Rangda's got quite a pedigree with Richard Bishop of Sun City Girls, Ben Chasny of Six Organs of Admittance and Comets on Fire, and Chris Corsano, jazz drummer extraordinaire who's played with Bjork and many others. Stop us if we've told you this story, but a bunch of years ago, we saw Chris Corsano play drums in a living room. He set up his kit normally, but behind him on the couch, put these small, heavy metal discs, which he would occasionally swing his arm back to tap. They sounded fierce, a low ping of uncertain origins. After his set, a man from the not-very-good improv group who opened asked him the nature of the discs. "Are those gamelan gongs?" "No," said Corsano. "they're pot lids." We've remembered this as a marker of the simplicity needed to be creative, a life lesson in the ease of deconstructing borders. This is not to say, however, that Corsano was unfamiliar with gamelan, percussive Indonesian music, as Rangda is named after the legend of a Balinese demon queen. From Wikipedia (yeah, yeah): "Terrifying to behold, the child-eating Rangda leads an army of evil witches against the leader of the forces of good," which might as well be a thesis from this instrumental power trio. "Bull Lore" is a mid-tempo shredder, which makes it more brutal than if it was quick, its first half's crux being a dirty solo, before it crashes into a heavier, bluesy wail and then feedbacks back into pained guitar crying. If you like "Bull Lore," it's just a taste of the crazy mania found within their False Flag LP, upcoming on Drag City.
Download: Rangda, "Bull Lore"