#infinite river

[pi-slices]

Infinite River. (2021) - Pi-Slices x Giraffage

[theimmaculatearchive]

See you there.

[revilermpls]

We Went There: Kim Gordon at the Fine Line Music Cafe

Kim Gordon @ the Fine Line, Minneapolis, MN – June 7th, 2024 In hindsight I’m not sure why, but I was surprised to see the bold “Sold Out” sign as I walked up to the Fine Line Music Cafe for Kim Gordon’s show Friday night in Minneapolis. After an initial deep sigh and muttering of internal complaints ove having to deal with a venue that is a nightmare when packed, I thought for a second and…

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[doomandgloomfromthetomb]

Infinite River - Tabula Rasa

A stellar slice of psych jammery from Detroit's Infinite River. Warren Defever from His Name Is Alive joins Gretchen Gonzales, Joey Mazzola and Steve Nistor on the primarily instrumental Tabula Rasa, which moves swiftly from Solar Motel-ish workouts to moody Meddle-era Floyd drifts to almost Beefheart-y tangles. No wheels are reinvented; the infinite pleasures here are derived from the sound of a band rocking out righteously, engaging in groovy interplay that's sometimes intricate, sometimes wide open.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: Infinite River

Photo: Doug Coombe

Infinite River is what happens when four veterans of the Detroit underground find themselves with a little extra time on their hands. Coming together during pandemic times, Gretchen Gonzales Davidson (Slumber Party, Universal Indians), Joey Mazzola (Sponge, Detroit Cobras), Warn Defever (His Name Is Alive) and Steve Nistor (Sparks, Daniel Lanois) let the music start to flow, using guitar, harmonium, tanpura and percussion to create a sound that’s equal parts arcing, droning and shimmering. “Their brand of drift is especially soothing and sublime,” Bryon Hayes wrote of their debut album Prequel, calling it “the perfect prescription for the current zeitgeist.” And the good news about that is: with at least two more full-lengths on the way (Space Mirror is due next, on August 18th), there’s enough to go around for everyone.

Speaking of spreading the love, guitarist Gonzales Davidson does some of that below with a list of some of her favorite music, much of which you’re sure to hear traces of in Infinite River’s sound.

Funkadelic — Maggot Brain

Funkadelic’s first few are just mind-blowing but this one… this one with the opening monologue and then that sundown-on-an-eclipsing-universe guitar solo. Just… damn.

Seventh Sons — 4am at Frank’s

I could put many ESP releases on this list: Godz 2, Albert Ayler’s Spiritual Unity, Cromagnon…. all make the world we drive through a little more chaotic and knowing. But Seventh Sons…this record shatters so many music genres in a true celebration of life. It is a crazy record. It is a perfect record.

The Flaming Lips — American Head

I have loved the Flaming Lips for a long, long time and admire their ability to keep releasing incredible music after all these years. This newest one is full of beautifully catchy melodies wrapped up in what seems to be dark, autobiographical subject matter… there is some heartbreaking stuff on here. And yet the music rises above and provides an epic experience.

Can — Tago Mago

Nothing much to say about perfection. Tago Mago is perfection. How the hell did anyone ever create something of this beauty? Just the first few tracks alone…those drums on “Paperhouse” — those drums that define Krautrock– FUUHHHHHKKKK — and then going right into “Mushroom”… taking off to Venus with a beat that is almost impossible to define. I love putting Tago Mago on the car stereo when trekking through the desert, watching the world around me turn alien.

The Dead C — The White House

How can I say it more clearly: yes, this is the album from Dead C that brought all of their weirdness together beautifully however, anything Michael Morley touches… one of the main Dead C members… is worth a deep gander. His new record, in the guise of the band Gate… is brilliant as well. I remember when Universal Indians opened for the Dead C in Detroit, and thinking — life could not get better. Galen, Aaron Dilloway’s band, was also opening, and it was so funny because Justin Allen, another Galen member, was grounded that night so they had to play without him. Anyway, The Dead C has been one of my favorites since the 1990s.

Simon Finn — Pass the Distance

The ultimate in stream-of-consciousness freaky folk music, Simon Finn’s Pass The Distance is a beautiful train ride through an enhanced artistic mind.

