Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Al Mustaqil – “What we’ve just lost (Dub version)”

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Jon Rooney

“What we’ve just lost (Dub version),” an instrumental piece by Al Mustaqil, is digital maximalism: idea stacked upon idea with frantic synth sounds weaving around a glitchy, intermittent sequenced beat that leaves little space for silence or ambience. The opening lead synth hit gives way to a rapidly approaching rumble of programmed drums, static, and guitars so digitally distorted as to have seemingly peeled right off of Pretty Hate Machine. The programmed drums begin to stutter, than advance, then retreat amid shards of heavily delayed sine and saw waves. Is it syncopation or curated glitch? Either way the result is unsettling and weirdly invigorating, an android dance tune haunted by paranoia.

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Ball of Wax 68 Songs: JNA – “Tell Me Why”

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Domenica Clark

JNA‘s “Tell Me Why” is premium grade ’80s style electro-funk track perfect for cruising down Aurora on a Saturday night, taking in the sights, like the neon palm trees of the Club Hollywood in Shoreline. This is a classic, g-funk synth sound done just right and just in time for Summer. I would love to hear the vocal side if there is one! [Indeed there is! -ed]

Don’t miss JNA’s set at the Ball of Wax 68 release show on June 18th at Cafe Racer.

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Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Sound Madrona – “I Am Filled with Hate”

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Levi Fuller

Sounds Madrona‘s “I Am Filled with Hate,” while not nearly as brutal and unforgiving as you might expect of a song with that title, contains a through-line of darkness that can’t be denied. The ping-ponging beat that starts us off has an almost relaxed, trancelike feel to it, but once you’ve been lulled into a false sense of security, a buzzsaw of low-end synth drives home the central theme. Occasionally the bass steps aside for new percussive and/or melodic elements, but it’s never far away. The primary sonic elements – electronic drums, bells, and that snarling, insistent bass – swap back and forth and layer in various combinations to create an ever-shifting, propulsive work that wouldn’t sound out of place should it end up on the soundtrack of a Lynch or Cronenberg film. I know I’ll be cranking this tune on my next late-night drive to fulfill some unholy obligation or other, which I’m sure is just as the artist intended.

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Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Kora Karuna – “Kambuche”

Posted on May 31, 2022 by Levi Fuller

Cambuche, according to Kora Karuna and the internet, is a Colombian term for an improvised dwelling. (The Kora Karuna folks are fond of using K’s in lieu of hard C’s.) An array of percussion and flute join in with the eponymous kora to invite us in to this homey little improvisation. A steady beat keeps us grounded and cozy in this musical space, while new sounds and melodies phase in and out, like friends or relatives popping in for a quick chat or a bit to eat, instruments from all over the world sharing space and breaking bread together in comfortable harmony. Even when the beat drops out altogether it’s still there, an invisible pulse holding it all together. “Kambuche,” like any day spent at home with friends or family – full of improvisations, adjustments, side conversations, and unexpected detours – leaves your mind buzzing with fleeting impressions and warm memories, ready for whatever comes next.

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Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Green Light Cameras and Saint Nefarious – “What It Is and Where It Is and Why It Is and How It Is”

Posted on May 27, 2022 by Steven Scribner

Questions, so many questions! Answers: This is what it is, and this is where it is, and this is why it is. But that one chord stays there, immobile, stubbornly seeking more answers (What? Where? Why?) while the other chords go about their business. What (and where and why and when and how) happens next is anybody’s guess.

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Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Colin Ernst – “Rocinante Rides Again!”

Posted on May 26, 2022 by Levi Fuller

Colin Ernst‘s “Rocinante Rides Again!” is, as its title suggests, a musical journey with cinematic sweep and flair. In lieu of my own review, I’m tempted to just paste Colin’s text from the Ball of Wax 68 liner notes (which begins “Deep in the far corners of a lonely pasture our hero, feeling the weight of a long life well lived, nibbled a few last blades of sweet grass underneath a crimson sky and awaited the inevitable when lo . . . could it be?!”) but you’ll have to get the physical package for the full story.

