Tengger – Segye
Casting their net wide like a night fisherman over some serene pool, Cardinal Fuzz have really unplugged the drain with Segye (Korean for “world”). An inescapable swirl of uncharacteristically ambient drones from shores far-flung, Tengger‘s second LP was originally released in 2017 and is now being re-released on vinyl for the first time (you can probably expect new LP, Spiritual, to get the same treatment later in the year too). Hailing from Seoul, the cosmic collective comprises itta, Marqido, RAAI and visual artist Beck Jeajung and together their abstract meditation comes from the split realms of political protest (the first incarnation of the band was formed during demonstrations against President Geun-hye Park) and that of pure zen art installation.
Barely music to some yet sacred hymnal to others, Segye basks in the glow of solar radiation, itta’s hypnotic vocal contributions, despite largely being stripped of meaning, adding a gentle human touch to the laidback chatter of blinking on-board electronics. Often fading to virtually nothing save for the hushed heartbeat of a computerised lifeform, the ambience ebbs and flows over the tranquil pulse of gravitational waves, time and space interrupted so that individual sounds drag and unspool in slow motion.
Cutting the umbilical cord and drifting on out into the heavens, micro-detail repeats needle deeply to thoroughly cleanse the aura, darker passages introducing a creeping sense of unease. itta’s moans and groans haunt the fuzzy oscillator peaks of “Ollim”, for example, the dithering analogue synths of “Gubigubi Badabada” beckoning you into the asteroid belt over all-pervasive organ drone. In such company, the cool lapping waters of the closer “Geuglag Wansaeng” seem oddly alien and yet, simultaneously, an idyllic climax to some much-needed therapy session. Your only danger in lying back to let Segye consume you is that you may never resurface.
~The re-released vinyl version of Segye is out February 22nd 2019 via the collaborative efforts of Cardinal Fuzz and Sunrise Ocean Bender.~