Artifacts

• Track Listing

LP version. 180 gram vinyl; Comes with a download card and a printed inner sleeve. Stirred up from deep within, from an abstract spiral of sound and movement, from a sensation of time and space absolving and converging at once, the Black Flower musicians have molded a tangible matter: the album Artifacts. Their second full album sounds international and ageless; Eastern influences, Ethio-dub, and jazz effortlessly merge producing psyche-delicious and accessible 21st century Ethio-dub-jazz. As if John Zorn put on Fela Kuti's shoes and imbibed Mulatu Astatke's whirls. Piloted by saxophonist/flutist/composer Nathan Daems (Ragini Trio, Dijf Sanders, Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra), this instrumental band aims for originality. Fellow musicians and "brothers down the road" are Jon Birdsong (dEUS, Beck, Calexico) on cornet, Simon Segers (Absynthe Minded, de Beren Gieren, Stadt) at the drums, Filip Vandebril (Lady Linn, The Valerie Solanas, Antwerp Gipsy-Ska Orkestra) on the bass, and Wouter Haest (Los Callejeros, Voodoo Boogie) playing keys. For many, the Ethiopian aspect once made known to the world by Mulatu Astatke will stand out. Still, Black Flower further adds oriental scales, Afrobeat à la Fela Kuti, jazz in a John Zorn way and varied western music traditions such as rock and dub. The resulting melting pot is undoubtedly inspired by Nathan's distant travels and the multifariously colorful city of Brussels. After their well-received debut album Abyssinia Afterlife (2014) which created an atmosphere of mythical figures and psychedelia, Black Flower now reflect on ancient and modern cultures. The album title Artifacts refers to centuries-old fragile objects or tools that empowered the development of human culture. The musicians' personal musical backgrounds and the result is an album with an ageless mystique. Artifacts is the synthesis of different cultures, of the past and present, and personal and collective memories. It is the soundtrack to modern reality, based on the elements that connect everybody. Uncomplicated originality, plenty of space for fantasy and an organic tone: those are the ingredients for Black Flower to lay claim to an age-old human ritual: dancing! Also features: Tcha Limberger plays violin on "Lunar Eclipse"; Gernas Shekhmous plays daf on "Realm And Era".