Last week, we sang the praises of Date Palms’ expanded ensemble — this week, we see them in action. The video for “Dusted Down,” which appears on the band’s forthcoming The Dusted Sessions LP, unites two disciplines we all know were born from the very beginning of time to be together: drone bearing the influence of Hindustani classical music/the American West and hallucinogenic live video synthesis. Recorded at video artist Andy Puls’ Whistlehut studio, the band’s live performance sparks the video into swirling abstraction, fusing the five musicians into an oscillating rainbow prism or a kaleidoscopic drone symbiote all covered in tendrils before returning them safely to their human forms. Hear loping guitar and bass phrases lock into a modern era Earth-core mantra groove, as Marielle Jakobsons’s violin moans a tremulous melody above Gregg Kowalsky’s chiming synth figures. As the track’s trance state deepens, Puls’ processed undulations give way to a trail of all-consuming blur — and the band strips it all the way back down to the most essential tone.
The Dusted Sessions arrives April 30 from Thrill Jockey. Pre-order it on LP or CD. Put it onto your turntable or into whatever plays CDs inside your home. If you turn off the lights and close your eyes, I bet you too could morph into a multi-tendril swirling rainbow entity right there in the middle of your living room. I promise you it really won’t be that hard. Don’t give up.
• Date Palms: http://www.datepalmsofpsalms.com
• Andy Puls: http://videopaws.com
• Thrill Jockey: http://www.thrilljockey.com
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