Raphael De Balanda - The Whirling MYOB
World (tribal new age) Pop. Drums, Guitar, Synth Sounds. San Francisco-based multi-instrumentalist and singer (in English, French, and a language of his own making). Bit of a world fusion stew with emotive (though not particularly good) singing. Middle Eastern drums and Spanish guitar are the elements I can pick out most readily. Songs have a very full sound, not much white space. No FCCs detected..Faves: 1, 4, 6 ~eme o.

1. Bakala (4:08) Mid-tempo. Middle Eastern drums lead off. Song is mostly instrumental to start, first really sung portion is ~1:40. Funky bass slips in and Spanish guitar. And a brief spoken word section in English. 8 seconds silence at the end.

2. Un tout, le tout (4:16) Starts a bit slow then gets fast enough to dance to. Fast drums. Flute..

3. Until Tonic (4:12) In English. Mid-tempo. Light percussion, like he’s striking hollow wooden drums. Voice beciomes part of the instrumental landscape. Violin makes an appearance.

4. 2 equals one (3:34) Fastish. First ~14 secs sound like echo-y water dripping, then the band enters led by acoustic guitar. Drums, Bass also in the mix.

5. Destroying the Plan (7:49) In English. Slowish. Pensive piano. Accordion? Drums. Vox are showcased here. Cathartic lyrics.

6. Les noueds se defont (5:23) Starts with a thunderclap. Then wide open soundscape with hand drumming at the center. Words are often indistinct. Slow landscape, fast drums. Maracas or some shaken percussive instrument come in near the end.

7. Freedom (4:43) Mid-fast. In English mostly. Harp opens it up, guitar quickly follows. Drum machine.

8. Antistress (4:36) Slowish. Sensitive guitar. Starts with a sound that’s either a lion’s roar or maybe the sound of reluctant gears shifting, or Tuvan throat-singing, or something, then settles into something like a romantic French cafe song,

9. Eternal (3:45) Mid-tempo. Electric guitar to start, then vox and bass join. Female backing vox.

10. Le reine de l’ete (3:49) Starts with strummed guitar, almost processional drum, then picks up the pace. Verses have fast drum and slow guitar. Choruses brings in more sounds (and are in English, I think).

11. Destroying the plan (radio edit) (5:03) Shorter version of track 5

12. Conscentia (4:26) Slowish. Hypnotic, except for the knocking sounds in the background. which tend to wake you from your altered state. ~26 secs of near silence at the end.