Folkloristic music is always topical in one way or another, but in most cases remains conservative in the truest sense of the word. For some time now, however, various projects have set out to open up new, progressive perspectives based on folk music concepts. Širom are one of the spearheads of this dispersed movement and expand their approach on »The Liquified Throne Of Simplicity« in several ways. On the one hand, the five pieces take all the more time and space to unfold – the shortest is 3 minutes and 40, all the others between 16 and 20 minutes long – and also aim for a more diverse sonic palette. The atmosphere has darkened over this, however: the expansive opening track »Wilted Superstition Engaged in Copulation« brings together subtle rhythms and almost atonal drones, before »Grazes, Wrinkles, Drifts into Sleep« crafts a huge crescendo out of finely interlocked gentle sounds. The tentative »A Bluish Flickering« and the tense »Prods the Fire with a Bone, Rolls over with a Snake« also exude a rather foreboding feeling, before »I Unveil a Peppercorn to See It Vanish« concludes on a note of melancholy and longing. It is easy to attribute this to the pandemic running in the background and the accompanying erosion of social structures as well as to the resurgence of nationalist discourses in the trio’s Slovenian country of origin and elsewhere. However, by integrating instruments from different regions and cultures with their very distinct sonic qualities into a sound that is both aesthetically cohesive and stylistically open, Širom provide a double counter-proposal. Precisely because »The Liquified Throne Of Simplicity« lacks the joyful undertones of their previous three albums, it feels all the more urgent. This is adventurous, rebellious music.
Various Artists
Borga Revolution 3: Ghanaian Dance Music 1984-99
Kalita