Tau, a shifting and fluid collaborative project consisting of Sean Nunutzi (Dead Skeletons/Admiral Black) and Gerald Pasqualin (Pink Rays/Admiral Black) are set to release their much anticipated debut LP Tau Tau Tau on 9th September 2016 via Fuzz Club Records.
Nunutzi was inspired to create the project know known as Tau after being lead on a pilgrimage through Wirikuta (also the name of their debut EP), the sacred desert of the Wixarika in North West Mexico. Tau, meaning Father Sun, recorded the album in Berlin in a nine day live session. This was then followed by collaborations with numerous individuals including Knox Chandler of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Earl Harvin of Tindersticks. As a result, the album features additional vocalists and musicians who have contributed to make a unique collection of sound that is present within this LP.
Opening with ‘Mother’, the first single from the album, we are presented with a summoning of the spiritual music of North and Central America with a strummed acoustic riff, bells, rattles, strings – an overall impressive percussion arrangement. In contrast, ‘The Bridge of Khajou’ channels Sufi mystic poetry from Iran with its melodic vocal segments interspersed with haunting string segments, invoking images of bazaars and hookah cafes in the heart of the East.
The next single to come from the album, and the final one before its release, is ‘Mo Anam Cara’, (that’s Gaelic for soul mate – a nod to Sean’s Dublin roots) an upbeat number featuring the use of a pedal steel guitar, creating a different feel whilst the same percussion sound glimpses through, keeping in with the theme of its preceding tracks. With female vocal accompaniment from guests Nina Hynes and Miss Kenichi this is a track designed to soothe. ‘The Midnight Jaguar’ is of slower tempo at first, with emphasis focused on the lyrics, the music seeming a mere accompaniment before a things are turned up a notch and finishes up with an almost dance beat accompanied by, the now familiar, Tau style chanting.
‘I See You’ focuses on an acoustic guitar riff once more with a floating melody and a pleasant flute segment. ‘Venadito’ and ‘Kauyumari’ are odes to the great deer spirit and it takes us to the heart of the Americas, invoking imagery of great deserts and tribal dancers prancing around firepits. In ‘Venadito’, the guitar is pushed to the back and the percussion allowed free reign resulting in a track which is captivating. ‘Kauyumari’ has an added piano section, female vocals and again starts slow and melodic before building in layered sound until its conclusion.
Pen-ultimately we have ‘Espiral’, Tau’s interpretation of a chant traditionally sang in a Temazcal (“house of heat”), a type of sweat lodge in pre-hispanic Mesoamerica used to purify the body. The repetition creates the chant vibe and the music employed to accompany creates the rhythm and drives the track. The journey contained within this LP is concluded with ‘Tara’, the sacred dwelling place of the Gods and entrance to the underworld in Celtic mythology. This long, luminous jam signals a feeling of completion to the aural journey the listener has undertaken.
There is undoubtedly a journey through time, space and sound present within this album and Tau have ensured that they entice the listener in with a strong opening so that the journey is pursued, Once completed, its unlikely you’ll ever be the same again.
The LP will be released on limited edition deluxe and standard vinyl and digital download. The vinyl is available for pre-order now: http://fuzzclub.com/products/tau-tau-tau-tau-deluxe-vinyl
