At first glance the sleeve’s photo shows an overhead shot of a manhole cover, with a pair of lace-up boots next to it. Closer inspection shows the pattern on the sewer grate could come from a Vasarely painting: a grid of raised metal circles of carefully ordered sizes form a globe-like image in its centre, seeming to pulsate or spin. This manhole cover was photographed by EarthBall in Geneva. Maybe they felt the primeval force that its image suggested was coming up to meet them at the gig. Do EarthBall make music that mirrors Vasarely’s idea of the “plastic alphabet” where geometrics make a visual language that “communicates, across cultures”, a language that can be assembled in any form, anywhere?
Their new album, Actual Earth Music Vol. 3 & 4,…
Tag Archive: Earth Ball
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EarthBall is a collective from Vancouver Island, Canada, which fully improvises their sessions and performances, veering from unhinged psych-rock to noisy, chaotic free jazz.
Outside Over There is their third official album for Upset the Rhythm, not counting several limited cassettes. It arrives mere months after Actual Earth Music, Vols. 1 & 2, a live album featuring recordings from a gig opening for Wolf Eyes, and a date at London’s vaunted avant-garde venue Café OTO that featured legendary improvisers Steve Beresford and Chris Corsano as guests. Outside Over There is a hair-raising, face-peeling effort that bombards and nearly suffocates. It’s loud, raucous, and messy, with even the record’s quieter moments being highly unnerving.
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