Septimania the musical project takes in a much wider territory than Septimania the early medieval duchy ever did. Based in Providence, RI, it has drawn on the talents of JT's former bandmates in the Amoebic Ensemble (forerunner band to Alec Redfearn and the Eyesores) as well as noteworthies from V.Majestic, Thee Hydrogen Terrors, and Plymouth Rock. Septimania has had further happy recourse to the vocal finery of Angel Dean, previously of Last Roundup, Angel Dean & The Zephyrs, and Shackwacky. New York collaborators include members of Escape by Ostrich, The Scene Is Now, Run On, and Amy Allison and the Maudlins. In Upstate New York, Septimania has had an especially productive alliance with J.D. King and the Coachmen. From Septimania's outpost in Sweden have come contributions by members of Kräldjursanstalten, Dynamo Remont, and scumCrown. And in France, Septimania has enjoyed the collaboration of Etron Fou and Volapük founder Guigou Chenevier. While the original duchy did entail some coveted real estate (the French coast west of Marseille), the modern Septimania-without-boundaries offers up soundscapes all the more cosmopolitan, and is in much less danger of being overrun by Merovingian Franks and Saracens.
The CD Welcome to Septimania is available at Wayside Music
or CD Baby
Downloads can be had via iTunes Music Store
Some Good Press for Welcome to Septimania
By Bob Gulla, Providence Phoenix: OK, now here’s something to reckon with. Jonathan Thomas of the Panic Band and Amoebic Ensemble joining together with folks from Plymouth Rock, V.Majestic, and others for a cacophonous journey through experimental sound. Thomas calls it "a series of collaborations, or a solo project for 32 players," which I think is appropriate… Do you get some sense of the capriciousness, fun, and fiendish pleasure you can have at the hands of Septimania?
By Piero Scaruffi, A Review of Music: The album contains divinely cartoonish "kitchenware" novelties such as Don't Worry About Rupture and Bali Hoo, as well as the organ-driven proto-surf music of In Praise Of Crabgrass, the demented fanfare of Here Come The Cool Jerks and the cosmic free-jazz of Visitors 1 Univers 0. The Pianosaurus used to do something similar with toy instruments, but Thomas could turn even your kitchen utensils into an orchestra.
By Bart Plantenga, Wreck This Mess, Radio Patapoe (Amsterdam): Septimania is a precise and accurate foray into post-rock. Intelligence beyond good and evil, and humor that dwarfs what passes for cynical humor in the Indie pop market.
By Jochen Rindfry, Babyblaue Prog-Reviews: Ein tolles, unterhaltsames, wunderbar unprätentiöses Album!
By Gary Hill, Music Street Journal: I know that there are a number of prog heads out there who are into just this type of music. There is no one style that carries throughout every song (that’s how adventurous this is). However, the majority of the material here is essential free form tone poems heavy on sound effects and dissonance. That puts into similar territory as the RIO movement. It also doesn’t sit far from the sounds of such acts as Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, King Crimson (their weirder stuff) and others. Fans of that type of music should really enjoy this disc a lot.
By Bruce Gallanter, Downtown Music Gallery: Septimania is Jonathan Thomas & friends who include Rick Brown (V-Effect—Run On), Angel Dean, Chris Nelson (The Scene is Now) and various members of the Amoebic Ensemble—which Jonathan was a member of. Mr. Thomas plays mostly kitchenware percussion and keyboards and put together this extremely odd yet charming cd. Instrumentation includes quite a diverse range—pedal steel, violin, mandolin, contrabassoon, bazouki, autoharp, musical saw, saxes, trumpet, accordion and keyboards. Jon's goofy percussion is at the center of each of these pieces and there is always the element of fun involved. Slightly twisted exotica, surf and other endearing weirdness. Certain to be a hit on WFMU!
By Jon Davis, Exposé: For something so much outside the normal stream of music, this is a lot of fun, played with a sense of humor and playfulness without being either juvenile goofing-off or forced artsy irony. And who could argue with a title like "Here Come the Cool Jerks"?
