SOULO

Man, the manipulator

CD, Plug Research

Soulo live in their very own universe, which is peaceful and relaxed and that is a hint at the amount of drug abuse that seems to traditional in this universe. But drug abuse has always been connected strongly to any form of psychedelic music and the word fits here, in as much as it describes the weirdness of the music as terms like “far out there” would do. But it also describes a certain flow that seems to hold time, or at least stretch it, and provides a gentle carpet for a magic mushroom flight. No, I am not prophesising a new hippie-acid-dream-era (in the era of big techno-ecstasy-raves, why would I?) but I am pointing out how Soulo produce a gentle space that provides a lot of resonating tones and warm structures that would give you a nice trip. Or just think of Flaming Lips but take away all the songstructures and “normal” stuff.

It is hard to imagine Soulo as a band playing live on stage, with full female background chorus, dozens of instruments, electronic equipment and whatever they use. Their songs, and after all that is what they are even if they try to hide it as much as possible, might start with something and then you find yourself somewhere completely else every minute. The first few seconds of a song might be electronic-noise that Mille Plateaux would die for or drawn out string-drones that constellation would die for and then an electric guitar with lots of fuzz would set in and then a horn and then some soft flutes or female choir and a jazzy beat. The list goes on and it is really indescribable. I can only imagine Soulo as bunch of folks living in a small house close to the desert, with not a lot to do and only able to receive Christian talk radio, and producing music together that is completely democratic and enjoyable to them. Then there is also a lot of barbecue, trips into the desert (bikes and trucks), a lot of reading and writing, very much like an artists’ community without rules.

The overall feeling of “man, the manipulator” might be called relaxed. Quite in opposition to its title, this CD has not been made to shock or irritate people from the get go. Rather than that, you are taken by the hand and taken on a slow walk through the countryside, where then, when you feel safe and relaxed, you will see things and encounter experiences that might change your life forever. There are really no obvious estrangement-effects. The necessary estrangement comes from the moment, when the listener suddenly thinks to himself, how did I get here? Has it always been this way? Do I have to go back? Most of the times the small and subtle communicative inputs work the best because they are able to transcend any receptive barriers unseen and subliminal, while loud and harsh impulses are easily recognized, regarded as such and blocked. Soulo use these small effects with masterful skills and mix them together into a beautiful album.