Oregon-based multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Arrington de Dionyso, delivers a mind-blowing session of throat-singing, howling horns and thundering drums on "Lovers and Dragons."
Former front man of Old Time Relijun and current leader of Malaikat dan Singa, de Dionyso merges a Beefheartian vocal ability with heavy drones and a bizarre musical sensibility developed from his wide musical, world and astral travelling. This is music that channels La Monte Young via a holiday in Surakarta with Fushitsusha.
Derek Walmsley in The Wire: "Arrington De Dionyso's 'Lovers And Dragons' way with a four-track recorder is enough to make you believe in magic - Javanese reeds and shruti boxes are blurred with his voice in the mix to create a narcotic swirl of sound."
The Quietus: "Based in Olympia in Washington State, USA, Arrington de Dionyso is a visionary outsider, whose music is as colourful as his eye-catching ecstatic paintings of nudes and animals (some included here as J-card artwork). He's previously garnered a heap of releases as a 'mere' clarinetist, but this tape, mostly recorded in collaboration with brilliant drummer, Gal Lazer Shiloach, reaches far trippier territory than what we'd called jazz. In addition to various sizes of clarinet, Dionyso plays the droning Indian sruthi box, 'Sulawesi flute', 'tarompet' (apparently a 'Javanese double reed') and employs stunning vocalisations, including what sounds like the well-know weird sound of tuvan throat singing. Side one opens with blasts resembling a sort of headbanging stoner take on Peter Brötzmann, while later a passage of clarinet freeforms atop a sruthi box drone and near-motorik rhythms approach propulsive jazz-rock territory. Dionyso's sheer madness is something to behold, and along with some truly blinding skins work from Shiloach, and a striking guest appearance from harpist Graeme Smith (who channels Alice Coltrane), Lovers And Dragons is ferocious, bold and utterly unlike anything else. Have your mind melted."
VanguardRed: "Lovers And Dragons is a deafening display of rhythmic and textural prowess."
Excalim! Music: "This album paints a twisted parade of new Hindu medievalism fraught with anarchic banquets, of primordial electric ooze. Starting with the raging multi-track clarinet fanfare of "Reog Doom" accompanied by a stompin' drum track that barely hangs on to the groove, Lovers and Dragons seems a full-on reimagining of Angus MacLise's (the original percussionist of the Velvet Underground) most fevered psychedelic dreams. Oddly enough, the synthesis seems as much to do with Eastern tribal ritual music as it has to do with industrial noise. "Danau Lindu" (Indonesian for "Earthquake Lake") mists silently on flutes, wave drums and drones, while "Barogan" blasts flailing free-drumming, Tuvan throat singing and guttural reed statements. Breathtaking in its vision, Lovers and Dragons manages to get to the fear that sits behind a lot of the most fraught ritual music. "
supported by 6 fans who also own “Lovers and Dragons”
Short and sweet, no wasted moments, subtle guitar lines make it easy to miss how inventive they are. I actually appreciate the live to tape recordings including whatever is going on in the background; it's not obtrusive. And some electronic dabbling. An intimate album fans of bedroom folk, Vashti Bunyan, etc will appreciate and love more with repeated listens. Anthony Childs
supported by 5 fans who also own “Lovers and Dragons”
Long-form trance-y rhythmic jams, with a fun shambling edge, sounding like a cross between music from Africa's Sahel region crossed with a Tom Waits instrumental... Jascha Narveson
St Celfer returns with tracks culled from a series of live shows, each one a showcase for his inventive experimentalism. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 26, 2023
On this uncompromising LP, the UK outfit NOISE use haunting drone, hissing static and stark electronics to explore repressed trauma. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 1, 2022
supported by 5 fans who also own “Lovers and Dragons”
The sparse but expressive guitars, slightly muffled vocals, and minimal drums give this a melancholy and heady feel. It's like Kungens Man jamming with Alan Sparhawk after a bad break-up and a few lines of ketamine. PannionSeer