Tja- Evelyn Kryger ft. Nene Vasquez (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

I thought I was great at inventing strange, elongated and overtly complex genre names, but I have clearly met my match with Evelyn Kryger. Epic-Fusion-Postrock-Worldbeat-Dysko is how they label themselves, and if you think that doesn’t help things, well, play the music. Do that, and you realize there are so many beautiful contradictions, so many blends of sound and style, and so much progressive experimentation and adventurous tunesmithing going on that no tag, soundbite, or journalistic label would do their music justice anyway. So why bother?

With such considerations out of the way, you are free to enjoy the music without distraction and what great music it is. A worldly blend of Latin grooves and scintillating, soulful moves, a beat-driven slice of music that ebbs and flows between lulling, ambient soundscapes and, thanks to Nene Vasquez in particular, busy, percussive peaks. It takes in jazz complexities, post-rock directness, proggy ornateness, and beat-driven euphoria. In a way, it reminds me of the conceptual and exploratory music of the likes of studio-era Steely Dan, had they taken a more sun-kissed, Latin-infused path.

And here, like any instrumental music, without the direct communication of the lyrics, something that always gets in the way of great music, the music does the talking, using not words but sonic expression, pace and time signatures, emotive tones and deft and delicate interlocking textures to speak, not to the listeners head, nor even their heart, but perhaps their very soul.

What a gorgeous experience and a fantastic way for me to start the working, music-writing week. It is safe to say that Evelyn Kryger is a name I have noted down in the back of my mind; I’m fascinated to hear what they do next. Aren’t you?