kIRk- Zla Krew (2013)

kIRk- Zla Krew (2013)

David Lynch has created two rock records, both of them drawing big from the surreal world he portrays in his films and from 50s music (and also a little bit of electronic bizarre incursions), but sadly I have found Lynch solo recordings quite normal, for a master of surrealism in the vein of the great Luis Buñuel, his records are far form hallucinating or surreal, perhaps Lynch is not aware of someone like Scott Walker, whose recent records are simply awesome, scary and completely out of this world sonic experiences, probably Lynch may try a new approach, what about an underground hip hop record? It would be great if someone like the late Texan master of chopped and screwed, Dj Screw could help him, and if such thing could happen on another dimension, because Screw is dead, the result may sound too close to Do Rozpuku, the opening song on kIRk`s Zla Krew recent record, the sound is a sludgy surreal one, it sounds as if the creators of this songs are severely mentally wounded, as we have a slooooow rhythm, insane repetition, awkward beats and really bizarre scratching, I can really say that kIRk are today Polands hip hop vanguardists, because insane hip hop is just a part of this amazing band, without a doubt a big creative hope for Poland underground music.

Zla Krew runs on a very different level compared to the first track, showing an appreciation for lo fi recording, big space, the granular atmospheres made on turntables by Philip Jeck, and the cosmic jazz of Miles Davis, we can enjoy here the awesome ghostly sound of a trumpet, we can “feel” the granular sounds in the background and also a lot of strange sounds thrown in the mix, the trio excels on each of their sonic weapons, may it be electronics, turntables or the trumpet, as the track turns for that spatial jazz performance into a bizarre electronic experiment full of crazy loops and laser beams that only add more to the feeling of disorientation that the band likes to transmit, we are thrown completely out of guard with these tremendous world of amazing and unexpected sounds, for example, for the creepy Dzuma the band mixes Residents styles eeriness and powerful brutal beats, and there’s also the bizarre dialogue between electronics, effects, turntable scratching and samples that add a lot to the track amazing density, which definitely sends an instant message to my head about what would happen if Mr. Walker ever decides to count on kIRk as their backing band, and if all this meant little to you, just catch the great eastern touch the trumpets gives the track at the end of it, truly enjoyable.

There’s a big feeling of despair that permeates on Dzieci Boga, as if the trumpet takes us on a very sad trip through what was once the grey streets of an eastern bloc country, through the sad and desolate streets, trying hopelessly to bring some happiness and warm to the soul, here kIRk put their foot firmly on their past in order to cure the wounds form their past as polish, a great minimalist tune with a lot of expressive power, that leaves us off guard for the next attack of sonic nightmares as on Pies Zdechl, with enough shadows to paint the sunniest day black, we are taken by the melancholic trumpet masterfully expressing powerful feelings once more, and put side to side to eerie sampling and extraterrestrial scratching unbelievable amazing, with a power to reach to the darker parts of our hearts and our minds.

This Zla Krew ends in a high note with Poza Zasiegiem, were hell brakes loose, and the band released their most extreme arsenal as trumpets fly very high, beats hit us hard and there’s plenty space for sound experimentation every second, the coldness of electronic music, or techno gone very very wrong, as the band builds an amazing crescendo with enough dissonance and distortion to keep us interested all the way, the band goes here all the way into amazing sonic explorations taking us to places we weren’t aware of.

Zla Krew is a mind blowing record that demands to be heard, is a chance to get a good glimpse into de polish experimental scene, a scene that seems to be growing fast with experimental ambition, enough to cope with their world famous extreme metal scene.