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Josef Herman: Warsaw, Brussels, Glasgow, London, 1938-1944
Josef Herman's early, cathartic work should not be missed
Gonjasufi
A Sufi And A Killer (Warp)
Sunday 14 March 2010
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EmailIn the early-1990s movie Stay Tuned, disgruntled parents Roy and Helen Knable get sucked into their television set where they jump from station to station, becoming, among other things, professional wrestlers, cartoon mice and gameshow contestants.
They exist as both main characters and bewildered guests in each and every television show.
The debut album from Warp's latest signings Gonjasufi carries a similar charm and character to Stay Tuned, with the TV being replaced with a transistor radio and Roy and Helen Knable replaced by Californian Yoga teacher Sumach Ecks's cracked voice.
Producers Gaslamp Killer, Flying Lotus and Mainframe do the knob-twiddling and tune into various radio stations during a road trip across the California desert. Ecks mumbles, raps and sings through a diverse selection of genres from post hip-hop wonky beats to Bollywood samples, '60s French kitsch to punk rock, all filtered with a psychedelic haziness and marked with his ever-present, albeit distanced, bluesman voice.
A Sufi And A Killer is a strange beast that is at first offputting and bizarre, but with repeated listens shows the depth and brilliance of the man stuck in the radio.
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