Praguedren’s 3rd release on the dank disk label finds the Czech duo further stretching the sound of their r.a.z. studio in East Prague as they create and fill sonic clouds with treated colors that are anchored by sub bass pulses. Dub is a clear influence here, but not of the dubstep or roots heritage. This is dub as experiment, bending, filtering and building the space before dissolving it completely.
Painting Over Scenery follows Praguedren’s well received earlier releases Absinthe Makes the Heart Grow Fonder (dankdisk409) and Fade and Phased EP (dankdisk517).
Here’s what the reviewers said about them:
Praguedren, Painting Over Scenery - Hypnagogue review: There's something about the slow, sexy dub on Praguedren's new disc that makes me want to put on my 70s-style late-night-DJ voice, lean into a mic and purr, "Awwww, yeah...this one goes out to anyone who's gonna get down with gettin' down tonight. Solid." This Czech duo lay down some serious funk-laced sounds, thick with sweet and chewy bass lines and dripping with smooth grooves. I like this disc as a backdrop for winding down in the evening. It's trippy without going overboard, and stands up to a close listen, but when it's just allowed to sort of lope around the room, quietly filling the space, its downtempo ease becomes absolutely infectious.You're paying it no real mind and then you realize your head's bobbing to the beat of a track like "House Built of Dub" (one of my favorites) or your body's been taken over by the cool flow of the disc's highlight track, "Stax of Bass." (You want a bass line you could eat with a fork? This is the track for you, served with a side order of psychedelic guitar.) I know this isn't always what musicians want to hear about their work, but the thing about Painting Over Scenery is that it's just plain nice. Easy on the ears, loungey without being pretentious, smoothly played and expertly built, all but demanding repeat play. If you're looking for rhythmic tracks with an authentic funk vibe and unmistakable dub cred, slide on over to Dank Disk and check this one out. You'll be gettin' down with gettin' down in no time. Awww, yeah. Available from Dank Disk.
----- Igloo Magazine review-- "Recorded live in the Czech Republic, the Fade and Phased EP is a collection of 4 slow-moving dub jams hearkening back to the days of early analog electronica (Think Pole meets the classic Mind’s Eye films)...."
--- The Wire review of Absinthe Makes The Heart Grow Fonder by Steve Barker,"...Praguedren have claimed invention of the mongrel genre 'indietronicambientdub' designed especially to release sounds trapped in Prague, the city where in the late 1980s the likes of Ministry and Front 242 were considered pop music, and in the early 90s post-Soviet era outsourced inner city policing to an armed black shirt semi-militia. "Absinthe" seems to have a golem on vocals, echoing down a dark alley: "Bell Towers" is a raw dub dying for a Jahtari remix, with the sparsely loping bassline mirroring actual clang tones from Praguedren's neighborhood bell tower." --Sept 2009 -- The Wire.
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