Ñaka Ñaka - "¿¿"

The scientific profession is a dangerous.

Absolutely no safety can be guaranteed.

Like most rebels, Galileo moonlighted as a scofflaw. Facts are unchanging, but conventional wisdom is slow to come evolve. If for no other reason, Darwin has found his set of detractors as well. For whatever reason new ideas are difficult to comprehend and much more difficult to accept.

 There is, however, one scientist that proves to be an exception to the very unpredictable norm.

Death rays make for great television, after all. But weaponry to the discussion at hand. After all, it was Archimedes that realized that an object's contents matter the most. Like a king's gold crown, the song below is pure. Titled, "¿¿" the track was released earlier today by Mexico's Ñaka Ñaka (covered for the first time on these pages quite some time ago). The cosmic sounds - alternatively, music with harmony - are typically ambient. Images are conjured of a gutted house with only a facade left behind. Only three or four different sounds are heard in the most literal of senses. Not unlike a rapper's flow the use of three to four sounds can be taken as cold. Two synths are accounted for: one for melody and one for bass. Each plays a role in determining the rhythm. Harmony is essentially provided by a steady, mechanical whirring that never ceases.

Something of an engineering marvel yet the results are very good.



Notable Mention: Jweltingthreal - "connection (demo 1) [prob by Peter Williams]"

The second selection appears only in the interest of inquiry

Which is to say that the origins of the track at hand are largely unknown.

A possibility does arise, though, in viewing the artist's SoundCloud page. The reposting Frank Leone's mixtape pushes the author's memory toward a hazy, but otherwise nondescript, spring evening. Still, few specifics can be provided. But while perusing a list of collected song links earlier, this number in particular stood out.

At any rate, Jweltingthreal is apparently based out of Phoenix, Arizona. The music is typically mandolin and guitar (or fiddle) with the results one would expect from a bedroom chemistry lab; not to mention the chicken-coop maestro personality to match. Folk - and at times folk punk - sensibilities are in full. New age credentials are provided as well. A good command of layered melodies is heard. Alas, the biography that reads, in part, "Elf-Cave troll hybrid" results in many more questions than answers.

Similarly, an origin is difficult to decipher. The oldest track shows a two year old date of creation. But the sounds which appear after the jump first appeared just about a month ago. Tilted, "Meditation on Fractal #4 demo" the song is concise but characteristic. Acoustic guitar and strings carry the harmony. Meanwhile, mandolin and electric guitar lay out a melody amidst a very purposeful bass. A 'prog-rock' sense of pedal and loop testing is evident; the result vaguely like Meddle.

While likely to result in nothing of note, the overall impression of youthful incorrigibility combined with the desire for a unique identity is a wonderful mixture most of the time, and the present is no exception.

- J.N.

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