185: I Was Real, by 75 Dollar Bill

75 Dollar Bill (USA)
I Was Real (2019)
9 tracks, 69 minutes
Bandcamp ∙ Spotify ∙ iTunes

If you describe it out loud, 75 Dollar Bill's music sounds as if it would not work, or that it will at the very least sound completely contrived: blues of the electric Delta sort (think RL Burnside, T-Model Ford, Junior Kimbrough) as if it was put through a filter of Steve Reich and Philip Glass-esque minimalism to turn it into extended, instrumental compositions. Sound rubbish, right? But it totally works! When you think about it, both of those individual styles are based on repeating riffs, small changes and discrepancies and endless drones. The biggest difference is the scales they use and the cultures they inhabit. And there's another musical world that fits that description too…

This is the New York duo's second album for the Glitterbeat imprint tak:til, and they've gone in a slightly different direction with this one*. In I Was Real, they bring in quite a lot of the sounds of north-west Africa, whose music is also based on the same riffs and drones as blues and minimalism; as such, it's a perfect fit. This album is permeated with the scales, rhythms and (most importantly) grooves of the Tuareg, Songhai, Hassaniyya and Gnawa peoples. It only adds too, none of the blues or minimalism is taken away.

I find 75 Dollar Bill's use of instruments and timbre interesting, too. Che Chen and Rick Brown play guitars and drums respectively, ably assisted by lots of multitracking. In the true spirit of minimalism, they deal in waves of sound, so when they introduce other instruments such as saxophones, fiddles or even the Moroccan guimbri, they're not immediately obvious. Instead they slot in, adding their unique sounds to the overall sonic morass and making sure its timbre and atmosphere are exactly perfect. Then, when it's all cooking together nicely, those instruments will step out from the pack to take their moment in the spotlight.

This music is meditative, quite slow but always growing. I actually find listening to it really exciting. You get accustomed to a certain groove, letting the loping and repeating rhythms get deep into your soul, but then there always comes something different. It could be so tiny, like the introduction of a new, short and wickedly-bent note on guitar that goes as soon as it comes, but it gets you like an electric shock. And then that will come around again and be built into that same groove, just waiting for the next tiny firework to come along. It's such an intelligent method that makes an equally intelligent – but not impenetrable – music. I absolutely love it.


* Although I do heartily recommend their first album on tak:til, Wood/Metal/Plastic/Pattern/Rhythm/Rock, which was going to be on this blog instead until this album came out last Friday.