Ok, I admit, this EP is not in any sense electronic music. Regardless, it’s the first release on Eastern Developments, a label co-run by a rather popular electronic musician, Scott Herren. You may have just happened to hear some music he’s written as Prefuse 73, Delarosa + Asora or Savath + Savalas. It’s also hard to deny that what you get on this release would appeal to many who read the reviews on this site. Slowly shifting rhythms based on repeating grooves, soft drones, deep bass tones, building layers of sound… these kinds of descriptions could just as easily be applied to most electronic sounds that get lumped under the IDM banner. I’m reminded of Stockhausen dismissing Aphex Twin’s music for being obsessed with “post-African rhythms”.
The players in Hu Vibrational are Adam Rudolph and Hamid Drake, both jazz percussionists. They let loose on a huge range of hand drums, including talking drums and similar tuned percussion. The drums do provide a lot of subtle harmonic content, but are joined in places by flute, thumb piano, harmonium (somewhat like an accordion) and sintir (a Moroccan stringed instrument a bit like a lute). Regardless, for the most part the five tracks presented here are just monster grooves, and the focus is rhythm. Being a big fan of soul and funk music I found the grooves here instantly struck a chord with me, but was also drawn in by the soft textures of the percussion. Rhythms roll and pulse and swell, with subtle changes in sound.
Perversely, the different instruments sometimes seem to stand in for elements you might anticipate in electronic dance forms. Deep, punchy hits punctuate “Calling to the Water Goddess” like junglistic drop bass. The wobbly bass and sparkling percussion of “Bonus Beats” in another context could be mistaken for computer generated sounds.
The last tracks of the EP were recorded earlier and do not appear to have involved Drake (at least in the writing). It’s a pity. Drake’s playing is always surprisingly peaceful and atmospheric, as demonstrated in his free jazz work elsewhere, and the first three tracks do have a much stronger ambience to them.
