“While the Gods are powerful, we learn little about them. It is only in their day of decadence that a strong light beats into heaven”
E.M. Forster, Howards End
An idea could be reached without intentionality. Most of our ideas don't have a complex process behind them. You could notice it by looking at most of human discoveries. Fire wasn't invented by knowing that knocking two flints would create sparks, it was discovered by chance. I think that a lot of good ideas come from a random process which makes our reality more like an holistic system rather than a causal one. The arts are where mankind is able to pursue random ideas and trasform them into beautiful concepts. It's in visual arts, cinema and music. Music, which takes direct inspiration from reality, isn't so casual. There's always an underlying idea of order. What about chaos? A few artists approached the idea of building their music around chaos and causality. One of them is Anazanaut, a group which has no past, no future and no home. An enigmatic and fascinating band which names is hermetic as its songs. An interesting process which goes against the ordinary process used by artists to find their identity. This is how Ugo Fist, the band's founder, describes it:
"Well, it started when I was trying to find a name for my new project that wasn't already used and I was inspired by Jandek, who made his name up to avoid similar issues after his first album got sued for using someone else's name. I played around with a nonsense word generator online until I came up with Anazanaut, searched it on Google and when it came back with zero results, knew I had something. The idea just progressed from there"
The band, as Ugo Fist recounts here in a detail, has an interesting origin story which spans decades in the making :
"Began as an attempt to wipe the slate clean after a series of disheartening failed creative endeavours undertaken in the years preceding its inauguration. After 35 years of effort involving a motley assortment of associates working within sundry concoctions of bands and one-off collaborations, on May 5th of 2015, after a particularly egregious personal confrontation, it became apparent that it was time to withdraw from active participation in these ventures. I deemed to enter a period of stasis until such time as some inspiration could compel me towards fresh ground for exploration. This event occurred in July of 2015 when I was gifted with the temporary possession of a handmade Japanese prototype “Eleki Ribbon” style Ondes Martenot. With a sound similar to a Theremin, but controlled via the use of a ribbon touch strand, it became the impetus for the inception of an entirely new artistic manifestation. At the time, the intent was to conceive something completely untethered to any prior incarnation and not even announce its existence to anyone familiar with previous works"
But what's remarkable is how Ugo got his passion about music. As he tells us:
"My great uncle really inspired me. There were a number of musicians on my mom's side of the family, but he was special because he recorded his own original compositions. AND he was into doing old style overdubbing using multiple tape decks, so he'd record himself playing guitar and singing and then add mandolin on top of that and I thought it was just some kind of magic to be able to do that. It kicked off my obsession with getting into home recording gear: cassette decks, reel tp reel, portastudios and eventually computer gear. It all started with him"
Another intersting fact is that the randomness of the Band's name is heavily noticeable in the tracks's names, realization and releasing process:
"It was decided to utilize nonsense words as identifiers for all album and song titles as well. Numerological elements were also incorporated into releases with song/track lengths limited to a prescribed set of durations, either 8, 22 or 44 minutes, exactly. 8 minute pieces would also only be released in sets of 8 and, to date, there are a total of 8 albums with this configuration. 22 and 44 minute pieces would all be stand alone releases. The only exceptions to these constraints were the binary themed release, 00110000 00110001, in which all texts were coded in binary, and 20160611, which is a live recording of a 4 hour installation performance enacted on June 11, 2016. Packaging of the releases was then restricted to utilize a predefined template so that each title would appear to be part of an ongoing series"
But it wasn't limited to the aspects explained above, because the same level of originality is also present in every track's covers:
"Every recording also involved the creation of a graphic image based on multiple overlaid original photographs plus a paragraph of text which would be, in some abstract way, representative of the recording. The three elements are intended to function together as a unity. The texts themselves were written in a style which attempted to deconstruct conventional language and make it often seem incoherent in some way or like a lot of complex words were being used to communicate very little actual information. As it evolved, however, certain meanings and cultural observations began to inexorably impose themselves in these texts as a natural, organic byproduct of their evolution"
In terms of the style, its principal realms of focus include ambient, down-tempo and techno electronic music styles with a heavy emphasis on dub production techniques. In addition to various digital based electronic equipment including samplers and virtual synthesizers, real world instruments such as guitar, violin, trumpet, voice and a wide variety of acoustic percussion and noise makers have been incorporated into the arsenal. This also includes some micro-synth devices such as Korg Monotrons and Koassilators. External guitar FX processing footboards have also been a key ingredient in creating the sound.
