If you’re at all like me, then too many times has psychedelic music caught your imagination, but ultimately, in so many cases, failed to hold your serious attention. Not so with this release! The Hungarian collective Kajgūn serves a sort of heavy, freewheeling psychedelia, underlined by an entirely improvised set and garnished with an approach in equal measure avante-garde metal and jazz-world-fusion. As to categorization, I catch myself broadly refering (if we must) back to prog-fusion, but in painting it broad, we must hone in on what makes this record special. As it turns out, that’s quite a lot.
Not only is Daogoad script-free, it never for one moment feels that way. It never meanders obscenely and never severs the connection to that raw metal undertone, which is cool. Everything comes together tastefully, to say the least, a scintilating medley of violin, sax and a vieriety of wind instruments, theremin and synths, all underpinned by the constant downtuned chunk of sludgy guitar grooves just this side of desert rock. You will recognize a few melodies, such as the violin refrain towards the end of the second track, ”Dhao Neyr Kouxmala,” the hypnagogic sounds beconing you from childhood, and at other points, too, a play on traditionals, somewhat familiar but more vital than ever before. You might get a wind of The Epic on the closer, ”Alaiyenna”. This thing can go anywhere.
From sitar drones to to klezmer squeals to metal distortions, trading off solos, riffing on clever turns conjured from the aether, some storied jazz-mans’ egregore, a call and response without boundaries, in the stylings of world music and jazz, reminding us again of the possibilities of the ”genre,” both in terms of where jazz can go and where metal can go, and should (as most agree) go, which is anywhere the mind carries.
Kajgūn’s Daogoad is damn worth a listen if you are at all psych-curious, like me. And there’s a good bet you’ll enjoy this if you come from anywhere on the genre spectrum on offer here. So if you’re having yourself an evening with the devil’s dill, grab your best cans (listening now on the Fostex th900 mk2 and getting a great spectrum of deep low end and sultry detailed midrange) and enjoy this standout release, not to be missed: Daogoad!
