Filastine – Dirty Bomb
all damage done by musical weaponry.
Between tweets, orbiting the blog-o-sphere, and seeping in tuneage, I sometimes forget what it’s all about – experiencing music as an audience member. That is of course as a fan, but also just forking over a 10-spot and witnessing an artist perform his/her craft. So how better to be lead to the sharing of information but through the opportunity to witness, in the non-digital world, the fleshy thingness of a “globalista” such as Filastine performing in my city (Seattle) on April 11th at Chop Suey. Actually hailing from my current place of residence originally, and now living in Barcelona, Filastine’s second full-length “Dirty Bomb” was released on February 23rd via the DJ/Rupture-run Soot Records.
Sonically unable to be pigeon-holed, “Dirty Bomb” is in many ways a manifesto. Its indiscriminate , urgent, and raw sensibility is rooted deeply in a global attentiveness to the many sounds bursting from urban communities world-wide. These plethora of particularities translate into production that includes, dubstep, balkan brass, hip-hop and even bollywood. While the album strives to draw connections, and achieving such accessibility on many songs, the ideological structure of the album isn’t interested in fluidity and digestion. Filastine’s voice is loud and clear here, listen, but listen closely. As the album description says, this album is a “gritty soundclash of urban rhythm”(s), with the key word here being “clash”; and for a generation of listeners that cite The Beatles as quickly as they do Mannie Fresh, the musical tensions that are created in “Dirty Bomb” are invaluable.
So here for your aural (and “legal”) pleasure is my favorite tune from the record, “Singularities.” The song, indeed a paradoxical one, brilliantly tows the contentious line between arrhythmic and rhythmic percussion as well as melodious fluidity. Plus, it’s just plain and simply a dance-hall banger; the build-up is visceral, triumphant, and ultimately inspires one to move. Another “Dirty Bomb” tune can also be heard “in the mix” here in the 1st installment of the live mix series “Trash In Bassment.” The tune is called “Hungry Ghosts” featuring Wire MC (from Australia) & ECD (from Japan), and may or may not be available for download at the aforementioned link.
“Dirty Bomb” is available here, and there, on Soot Records. Filastine is on tour now, and in Seattle on April 11th at Chop Suey. Let’s go Seattle!
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