Anazanaut was primarily active from July 2015 until June 2017. Since then, only two additional titles have been released in July of 2020 and January of 2021. While no further work is currently planned, it cannot be said to be officially discontinued and there is always the potential that new releases may be manifest at some future date. Outside of Anazanaut, only a couple of one-off collaborations have been done in the past 6 years.
The favourite's bands of Anazanaut are The Monkees, Queen, Public Image Ltd and Throbbing Gristle, because, as Ugo explains:
"Each offered me revelations at various stages of my youth from childhood, through adolescence and becoming an adult"
Randy Scouse is his favourite song by Monkees because:
"It's a song that stuck with me from the first time I heard it as a kid and still seems relevant to me because it's about an LSD trip with the Beatles"
Some Day One Day is the favourite piece of Queen, because it makes him misty every time hears that. Careering and Slugbait are his favourite of Throbbing Gristle and Public Image.
Their trinity of movies is composed by he Holy Mountain by Alejandro Jodorowsky, Head, The Monkees 1968 feature, and Desperate Living by John Waters, because:
"Holy Mountain reflects my sense of spirituality, Head my understanding of popular culture and Desperate Living my sense of humor"
He's also into Star Trek and his favourite characters are Picard and Disco.
Today we're going to take a look to Dializing Shambelly, Ugo Fist favourite album:
"This release, for me, is my favorite of the Anazanaut project and I think it has the most relevance as well in terms of connecting to popular culture. It was recorded right after the US 2016 elections and released shortly after the Cheeto Prez took office, so it is informed by the looming sense of doom that was inherent at the time. The cover on the front even features a heavily mutated image of Dumpo. Each of the tracks incorporates a central found voice. Some are more well known than others including Jacques Cousteau, Bhagwan Shri Rajneesh & Vincent Price. Others are from old religious or instructional records. Themes of spirituality, occultism and self improvement are principal throughout, though there are more humorous elements like pornographic material"
The first track of this album is Frigidal. It's a piece where it's present a female voice at the start, which set the tones of the music. I would describe it as a psychedelich but soothing song. Most of it is instrumental. It exudes multiple emotions but it's hard to describe them because this isn't ordinary music.
Next is Senami, which is a more dynamic one. There's a voice which says things which are connected to the song's theme. I think that this song would fit perfectly in a cyberpunk movie, because it evokes this vibes. The use of a drum gives to track a certain pace which is constant and never slows down.
Beamazed has a voice which tweaked a bit, slowed, to fit the music rythm. It's amazing because there's a variety of sounds and styles which makes it very original.
Masouge starts as a dialogue between a man and a woman with different voices. It's hard to describe this songs because there aren't certainties and a they lacks familiarity. This what fascinate me and will fascinate you.
Valers starts with a bang and then it's quiet. The song is introducted by a voice who gives some instructions. It makes me feel like we're experiencing a curfew and there's a voice which tells us what to do. It's the kind I imagine used in a futuristic movie to show the enslaved people under awfully programmed machines. it stucks with you.
Baptusion is the weirdest one because it's composed only of a vocalised part. It's pretty enigmatic. I think that the band's description of this track could clear a bit this sensation of confusion.
The next one is Cavelag. It starts in a storm and it slowly build up into a more soothing and warm music. After a while the vocalised part become extremely pleasing. This songs aren't song you're supposed to hear about with an empty mind. It's more a way to earn new notions and informations.
Least but not last there's Washad. Is the one which remembers me shaman's song and it's kinda dreamy. It's a reflection the tossic mindset present in our society and I think that it has a point.
This is an interesting band because it's original, quirky and it does more than just music. Ugo Fist wanted to craft something to be remembered and change our society for the best, even though he's losing his faith in it. Check Anazanaut out to adress your certainties and misconception and find your own path in a falling civilization. Change starts with one person and one simple action. Will you be the one who'll start it?
All releases are available in the Anazanaut's Bandcamp
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