Deaf Joe – Kalachuchi
[Bluestack Records]
The Kalachuchi flower, more commonly known as Frangipani, is predominantly grown in trees across the Philippines. Delicate in appearance, with waxy petals often in a striking red hue with brushes of yellow, it’s thought to have many medicinal properties. Aptly, then, its name is given to a record with a great sense of healing woven throughout from Waterford-born musician and producer, Deaf Joe. Merging folk motifs and organic instrumentation with tremendously immersive electronic textures, these thirteen tracks make for a comforting and meditative listen.
Over its succinct 40-minute duration, the spacious arrangements take flight with the various luminous electronic textures soaring. “We always need to get higher,” Joe Harney, the name behind the moniker, sings on Higher, Forever (Don’t Fall), a moment which captures the overall essence of the record’s lyrical and tonal sentiments.
There’s a defiance demonstrated across Harney’s words, delivered in Bon Iver-like layered harmonies, which was born from extensive periods of solitude during the recording of the album across three locations from Scotland, Denmark and Ireland.
You can hear how those differing environments have seeped into his musical sensibilities on Kalachuchi. There’s an icy air drifting through Shadow Work, and Notes From The Throwing Wheel, in particular. Elsewhere, it’s difficult to not hear traces of Scottish pop-electronic group The Blue Nile on Cut Through Clouds, one of the more uptempo moments. It’s in the more experimental numbers such as People Give Up Too Easily and the woozy atmosphere of Erase Everything, however, where Harney’s artistry truly shines.
Words: Zara Hedderman