Or you can just listen to this song, which lays it all out as well as any text. A quiet, somber opening, wide open spaces and slow loping melodies. Rustling winds and swirling dust, then a cantering bass and guiro set us off on the path to adventure. Drum kit and brass join in and play us along as we dodge cacti and leap old fences, brass trading sections with a wily coyote of an electric guitar. But wait, is that an army of rattlesnakes? No, it’s just the kazoos keeping us company on our journey. This is just the end of Act I, so the tune ends at sunset of the first day, horse and rider resting by the fire, preparing “for what was sure to be their grandest most exhilarating quest yet. Or was it?” To be continued? I sure hope so.

 

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Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Lisa King – “Lunaria”

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Levi Fuller

The only voice you will hear on this volume of Ball of Wax is Lisa King’s breathy, tossed-off “all right,” leading her acoustic guitar into the gentle groove she’s established on hand drums to ease us into the landscape of “Lunaria.” Yes, this volume is instrumental, and yes, that generally means no voices, but if Lisa King wants to lead us into this lush musical world with a little verbal affirmation, who am I to say no?

“Lunaria” – a piece of music as charming and lovely as its namesake flower – would do just fine as background music in pretty much any setting, but its greatness really shines through when you listen closely, ideally on headphones. That “all right” really pops out, for instance, but I also love the way the verses and choruses flow into and contrast with each other, the way the instruments play together and leave room for each other, and then, maybe my favorite part: At the very end of the song, with mere seconds to go, we hear a new voice, a pensive organ winding up a new melody, but the fade-out has already begun, and we’re left to imagine where this song might have gone, what musical delights that sweet, lonely organ might have hinted at.

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Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Time Pieces – “Boundary Problems”

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Levi Fuller

Time Pieces is a new project featuring several recognizable NW rock names, most notably from my perspective being Allen Karpinski (of The Six Parts Seven, who were not a NW band, but hey, people move) and Chris Early (of many things, but whom I first met when he was slinging bass for Ball of Wax OGs Amateur Radio Operator). What we have here is a sneak peek from the band’s forthcoming not-totally-instrumental album, to be released later this year on Porchlight Records.

“Boundary Problems” is a well-hewn slab of instrumental rock: propulsive and layered, melodic, anthemic, and satisfying, but variable, with unexpected sounds and twists along the way. It starts off big and just keeps getting bigger, guitars piling up upon guitars deliberately, artfully, pulling back here and there for a breath, and then pulling the floor out from under you about halfway through for a half-time bridge with some gorgeous new melodic guitar flavors. From there it all builds back before the band shifts into a gear they’d been keeping secret, so as to utterly, blissfully, wallop you over the head in the closing seconds. To say I’m very keen to hear the full album when it’s released would be a severe understatement.

I am really looking forward to Allen and Chris’s set opening up the Ball of Wax 68 release show on June 18th at Cafe Racer. You won’t want to miss this one.

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Ball of Wax 68 Songs: Monika Tiken – “The Opening”

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Steven Scribner

From the dark fog of our imaginations, Monika Tiken‘s contemplative soprano sax emerges singing of the beginnings of things. Then just as quickly it is gone, back into hazy light (maybe it was never here at all?). We await what follows.

 

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Ball of Wax 68: Live at Cafe Racer on 6/18!

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Levi Fuller

Ball of Wax 68
Featuring Night Owl, JNA, Orion, Nick Jaina, and Time Pieces (Allen Karpinski and Chris Early)
Saturday, June 18 at Cafe Racer
8pm doors. Ball of Wax 68 compilation included with entry.

It’s happening! Yet another live, in person Ball of Wax release show, this time at Cafe Racer’s cool new spot in Capitol Hill! This should be a delightful evening with old and new friends of (mostly) instrumental sounds, celebrating the release of our (entirely) instrumental new volume. Keep your eyes and ears on the blog here, as we’ll start rolling out tracks today!

 

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