Author: Sandi Sadar Šoba
Artist: Moveknowledgement
Label: Beton Records
Release: 2011
Duration: 48:44
Rating: 4/5
Musical evolution in full bloom and in all its modified variants — more or less successful, rewarded with the roaring applause of the crowds or the butchering of critics — that could be the jumping-off point for the fourth record by the all-Slovenian crew Moveknowledgement, now that their fresh-off-the-press album Pump Down is out. It’s hard to believe that an unbelievable 4 years have passed since the incredible Listen To Nebukadnezar, which sowed a juicy combination of darkness, a destructive lust for conjuring and the rhythmic spell of a dance-packed ritual. The latter — the rhythm of movement and breath — is the common thread on the latest outing too, which isn’t a classic Moveknowledgement record, whatever that might be, so watch out! The gray zone of an undefined blend, or fusion, of hip hop, alternatively pumped-up funky dub and electronics keeps widening, and the world will soon be draped in the utterly vague contours of algorithms, where nothing is right or wrong anymore and it’s not just a black-and-white play of shadow and light!
Honestly, I’d been waiting for the new record pretty impatiently, since the debut Sun Sun, upgraded by Ant People and the aforementioned Nebukadnezar address, grabbed both hemispheres of my brain, stretched my nerve synapses wide and rocked me into a perfect synergy of curiosity, excitement and hysterical anticipation of the next act. That act is atypical, but in its atypicality entirely worthy of the Moveknowledgement stamp. The opener already promises far more optimistic moments, and above all more organic guitar sounds and vocals less hidden behind effects. La Droga E Il Buio is a bouncy intermezzo in a rather repetitive gallop of genuinely sparkling ideas. A literal translation would be “drugs and the dark”; a fairly fresh, repeating, easygoing signature of cowbell-backed verses and effectively solid three (maybe a few more?) riffs flows quite naturally into the album’s first single, Average Bear, and after Electric Manland I immediately check whether the player has some never-before-heard Moby record in it. After the salvos of N’Toko’s distinctive verbal rhyming, though, there’s no mistaking that this mood shift is simply a radical leap into the unknown, and most of the ten tracks on the record are clear proof that the guys decided to escape the norms set by eager fans, full of their own pigeonholes and ideas about how their beloved band should sound. On that front Moveknowledgement passed with flying colors, and they’ll leave plenty of people baffled and in the dark, while the flirtation with a more pop-flavored musical expression widens their horizons for radio play. An almost naive touch of the eighties is woven through the synths, which are reconceptualized in the manner of the new, faster rhythm of the new millennium. The post-punk urban racket is repetitive and cathartically clean. All the way up to the throwback to the old days in Switch It Up. As if an apparition of Nebukadnezar had crept onto the record, a shocking moment of electronic noise and Satan-possessed electronics announces the passage past the halfway point of the record with U.F.Oh, which via the experimental, squealing trip of Kidz R Fresh enters an utterly unforeseen sphere of complete disconnection. I’m more of a fan of the darker shades of the theory of perfect movement, so the record’s longest track, 36 Lakes is a sort of plaster for the soul, shaken up by rainbow pop-oid optimism. The rawer punk interval of Stop / Continue moves you back into cleaner waters, purified of murky gloom, and the big finale, the title track Pump Down!!!, closes the record’s full, production-perfect cycle with a sort of medley. Original and enjoyable, but I couldn’t say the musical level of Nebukadnezar has been surpassed. It’s not a competition with themselves — it’s just that the musical explosion of different patterns is so varied that grasping and falling in love with this one will take a bit more effort. What draws you in even more is the record’s fictional backstory. Five freshmen from the gang The Fresh Kids vanish six weeks ago, and the press writes that they were abducted by aliens. Others mention that the notorious criminal Average Bear sneaked in among them — the police suspect him of multiple murders — with a joint effort to deny the mystery by, if need be, draining all 36 lakes of the said county dry. A perfect backdrop, the continuation of the saga of the little town of Twin Peaks, is backed up by the aesthetics of the nicely made sleeve, which, alas, again lacks lyrics. The mystery is thus complete, and the crowd’s attention is glued to Moveknowledgement, who have once again morphed into a new form.
The tracks from the new record are available to listen to HERE.
Honestly, it’s hard, almost unfair, to hand out ratings that could don the adjective of objectivity, and to push into hasty conclusions those who haven’t yet taken the time to listen, ponder and digest the gourmet treat on offer. More than with the name Moveknowledgement, the algebra of this kind of rhythm and sound could be ascribed to the five-piece’s musical alter ego — Moveknowledgement Free Pop Orchestra — but it’s undoubtedly true that the guys have remained perfectionists in delivering their musical visions. And Moveknowledgement, atypical sonic storytelling notwithstanding, remain one of the brightest (and holiest) stars in the local music sky!
Lineup
Miha Blažič-N’Toko – vocals
Uroš Weinberger-Wein – guitar
Dejan Slak-Sleyk – bass
David Cvelbar – drums
Miha Šajina-Shekuza – keyboards
Production
Igor Vuk & Miha Šajina
Tracklist
1. La Droga E Il Buio
2. Average Bear
3. Electric Manland
4. Hands
5. Switch It Up
6. U.F.Oh
7. Kidz R Fresh
8. 36 Lakes
9. Stop / Continue
10. Pump Down!!!
