Album Notes

The leaders of the oddly named duo, Kansas City-based percussionist D. Hitchcock and New York guitarist Sal Cataldi, first outlined their recombinant genre research on the 1998 cult smash "Escape Velocity" (Bad Egg 001), a jazz-inflected/noise & dub fueled flight for the chill out room featuring star turns by the likes of Eno/Brand X bassman Percy Jones. This uncategorizable indie garnered raves from all edges of the cognoscenti universe, from Alternative Press to CMJ to Downbeat, including:

“Truly excellent… where Miles meets Midi” - The Village Voice
"An interesting potpourri of styles and spacious ambience” - Jazz Times
"Techie gorks, with a free-funk direction reminiscent of Last Exit or Sonny Sharrock’s soundtrack to ‘Space Ghost’ - Aquarian Weekly
"Marvelous head candy, an all-out trip fest” - Fantastic Voyage System
"Part jazz, dub, funk, industrial and experimental, way more exciting than 99% of the music being released these days” - Fact Sheet 5

2012 finally sees the release of their long overdue follow-up, the darkly sonic "Gealago," created at studios in Brooklyn and Kansas City, with supporting players including John Hepburn, their conspirator on "Escape Velocity," and Eric George on bass, KC jazz great Horace Washington, Jr. on flutes, and the mighty Mick Cantarella, once again behind the recording an mixing consoles.

"Gealago" disc is no Space Age Retro Lounge get up. It is Future Now Music. From rub-a-dub flute-flavored Blaxsploitation funks to frenetic electro-bop improvs... From tribal drum sonatas to delicato acoustic guitar madrigalry... And don't forgets the mad loops and Jericho walls of sub-harmonic drone.
It’s all corralled and presented in an uninterrupted cinematic flow, in multi-sonic-grains ranging from high-rez digital Carnuba to purposefully low-fi/hi-life Fostex primitivo. The duo's efforts redefine the notions of "post rock" and the standards for judging and comprehending harmolodic-rhythmic information. Fittingly, the Trio debuted much of “Gealago” amid the International Noise Festival at NYC's The Knitting Factory a few years back, before maybe a little too leisurely committing it to the digital coil, even engaging LaMonte Young in a high-flying duel of pitched drone-n-bash.

Recommended Tracks… For Headphone-Recommended Listening…

• 1969 & 1969 (Milky Way Dub) – Skag-headed Cincinnati 70s funk where Starsky’s Huggy Bear tipples the black light fantastic to a wonderous/wise/weazy Rahsaan flute… On de dub edition, D. snares the crown from King Tubby and swims in the alt.universe of perverse analogue trickery.

• Sorceror – Airy Saturnian guitar balladry unwrapped with a Giant Steps’ turnaround – where Elvin J and Papa Trips mix martinis, where Martin Denny arm wrestles the holy modal Mahavishnu;

• Tiny Ridiculous Hats – Mastadon meets Elvin Jones, an underwater Japanese noise blanket stitched with Jericho Walls of sub-harmonic feedback, whang bar and inexhaustible tom tom thunk – as told by a flange in the midst of Duracell death rattle;

• Brutal Tuna – Psychobilly bop to angry machine indigestion and a Funky Drummer frosting;

• Teeth In My Pocket & Monk Loved the Haight– Two servings of Capt. Crunch heavy metal Caribbean sing-along free-bop, banana boat music for titanium Grandmas everywhere.