It's true that politics isn't by any stretch of the imagination my first love. In fact, love isn't really the right word in the slightest sense of the idea. But today, I turned to something little more easy-going: music. Having found myself recovering from what I believe to be a couple of chicken patties gone "afowl" this weekend, I found myself in an opportunity to listen to an album with which I’ve simple fallen in love over the past few weeks. The truth of the matter is that Shpongle's Nothing Lasts...But Nothing Is Lost, while deviating from the usual repertoire that one may typically find emanating through the halls of southern homes and offices, this album is a wonderful, fantastical journey through the minds of Simon Posford and Raja Ram.
Known for their fusion of traditional styles of music from all around the globe, Shpongle does not disappoint their fans with Nothing Lasts...But Nothing Is Lost. From the beginning, the listener is dropped into, from somewhere in the atmosphere, into a revolving collage of electronic rhythm and traditional sounds of guitar and drums. Much of the drum work in the background is tribal in some aspect or another as evidenced in tracks like Levitation Nation. Weaving in and out of the ever-changing river of beat are the wonderfully flowing moments in time when the acoustic guitar seems to bounce from flower to flower like a honey bee spreading pollen and gathering nectar. But just when the moment reaches a climax, the scene melts into a strange dream state evoking visions of the New Delhi skyline from across the Ganges River such as with the momentary interlude of Periscopes of Consciousness.
Not long after wading through the shallows of the famous Indian river, Posford and Ram continue the journey through the streets and nightlife of India as the listener's essence float through the heart of the cityscape to the edge of the surrounding areas. The continuous, winding rhythm leads the listener on a strange bus ride along the edges strange mental solitude as if the Indian moonrise blows a kiss to say goodbye to the daylight and welcome the evening. As we travel outside the walls and bustle of population, Shpongle interjects the central theme of the album that, according to William Blake, nothing is lost, like a strange American guide whispering in the ear of the traveller, interpreting the surrounding environments. Suddenly, everything slows down and begins to shutter. With the introduction of what seems like a second phase to Nothing Lasts...But Nothing Is Lost, When Shall I Be Free? accompanies the small party of travelers echoing that same question and reaching a rhetoric softly reminding one's ears that the journey is not over yet.
Posford and Ram at this point, step up to the plate and bring back some Western influence, taking the listener out of Asian landscape with a chorus of horns, drums, and guitar reminiscent of both Central and North American culture in The Stamen of the Shaman. But after a short stay in Panama, so to speak, the journey continues, reaching the shores of Africa where can be heard the momentary songs of the native peoples. But so as to not let us forget our roots, Shpongle lets one float into a groove of apprehension that begins to add layer after layer of electronic injections to the mix as tracks like Linguistic Mystic and Mentalism enter the scene. The momentary lapse in Africa is curtailed prematurely, though, as the voyage makes its way back into Asia with the album's fourteenth track, Invocation. For some reason unknown to the world traveler here, Shpongle bounces us to the heavens above the world in another mixture of rhythm like a child's toy ball, stopping briefly at a zenith made of more electronic tone and traditional Western rhythm before dropping back to the Earth with Turn Up The Silence. As the moment passes, the descent back to the ground below takes place just before the seventeenth track, Exhalation, strikes its first note.
As Nothing Lasts...But Nothing Is Lost comes to close with its last three tracks, the dream begins to dissolve somewhat as an odd awakening takes place. The sudden transformation brings memories of that untimely sleep that gets interrupted, and that feeling of stepping out into the cool, windy openness of the world with that dreadful physical fatigue one feels at those times - the air feels chillier than normal, and the racing particles of air seem coarser than usual. But the feeling is only temporary, as the reality comes into focus and our limbs shake off the previous attempts at rest. Both electric and acoustic guitars begin to drive the music as we get back into our normal rhythm here in our normal state and relax, slipping into an old pair of shoes. As the twentieth and final track suggests, the listener is finally Falling Awake.
Shpongle's Nothing Lasts...But Nothing Is Lost is a fantastic piece of music eclipsing their previous efforts, Are You Shpongled? and Tales Of The Inexpressible. Simon Posford and Raja Ram truly outperform even themselves on this wonderful offering to the world. Obviously meant to be listened to in its entirety and in order, the fabric of this album is one tapestry that takes us around the world in a meditation of culture and sound. Unlike so many other psychedelic trance or dance albums, I don't feel as if this album is meant for the likes of a rave or dance club. Actually, I find myself using this album, continually looping it from end to end, as I play video games and during the repetitive job of a technician. It allows my mind to settle and focus, and provides a relaxing undertone to the job before me, no matter how frivolous it may appear.
Good album. Check it out.
Invino Veritas
3/12/12
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