Experimental noise duo Mutwawa, featuring Gary Stevens of Head Molt and Jason Hodges of Suppression, Bermuda Triangles, and The Amoeba Men, have just released their first EP, an 8 song cassette entitled Necro Zulu (and don’t worry, those of you who got rid of your tape players a long time ago–it also comes with a digital download). Mutwawa’s strange, pulsing music is built around electronic noises, but is nonetheless very musical, with bizarre synth melodies and clear, constant rhythms running throughout most of their songs. At their most inspired moments, the duo could be creating scores for horror movies shot on Venus. There’s something ominously insectile about songs like “Spyra Sphinx;” one can imagine gigantic praying mantis-like aliens listening to Mutwawa as they travel between the stars searching out weaker species to ingest as prey. It’d probably give H.P. Lovecraft nightmares, but modern, 21st century sensibilities will likely find the sounds of Mutwawa intriguing and enjoyable, even if they can’t quite make sense of it.
Experimental noise duo Mutwawa, featuring Gary Stevens of Head Molt and Jason Hodges of Suppression, Bermuda Triangles, and The Amoeba Men, have just released their first EP, an 8 song cassette entitled Necro Zulu (and don’t worry, those of you who got rid of your tape players a long time ago–it also comes with a digital download). Mutwawa’s strange, pulsing music is built around electronic noises, but is nonetheless very musical, with bizarre synth melodies and clear, constant rhythms running throughout most of their songs. At their most inspired moments, the duo could be creating scores for horror movies shot on Venus. There’s something ominously insectile about songs like “Spyra Sphinx;” one can imagine gigantic praying mantis-like aliens listening to Mutwawa as they travel between the stars searching out weaker species to ingest as prey. It’d probably give H.P. Lovecraft nightmares, but modern, 21st century sensibilities will likely find the sounds of Mutwawa intriguing and enjoyable, even if they can’t quite make sense of it.
Necro Zulu is a collaborative release by CNP Records, A.E.N., and Flish Records. Available for $6 through Paypal here, it’s limited to 100 copies, with only the first 50 containing unique collage covers made by Leo Heinzel. You can find a sample download of the song “Spyra Sphinx” here.
