down and starts again. “Bassmaker” (8:29) energizes, I hear something like pop a pop thrum um um, the ever energizing pace continues, now I am wearing star glasses baba, cosmic charm. “Bug Bongo” (6:50) comes from outer space to the dance floor, tanglefoot beats and deep echoes build into a funk cha cha. “Santur” (5:56) opens a portal to explore the tropical wilderness in an exotic time hypnotique. “Inside the Pyramid” (5:51) I hear tk tk t-tk flutelike electronics as the dance goes into the ancient mirror ball, “Koto Novo” (6:35) takes us tak pum tak pum chi-larum nimble turbo mantra melody.
Funky metallic drum floor with open spaces reaching around our friend the moon, the light is perfect and the beat keeps the energy strong and positive. This is bm chak bm chak bm chaka kinetic and uplifting, in a funky flicker flirt: “Super Moon” (7:44).
So far Strategy has performed in such interesting places as a planetarium in France; in front of a mechanically animated dome structure / art piece in a vacant building in downtown LA; in a vacant retail space in Antwerp, Belgium; in a historic art space in Seattle which had been a creepy “home for wayward girls” a long time ago. Visit www.waywardmusic.org.
Strategy suggests that music is the first language, or perhaps second depending on if you think dance came first. He experiments with music, “I’m stepping into some unknown adventure or happening upon a mysterious epiphany that beckons being unpacked, but can never be completely unpacked.” The meaning behind the alias Strategy is ironic. “There’s absolutely no plan. I just go with whatever strikes me in the moment and explore / luck / stumble / experiment my way into all the music!“
Unexplained Sky Burners is available on Peak oil. [Bandcamp]
