Vishudha Kali “Unfinished Devastation Narrative” Faria Records – Music Review
The history of music and popular culture is dotted with examples of outsider and visionary geniuses. There are souls who are so overwhelmed with a singular and original perspective that they rarely make a dent in the dominant consciousness, much less the charts.
Every now and then one or two will find a niche existence and within that subculture, they will reach a measure of success. Some that come to mind are Captain Beefheart, Daniel Johnson, and Jandek. A broader list could include headdress luminaries like Sun Ra, Eden Abez and Syd Barrett.
While none of these artists have almost anything in common musically, they all share the distinction of having created very personal universes of sound. They also have in common that they make art that exhibits a unique stamp of revealed or self-created mythology.
Captain Beefheart with his surreal, Beatnik / greaser / limerick biological form and Sun Ra with his complex Afrocentric new conception of the cosmos. These flights of the imagination are a testament to the power of creative will and are just a few examples of the hidden universe and parallel mirror image that operates simultaneously to the “legit” music culture. From the same trail of dark visionary brilliance given us by artists like Apache Inca and the Padre Yod Collective Come Vishudha Kali with her cracked and surprising record, “Unfinished Devastation Narrative” (Faria Records).
This album came to me as a happy accident. I was flipping through the stacks of new releases at my favorite local music store, Lou’s Records, when the art on this record caught my eye. It appeared to be a collection of postcards with religious symbols. The image and lyrics titles intrigued me and I decided to buy it on those tracks alone. This is something that I am going to recommend to all readers. Every now and then, take a chance on something you are not familiar with. Yes, you will probably have an occasional disappointment, but with that said, you will also be opening yourself up to some potentially wonderful things. That is the case with this CD.
The musician behind the Vishudha Kali’s name is an Andrei Bulin. Other than the fact that he is from St. Petersburg, Russia, I couldn’t find out much about him. The instruments he plays are a wonderful variety of tone producers such as accordionella, Tibetan bowls, organs and ancient synthesizers.
The music produced is a buzzing stream of consciousness. While some drone may put you to sleep, that’s far from the case here. There is a creepy and sinister touch to the music that keeps you on your toes. You have the impression that you are witnessing the auditory report of someone else’s journey to Ether. Highly processed voices fade in and out of the mix with snippets of prayer and admonition in abundance. This is very spiritual music. The spirituality of what variety is difficult to say. It is vaguely oriental and has the overwhelming nature of a Raga at times.
The work is a series of postcards that bring the artistic compliment to music. They are emotionally direct and technically naive representations of various spiritual scenes. The reverse of the cards included a puzzle that when assembled reveals a portrait of a man (presumably Bulin himself) looking at a huge body of water. The whole experience is eye-opening. We get slow and steamy access to someone else’s point of view. This is creative music of an intensely spiritual and psychedelic nature. It is a more than welcome addition to the pantheon of rare gems and is more than worthy of our effort to find and engage.