| Divorce Records - Obey Convention - Nadja Profile | |
Last year’s Obey Convention was excellent, but this one looks as if it’s going to overshadow it by far. Darcy Spidle, owner of Divorce Records, has been pulling some strings and has managed to pull in a variety of very excellent local and national acts. I’m going to profile a few artists, starting with the group I’m the most excited about.
are musicmakers Aidan Baker and Leah Buckareff. They make heavy, soul-crushing and uplifting ambient metal (/shoegaze/doom/drone/). Seldom completely abandoning melody and never letting up a wall of sound; Nadja makes some of the most immersive music I’ve ever heard.
Nadja began in 2003 as a studio project for Aidan Baker. In 2005, after releasing three studio albums (Touched, Skin Turns To Glass, Corrasion) and an EP (I Have Tasted the Fire Inside Your Mouth), Aidan brought Leah Buckareff into the project in order to perform live. They have since released 10 more full length albums, an EP, and 7 collaborations. Not only do they have a massive amount of material, but the quality of it all is very impressive.
Of course, Aidan Baker is a prolific artist on his own. Classically trained on the flute, and self-taught on guitar. He has over 100 albums and EPs that he has composed, contributed to, or collaborated on, as well as several books of poetry. His writings mirror his musical style in their darkness, brooding, length, and heresy; his book ‘Wound Culture’ includes the eleven stanza poem ‘Angel Tales’ which muses on the sex life of Angels.
Nadja’s most recent album, Desire in Uneasiness, is a more human offering than their older albums. A drum kit, rather than a programmed drum machine beat, makes the swelling sounds more accessible. While still dominating your sense, they make the feeling less abstract and more like a natural disaster. Seeing this version of Nadja in person promises to be a very memorable experience.
Myspace
Official Website
Label Website
A collection of excerpts of Aidan Baker’s poetry.
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1 Comment so farLeave a comment
Oh great let Darcy shine and leave me in the dark. I will never forgive this Neal.
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