Badun

I’ve had this disc for almost two months and it’s only now that I feel somewhat capable of writing about it. Badun are Danish electro jazz terrorists; they’re not terrifying in the sense of their Norwegian neighbours to the north, Supersilent, but are more along the lines of their German cousins to the south, Flanger during their Ninja Tune days. Their sonic ingredients rely heavily on electric piano, brushed drums and ride cymbals but that only describes what goes into the digital garburator. There is a great deal of slicing and dicing going into the final project. Badun aren’t pioneers in this regard but upon close listening, they’ve taken it to a higher level. All the jazz signifiers are exactingly knitted together into a Weather Report meets Miles (circa In A Silent Way) mood. The retro elements are more enticing than derivative, the overall sound is soothing, even background-y, which causes one to listen so intently before commenting. The disc requires repeat listening to determine what’s going on beneath the surface chill. Unfortunately, months of reflection have revealed that while the process is engrossing and individual moments of interplay are fascinating, there are no tunes to be found. Certainly one wouldn’t expect a head-solo-head arrangement from this ensemble but there is very little to set one song apart from another — melody and harmony are simply in short supply. Nevertheless, that doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of the disc. It’s just superior mood music where it could’ve been groundbreaking.