Sunday 31 May 2009

it's summertime


From the MySpace of Radiant Dragon

Sorry there haven’t been many posts recently.  This has been due to a number of factors:

  1. Examinations
  2. Our stolen Internet no longer can be picked-up (Netgear, you are sorely missed.  You too, SpeedTouch39EAFA.)
  3. The library (and thus the Mecca of Internet access for us) is sofahway.

So, we are muchly sorry.  But now, all there is to do is drink Frome Valley cider (the best ever – yes I’m totally advertising it for free: DRINK THIS STUFF) in a hammock erratically and unsafely tied to part of a mutilated mutant of a shitty garden, with the sun reflecting off my Macbook screen as I type.  All for you, you lucky sods.

Alright! Radiant Dragon make music that's a cornucopia of cultural-genitalia clashing.  If you like Yeasayer, Animal Collective, and real ethnic and folk music, give it a whirl.

Radiant Dragon - Cloud Seeding

It reminds me firstly of an organ in distant space, speaking through dreams in Animal Collective-esque distorted vocals, accompanied by cowbells and backwards slurs.

I like it.  I really like it.  I don’t know exactly where I’d listen to it though…Maybe an indie-disco with The Jetsons?

Radiant Dragon - Country

Shimmering backwards slurring erring records bleeding into a helicopter sound made entirely of violins, quickly morphing into a romping, soft, desert-island beat with clouded, vocoder-style harmonic voices.  Country-and-western drums amalgamated with Theremin-like wails and dribbling robotic sentences.  It’s certainly a conjurer’s cauldron concoction of contrasting categories (in musical terms).  Unconventional and disparate.  Give this a listen!  I should expect they’d be good live.  *I'm still listening* Oh good!  I can hear more synths now.

Radiant Dragon - Oysters

This sounds like a Sunday morning radio classic from ten years ago mixed into a tropical beat, and Nirvana-influenced guitars strumming alongside rattlesnake tails and Bongo drums. 

Radiant Dragon - Taman

Smoky Indian sitar-like oscillations softly penetrating the ear-drums with sea-shanty harmonicas (softly, and it works) pushing towards a snake-charmer’s rhythm, only more electronic, against Britpop beats.  

Thus, to conclude, Radiant Dragon create really surprising amalgamations of things that just shouldn’t mix, but do, producing an eerie sound for the accompaniment to modern folk tales as a result.  The only thing I don’t like is the name.

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