Bubblegum Club

Tag: Jumping Back Slash

  • The Pontifications of Big Space

    “My girlfriend tells me there’s an SABC job to be done, I’m the assistant stylist, R1000 a day for 8 days, that’s R8000, I firmly agree. We wait for production budget of R21000 to be deposited. It never arrives. We have no electricity, we drink wine, I smoke weed and play 30 seconds in the dark until we fall asleep.”

    So begins one of the stories that form part of the novella Big Space is releasing along with his latest album. “To pontificate is the stillborn child of the union between solitude and loneliness. These are my pontifications in text and sound, a collection of moments entrenched in my pursuit to not only make music, but to create a world inside myself where I can be King, ruler of the troglodytes, the lord of the flies. I have lived a thousand lives and I have died a million deaths, behold my truth and eat my shit.”

    When it comes to producers forging their own path through South Africa’s music landscape, there are few who are as firmly committed to producing original music that pushes boundaries as Big Space. Over the years he has worked with the likes of Schlachthofbronx, Scratcha DVA, and Spoek Mathambo, local producers 7FT Soundsystem, Leeu & Jumping Back Slash as well as having a slew of original releases under his belt.

    “PONTIFICATIONS”, out on the 8th of February, continues this tradition of seeking originality and is an insight into the world he has created for himself. Released through his label, Wet Dreams Recordings, which he runs with label-mate Rose Bonica, “PONTIFICATIONS” is electronic music, but refuses to stick to the limits of this genre. Taking bits and pieces from well-known and not so well-known musical genres, it has an underlying familiarity while still managing to sound like nothing before it.

    With a playtime just short of 90 minutes, the album is filled with diverse tracks that still form a cohesive collection, a testament to Big Space’s relentless pursuit of originality. Highly layered, with non-traditional structures, the music on “PONTIFICATIONS” requires a few listens before the nuances become apparent. From touches of drum ‘n bass on “Innocent Hands” to the psych-rock tinged “Serpent Moon” featuring Young Om, it’s impossible to know what is coming next on the album, which is precisely the point. It’s clear that “PONTIFICATIONS” is the product of solitude and loneliness because it sounds like nothing else.

    Have a listen below to ‘DAT SINKING LIFE’ from “PONITFICATIONS”

  • Slow Oceans EP is a Carefully Considered addition to Jumping Back Slash’s Unique Catalogue

    Writing about music from day to day usually isn’t that difficult. A lot of releases are so one-dimensional, cliché and uninspired that you can name drop a few genres, say some shit about a hook here or a beat there, give some info about the artist, throw in some hot-takes and you’re good to go. So it’s a bit daunting being given Jumping Back Slash’s latest EP to tell you about. Slow Oceans is so incredibly layered and nuanced that I feel like I may be out of my depth, which makes it rather aptly named.

    I’m on my 13th listen and I find myself drawn to new subtleties each time. The soft, repetitive “thump” of the kick-drum throughout “Come Rescue Me”. The reverberating bass set against playful use of a vocoder on “Khule Naye”. The way “Signs in the Stream” builds so subtly and makes repetition an art. The opening track which the EP is named after, “Slow Oceans”, sounds like the opening scene in a movie where there’s a new dawn in ancient land. Maybe there are dinosaurs, maybe it’s not that far back in time, I don’t know, but you get the picture. Like the scene in Jurassic Park where they’re in the trees and the sun comes up? Along those lines.

    It’s all quite something and there’s a lot going on across the six tracks, but they’re deftly held together by the ever-evolving producer and his choice in featured artists. Nonku Phiri lends her talents to the closing track, “The Siren’s Call”, and the sonic sorcerer Hlasko adds his touch to half the productions- “Khule Naye”, “In the Void” (which also features Shane Cooper aka Card on Spokes) and today’s exclusive premier, the hypnotic and haunting “Signs in the Stream”.

    Jumping Back Slash has such a unique catalogue and Slow Oceans is a carefully considered, and masterfully crafted addition. The EP drops on the 27th of January but you can treat your ears and listen to a piece of the puzzle, “Signs in the Stream”, below.

    For more about Jumping Back Slash, check out his website, Twitter and Facebook.