Ritual Fever dives deeply into ritualistic influences; both the vocals, reminiscent of chants and mantras, and the earth-rattling sustained drones help send the listener into a trance, as if they were lying down in the middle of a field, waiting to ascend into a higher world.
Distant echoing hymns guide you
As Water Is the Sun, the duo of Michael Anderson and Adam Parks, have produced their first fully collective effort, Ritual Fever. It is an aptly titled record, one that dives deeply into ritualistic influences; both the vocals, reminiscent of chants and mantras, and the earth-rattling sustained drones help send the listener into a trance, as if they were lying down in the middle of a field, waiting to ascend into a higher world. I do mean it that seriously, because the music is very captivating.
There’s only two lengthy, multipart tracks on this tape, which helps settle an even deeper atmosphere. Side A, titled in its various segments as “inward she turns her feathered hand / western grave / peace, my constant prayer / charmed of lesser beasts,” is incredibly immersive. It is a fantastic blend of drones, altered vocal samples, and actual chants that will have you transcend into a different dimension. I mostly love how wonderfully the piece is structured, how massively it builds into its humongous drones. It starts off rather quietly, because even if drones are present initially, they’re rather smooth and, with some added effects, also very relaxing; after more than eight minutes of this wonderfully relaxing trance, the real journey begins: distant echoing hymns guide you as these gigantic drones make your eardrums wobble.
This part of the piece is genuinely phenomenal; the drones especially are so monstrous, overwhelmingly euphoric. The piece settles down afterwards, but the wonder continues; almost as if the ritual worked, you’re now submerged in soundscapes filled with distant reversed vocal samples, as though they were some sort of unintelligible memory, or as if the people around you had turned into another lifeform.
The second piece (titled: “jhonn ghoul / landscape is body is light / tremors of a miracle / night claims / a place the water can be cold”) does not make me quite as ecstatic, but it still holds lots of sweet moments. I really appreciate the opening part, “johnn ghoul,” possibly the creepiest part of the record, as instead of sounding like a tribalistic ritual in a field, it feels like you’ve been forcefully dragged into a sect. Then follow rumbling timpani, more distorted vocal samples, and peace, at last. The center part of this track I find drags on a bit too much, as there’s no wow factor like there is on Side A, but the later segments offer some really nice ambience that dilutes the eerie atmosphere of the piece for a sweet finale.
Safe to say that this LP most definitely captured me, whether that was due to my own will or… to the will of some higher power. I hope that strange events or misfortunes won’t be happening in my room soon, because I’d be glad to replay this record and take on a bit of a journey. Side A is a must-listen for fans of this type of music, fans of the occult, or just fans of great music—they won’t be disappointed.
Ritual Fever is available on Trome / Tocco Magico.
