author: Guy
COLOUR HAZE (ger) / LOS NATAS (arg) in Sojo, November 5th
CONCERT REVIEW
Colour Haze is already an acquired taste, but this is even more the case with Los Natas, who started a decade ago as a decent stoner band (with 1996’s Delmar), but gradually incorporated more diverse influences – many of ‘em being the same that I mentioned before: space-rock, all things seventies, hard rock, etc. This resulted in well-respected albums such as 1999’s Ciudad de Brahman and 2001’s Corsario Negro, but the step that really gave ‘em their current status are the two recent Toba Trance albums, works so eclectic, adventurous and unique that there’s simply no band to compare them to anymore. Since they’ve disbanded the rigid stoner mould, they’ve been quite unique, but on Toba Trance I & II, the band created a rich melting pot of mind-expanding trance-rock, space jams, ethic sounds and mantra-like work-outs. A song like “La Tierra del Fin” on the first volume, for instance, is 21-minutes of music that’s so free and unconventional that it also seems like it was created unprepared under the influence of a hallucinogen like peyote. Los Natas’ show wasn’t as heavy on the trance-side of things as Toba Trance, but the band’s singular approach was kept intact. While scenes from Apocalypse Now were projected, guitarist/vocalist Sergio Chotsourian, bassist Gonzalo Villagra and drummer Walter Broide laid down a soundtrack that almost sounded like the musical equivalent of the surreal technique of écriture automatique: themes came and went, were shifted, bended and replaced and while they didn’t produce as much volume as Colour Haze (during their “pedal-to-the-floor”-parts), Los Natas ultimately delivered a more impressive set of near-drones, propelled by Broide’s amazing drumming technique (combining soft strokes and delicate fills with straightforward skin-bashing), Villagra’s fluid bass-lines and Chotsourian’s riffs and solos that frequently were totally amazing. In a way, they didn’t differ that much from Colour Haze (song lengths, influences and approaches have a lot in common), but the simple fact that this was an Argentinian band (and just think about it – how many of those do you know?) added a very special flavour to it all. Call it “Latin space rock” or anything you want, but these guys were unmistakeably infusing their brand of psychedelic rock with a tribal intensity and sense of melodicism that you just don’t get with European/American bands. Sergio surely isn’t the best vocalist around, but his simple lines in songs such as “Soma” give the songs an emotional tension you didn’t even know was there. I don’t really know any song titles by this band (unless it’s something striking such as “Homo de Marihuana” from Toba Trance II), but that doesn’t matter, since it’s the overall sound and experience that matters and I have no idea how they pulled it off, but their set didn’t have a single dull moment, despite the stretched-out sections and abundance of feverish instrumental passages. If anything, Los Natas proved that – with the right approach – even a free-floating concert can become a totally overwhelming experience. Many a Grateful Dead-fan would agree, I presume. All kidding aside, Los Natas delivered a magnificent set and when both bands joined each other for an encore (Los Natas doing one of their songs with Kogelek on guitar, Colour Haze playing Kyuss’ “Allen’s Wrech” with Chotsourian on guitar), it was a wet dream come true for most people out there. As a result, the merch table was nearly pillaged by enthusiasts and that’s always a good thing. It was a special night with some exceptional music that more people need to hear – it would make ‘em think differently about (rock) music.
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A lot of people were alarmed by this double bill and that’s kinda awkward (but interesting), as these two bands aren’t exactly specialized in creating easily digestible music for the masses. In fact, you could as well argue that both Germany’s Colour Haze, as well as Argentina’s Los Natas have been making decidedly experimental music for a while now, releasing albums that are hard to categorize (despite some obvious influences) while disbanding traditional notions of structure, sound and even tonality. Over the past few years, Colour Haze’s stature as one of Europe’s leading heavy psych bands has only increased. While the genre is still very much a cult thing (good luck finding their albums in your local record store), their following is extremely devoted and by delivering dozens of extended shows (and I mean, these guys have no problem whatsoever to keep on going for 2-3 hours), a band like Colour Haze has reached something of a grand stature – even overseas. Unless you’ve never been exposed to anything else but hollow genre exercises by mediocre bands, you’ll realize in minutes (if not seconds) why guitar player Stefan Koglek and his partners in crime are such a revered unit. These guys know how to play. With his length (6’6”?) and curly head, Koglek is already a striking artist to look at, but his command over the guitar is what really sets him apart. Displaying a style that is as much influenced by stoner pioneers Kyuss, as well as classic rock (Hendrix and all the other obvious ones), 70’s space-rock, Kraut-rock, experimental music ànd jazz, Colour Haze are a power trio in the purest sense of the term, a unit capable of laying down haunting instrumental sections, bludgeoning grooves and volcanic sound eruptions. It’s also obvious that these guys are “sound freaks”, as Koglek’s usually backed by half a wall of amplifiers that give the music an enormous boost when he decides to kick out the jams. And there is jamming. Lots of it. The band even kicked off their set with a song that has an introduction that’s lengthier than many punk EP’s. Mellow and refined, “Sundazed” was built up with meticulous care until they let loose the energy. Even though the playing’s usually terrific and occasionally stunning (and Merwald’s powerhouse-drumming and Rasthofer’s melodic force from the Entwistle-school are as impressive as Koglek’s stylings), the stretched-out songs made me long for the moments when the songs exploded. Some people like nothing better than sound sheets that creep along at a snail’s pace and shift almost unnoticeably from one part to the next, but they often caused me to study my fellow-listeners and empty beer cup. It can be a great trip on drugs, but for me, 80-90 minutes of Colour Haze’s heavy space-rock can be quite exhausting. I hesitate to use the word “boring”, but the music occasionally became way too cerebral for it’s own good (and that’s my take on it, as several people in the audience drivelled all over their shirts) and silent parts came awfully close to “noodling”. That said, the band did play a few terrific songs (“Peace! Brother & Sisters!” continuing for twenty minutes or so) that had great moments to guide you on a trip to another universe.