Zebrabook - Apocryphal

Hear The Track Here

I usually download the whole review list at the beginning of each month, just to be sure I've got it all. Consequently, I have about five or six downloads going at any one time and - usually - I can download the whole thing relatively quickly. The track just kept going and going and going though, and once it was finally on my drive I found out the answer. Apocryphal is a bloody monster of a track, 28MB+ so obviously not an easy choice. Moreover it is fifteen and a half minutes long into the bargain, which would certainly explain the file bloat as would the Alternative : Experimental label. After all, this is a genre known for stretching whatever passes for boundaries these days. And who better to stretch them than Jon Bushaway, leading light of The Dead Company and, of course, sole prop of Zebrabook.

I've always suspected his middle name was Apocryphal anyway...

Now obviously I would be lying if I said I had taken all this in and understood it, it's way too big a piece to be taken in a few sittings, so drive by listens will probably be rare. When they get to the meat of the piece, however I'm sure they would be as puzzled as the next guy as to who or what it all means. Mind you, that's what some people would argue is the whole point in the experimental thing anyway. Well, yes and no. Jon Bushaway is a tried and tested experimental musician who I have liked and admired for several years and it isn't the first time he's thrown something this weighty my way.

It's an indication of my regard that I would take the time to listen to this whole track, not once but certainly almost to my normal review standard. I found it useful when I was doing mindless chores for example, and that's where it got extra attention. I must have soaked up something from those background listens because I found much of it almost recognisable after a while. There again, this is most definitely something that should be approached very, very carefully. Personally I'm glad because I like this musicians soundscapes a great deal and Apocryphal is a goodie. Reserve yourself a nice wedge of time, get some refreshment and let this track take you somewhere you've never been before.

Experimental electronica (and HUGE). Highly Recommended for the wired at heart.