M. Geddes Gengras

Ishi

BY Bryon HayesPublished Jun 24, 2014

7
Sonically, M. Geddes Gengras is something of a chameleon. Together with his brother Cyrus, he formed Antique Brothers to unleash a handful of folky avant-garde recordings in the spirit of what The Wire magazine was calling New Weird America. His music became even more expansive when he eventually started out on his own, culminating in last year's Collected Works Volume 1: The Moog Years. He even teamed up with Cameron Stallones (Sun Araw) and legendary Jamaican roots reggae group the Congos to put out a couple of genre-agnostic platters that were highly regarded by those in the know.

On Ishi, Gengras uses modular synthesis to turn inward, prying open his mind's eye with gently cascading tones. The pieces of music flow into each other like primitive organisms in a pool of liquid, producing shimmering waves of energy in the process. Peaceful yet highly engaging, Ishi invokes the masters of modular synthesis, a music rooted in technology that somehow comes across as utterly primeval.
(Leaving)

Latest Coverage