Ephemerals Afro infused, psyche funk mantra "Coral" spins like a multi-cultured trip on high

AP Track Review

Last month as I wrote about UK's Ephemerals' second single off their then upcoming album "The Third Eye" (namely) Electricity I said that it "rides on supremely beautiful Fender Rhodes keys, dicey beats and Wolfgang Valbrun's ardent vox. The vocal melody is built on his evocative sustain carrying the questions written by the other Ephemerals half, Hillman Mondegreen" and on Facebook they applauded me (gave me an extra point) for identifying the keys as a Fender Rhodes. I love the sound of that instrument so much it was (for me) an easy thing to identify and that Rhodes bathed in a thick patina of distortion is back on the third single to drop off of "The Third Eye" called Coral and for a few split seconds at the very beginning with the dirty augmented notes feeling very spacey, I did slightly flash on John Paul Jones on his Rhodes on No Quarter. Seconds later Coral drops heavily into an afro infused, psyche funk driven beat and (in fact) my mind flashed on 70's African bump / Bajan Spouge bands like Lunar 7 but only for a moment and finally, twists beautifully into a heartbreaking sort of Thom York-esque movie soundtrack.  

Ephemerals take their inspiration elements and coalesce them into something not only groovy but almost transcendent. Coral (for example) cast so many multi-cultured acid trips even for someone utterly sober. There is an almost 70's scratch to their frames of music as well, like Coral could grace a feminist exploitation bad ass B movie or a black and white dionysian avant garde midnight flick. So many flavors here that runs like a mantra of cool cosmic love. 

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Robb Donker 






THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:

The fourth album from ephemerals, ‘the third eye’ sees them build and develop the work they started on their Alice Coltrane inspired record – ‘egg tooth’ as they continue their ever-evolving musical journey.  

Fusing styles including spiritual jazz, psychedelia, and spoken word, to convey an identity that is unmistakably their own. The core of the work is built from the honest and incisive compositions of Hillman Mondegreen combined with the unmistakably emotive vocal delivery of singer Wolfgang Valbrun. 

Experimenting with recording and mixing techniques to illustrate the artistic concepts behind the songs has been key in the overall character of the record. Hard panning is used to group together specific sounds and instruments to the left and right to convey masculine and feminine sides within the track as within the individual.

'Coral' is a lunging behemoth of a track built upon a distorted rhodes bass and psychedelic wailing vocals from singer Wolfgang Valbrun over afro horns and scattered drumbeats. It's a groove assault with an environmental message that is very relevant right now especially.