And a couple songs to consider for your listening pleasure…

Loren Mazzacane Connors — “Haunted House”

LMC has crafted such a unique guitar style, that he is sometimes overlooked in the grander discussion of life-after-John-Fahey. But don’t let that stop you from digging into his genius. “Haunted House” is his dark, sultry beautiful version of the blues… oh damn that slide guitar and his whispered vocals. Gives me chills every time.

Dino Valente — “Children of the Sun”

The rough life of Dino Valente, the original singer for Quicksilver Messenger Service who was thrown in jail for pot possession (oh sorry…FLOWER possession…should use the new lingo) right as the band was taking off. He would end up getting released and playing with them again. But it is his solo record that I love the most… with the songs of tough knowledge bleeding everywhere. This song is devastating. How does he produce an operatic tragedy in the confines of a song with just a guitar and vocals? WE ARE ALL CHILDREN OF THE SUN!

William Onyeabor — “Atomic Bomb”

I love the crazed funk that William lays down. “Body and Soul” is another great track of his… worth listening to… but “Atomic Bomb” — what the HELL is that sound he is putting together? It is not of this time… yet not of the time it came from. Did Randy Newman get sucked into an effects pedal? How much acid is in the water in Onyeabor’s Nigerian homeland? I mean… how did he make this groovy sound? I listen to it… I take it in… I love it… I get down… wayyyyyy down… and I have no idea how it exists.

[dustedmagazine]

Infinite River — Prequel (Birdman)

Prequel by Infinite River

The phrase “there must be something in the water” describes an inexplicable concentration of likeminded individuals in a geographic region. In the case of the Detroit River, unfortunately that “something” is pollution. Yet there is a bounty of beauty that flows from this toxic tributary. The sonic rivulets run deep and wide. From Motown, proto-punk and techno to space rock, noise and garage, Detroit’s musical legacy is cast in rust-flecked steel, reverberating in time with the echoes of the Motor City’s now-dormant assembly lines. The Detroit River is filled with artistic splendor. 

Infinite River is bathed in Detroit’s decades-long sonic glow. The band comprises stalwart members of three separate long-tenured scenes but maintains a sound that lies somewhere at the center of them all, like a mystical eye within a pyramid. The three musicians – Warren Defever (His Name is Alive), Gretchen Gonzales Davidson (Slumber Party, Universal Indians) and Joey Mazzola (Detroit Cobras, Sponge) – want to engage in a delightful sort of psyops. They’re out to hypnotize with sound, and Prequel is their first salvo of soothing tone.

Infinite River arose from the stir-craziness of lockdown. The three friends jammed out their frustrations with two guitars over a powdery mountain of drone that Defever crafted with synths and tanpura. They enlisted a fourth compatriot – drummer Steven Nistor – to round out their sound with a steady pulse and washes of cymbals. His efforts complete the picture: a dreamy photograph in muted colors that portrays a scene of blissful contemplation. Prequel’s six unnamed sections flow into each other effortlessly. Davidson and Mazzola improvise unhurriedly, their guitars entwined in delicate waves of gossamer. Imagine Windy & Carl’s Consciousness blended into Mountains’ Choral, but with melody and pulse as the primary motivator. 

Prequel finds the members of Infinite River acting as a unit without a leader. They’re a small herd moving in unison, and they cover a considerable amount of territory. Psychedelia, ambient, and folk are all touchstones that bear influence on their oeuvre. To complete the picture, each member brings their own personality to the party, adding a uniquely intoxicating element to spike the brew. Defever distills his avant-pop instincts to create fog banks of drone. Davidson and Mazzola strip guitar noise down into its component parts and layer them with melody. Nistor leverages his session drummer instincts to add creative percussion elements that move with the overall direction of the music. 

The name of this album leads us to believe that there’s more to come from Infinite River, which is encouraging. Their brand of drift is especially soothing and sublime; given the seemingly endless crises going on these days, we could use an injection of serenity in our lives. Infinite River is the perfect prescription for the current zeitgeist. 

Bryon Hayes