FORM A LOG- PENGUIN TIME LINE from Chrissy Jones on Vimeo.
A trio of tape manipulators stands around a table, twisting knobs, fiddling away at THINGS, ejecting and inserting tapes. The sounds coming forth from their efforts a befuddling mixture of bent til broken dance music, obscure samples obscured further into oblivion, lapses into noise, multi-directional sonic experimentation, sassy drunken sing-speak, and layered grooves built via the jagged contributions of the trio as a whole. FORM A LOG are the workers of this audio magic. And it is hard to say what it is, and where it is coming from, but of course this is how some of my favorite music can often make me feel. First and foremost I will say that the beat is important to these fellows (that’s Rick Weaver (of DINNER MUSIC), Noah Anthony (of NIGHT BURGER), and Ren Scofield (of CONTAINER)), not that it’s always present, but actually, in way it is. For when a propulsive rhythm is nowhere to be found amidst this group’s experiments, it seems to only enhance the notion that a strange groove is on its way. A harbinger for weird wiggle beckoning to come. And wiggle is what happens when listening to this, or at least to me (but I can’t be alone). I’m not ashamed to say it. It’s not really dancing that results from listening to FORM A LOG, the sounds often too fractured, the grooves often disjointed through and through. I recently was able to grab a couple tapes when the band came through Boston and I’d like to talk about one of them called LAP TOP (hopefully I’ll get to the other none too far down the line). “Night Riders” is a trippy wade through tweaky squeaks, screams of the damned, and ominous bass patterns that melt before your ears. There’s also a dubby vibe happening here all over some kind of hip hop beat that rides on through the whole sweet mess. As the track continues I have the sense of sinking into the murk, the song enveloping me (in a nonthreatening way) as it finally glitches to a halt. With almost no online presence the band stands mysterious. I know Ren lives in Providence, and perhaps the other two guys in Nashville, or elsewhere in the South? I did find the vid above for one of LAP TOP’s jams though. Enjoy “Penguin Time Line” and look out for Ren DJing Boston Hassle’s SCANNERS NIGHT this friday @ SBC.
