Talibam!

Music:

Member Since: 10/9/2006
Band Website: trashfactory.net/talibam/
Band Members:

Matt Mottel
s y n t h e s i z e r Kevin Shea
d r u m s

Influences: Reviews of our new LP The Excusable Earthling

"This is the second Talibam! disc in the past few months and it features the same duo of improv loonies: Matt Mottel on synth and Kevin Shea (from Peter Evans Qt & People) on drums. Unlike their previous CD on Azul Discografica, this one has no guests. Each side of this LP/EP has one 17 1/2 minute piece. Side 1 is called "Explosive Soul" and it contains some fine Sun Ra-like electric synth, twisted electronics and tight, explosive drums. This music is too focused to be considered just free-form noise. There is a strong and spirited connection between Matt's warped keyboards and Kevin's solid inter-weaving drums. About midway through the first side, the duo starts to rock out for a bit into a joyous groove and then ascend into an impressive wall of noise that finally breaks into fragments. Near the end they sound as if they are about to break into some great sixties rockin' riff tune, before the tempo explodes into a punk-rock rage. Side two is called "One Way Foot" and has that Sun Ra-like alien-worlds texture. Soon the cosmic sludge starts to thicken as Kevin's spins his percussive web into a more focused morass. Talibam! have a way of embracing various elements at the same time, free/noise meets head on with some more crazed punk-rockin' insanity. Most often they sound as if they are having fun, sometimes they almost go to far into the extreme. Inspired insanity from this ridiculous local duo." - BLG, Downtown Music Gallery

"Why is so much of the so-called experimental noise scene so apathetic? As much as people try to justify If one were to judge the musicians working in the polar musical extremes, the base similarities might very well be comparable to the disparities. Apathy is a turd, yet somehow it's become a prevailing mindset for many musicians, sadly even for those who thrive on being fringe. Deliberate apathy versus genuine ignorance — it's a fucking mess. Perhaps it's a case of misanthropy, but it's painful to watch fans rally around otherwise innocuous "noise" musicians whose only seeming function is to extend their braggadocio by being LOUD. Couple this with avant-garde music's otherwise arcane academics (think modern composition) and it's no wonder why so many people are left feeling alienated.But then we have groups like Talibam! Finally a band that lives up to its exclamatory moniker, Talibam! are a refreshing reminder that experiments in sound aren't inherently exclusionary, even ones so tonally harsh and rhythmically spastic. To the untrained listener and/or lazy journalist, the band could be construed as "wild," "untalented," or worst of all, "primitive," but even cursory listens to The Excusable Earthling reveal not layers or narratives or semiotic devices, but a very in-the-moment sound that resists any foretelling construction or organizing principle. It's the difference between genuinely responding to a joke with laughter and a sitcom character who doesn't laugh because it's not in the script. Still, it's far from anarchy — The Excusable Earthling is an invitation to engage, inclusive and intelligent, so organic and free-range it could be stocked in a natural food store.Although The Excusable Earthling is Talibam!'s first full-length vinyl release*, this fact belies the experience of the members. Consisting of one of the best drummers in the American underground Kevin Shea, the ever-so-explosive Matt Mottel on synthesizer, the members of Talibam! have worked with everyone from Cooper-Moore and Chris Corsano to Peter Evans and Akron/Family. But their vast list of related bands and collaborations say nothing about the music. Here's a signature sound, not in the sense of being "new" or necessarily "different," but because Shea and Mottel leave individual sonic imprints that are attuned specifically to each Talibam! moment, while any instance of seeming individuality is insinuated in a wider collective discourse. Sound stuffy? Don't worry, it's not reflected in the music.Talibam! are perfect examples of music not made, but done — communal in its approach, yet never regressing to trite psychedelia or transparent "primitivism." With an attentive ear and your guard let down, you can literally hear the band searching for different textures and varying dynamics, striving for moments of pure connection but also boldly looking for exits when they do. Hell, you may even get to hear a little tonality and a 4/4 beat. I'll be straight with you: this is "difficult" music, but only for as long as your cultured idioms allow it. The sounds are striking and the performance is penetrating — this is physical music, and if you can't get down with that, then you're in a world of theory and illusions. To be sure, any Talibam! recording is best approached as a document of a vibrant process, not a cold, aestheticized artifact. Besides, given our current political, social, and cultural circumstances, our interests would perhaps be more wisely vested in the very same movement and dynamicism that afford Talibam!'s musicking.* Talibam! also issued their first two "official" CD releases this year, including the highly, highly recommended studio album, Ordination Of The Globetrotting Conscripts." - Mr P, Tiny Mix Tapes

"Structured improvisation from Kevin Shea (drums) and Matt Mottel (synth). Darlings of a tiny sliver of the avant scene here in NYC, their heavy rep is fairly justified here across two sidelong pieces that hold the attention really well, as bits of melody grind it out amidst seamless transitions into freer modes of play. Quite a lot going on here given the rigidity of the lineup, a series of loose melodic attacks that gather steam then scatter in the wind. Sort of rock-based in spots, but I'm all for such cross-pollination. A good time herein." by Doug Mosurak, Dusted Magazine

Zebulon's Francophile café confines get a bit tighter tonight to celebrate anxiety-jazz Talibam!'s third (yes, third) release of the summer, The Excusable Earthling. Matt Mottel's synthesizer antics rip like he learned to play from John McLaughlin... Behind it all, drummer/show stealer Kevin Shea (voted World's Greatest Percussionist by the Japanese Journal of Bullying!) fondles a 3/4-size kit with maniac clatter. So see Talibam! before they release another Zappa-meets-Zorn concoction, or file a habeas petition at Guantanamo, whichever comes first. -MG, Flavorpill NYC , Issue 378

Record Label: evolvingear.com, Azul Discografica, Pendu, Gaffer
Type of Label: Indie