Experimental guitar avant-gardism
New York-based artist and composer Nickolas Mohanna deploys various media to fade the borders between music, sound, and sculpture, producing works from environmental and internet sounds to guitar and percussion. He also operates the publishing project Run/Off from which he has released audio objects & artist books.
Jef Mertens has been researching, documenting, and subtly exploring the experimental music scene in Belgium and beyond for the better part of two decades. As a filmmaker, he’s dug deep into the realm of Flemish primitive fringe (Dronevolk) and chronicled the makings of giants like Sonic Youth and Borbetomagus. After running the now-defunct free tape label Dadaist Tapes, Mertens comes with a release of his own: NO MATHEMATICS, the first record collab between KRAAK and Feeding Tube.
This entrancing debut sees shruti box and guitar conjoining to create circling ragas of solemn yet resounding force. Additional contributions from US composer and multi-instrumentalist Nickolas Mohanna provide an orphic sheen to the whole, amplifying its psycho-sensorial energy through ringing zithers and pulsating electronics. In essence, NO MATHEMATICS fosters a portentousness that is tenuous and vibrant, completely in line with Mertens’ work so far and proving that the heart of Belgian Dronevolk is alive and very much beating.