“A meditation on community that caroms from root-down avant-funk to solitary cosmic minimalism and twinkling dubby ambience. Most importantly it is a deeply emotional record, the running soundtrack to a world in confusion.”
And the band goes on:
Revelators is a testament to the telepathic and soulful musical interplay between Taylor and Ralston. “We only ever talked about what emotion we were going for,” Ralston recalls. “We never talked about gear or fidelity.” Taylor echoes this sentiment, elaborating, “This record is about grief. Grief, and whatever comes after. We were looking for a way to communicate that musically.”
The Revelators, the debut record from MC Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger) and Cameron Ralston (Spacebomb House Band), digs deep across multiple genres to find this flourishing musical language.
The lineup:
M.C. Taylor: Guitar and organ
Cameron Ralston: Electric and double bass, drum machine, voice
JT Bates: Drum kit
Stuart Bogie: Clarinet
Pinson Chanselle: Drum kit and percussion
Daniel Clarke: Clavinet and piano
Devonne Harris: Piano and Fender Rhodes
Rich Hinman: Pedal steel guitar
Brian Jones: Percussion
JC Kuhl: Tenor saxophone and bass clarinet
Reggie Pace: Percussion
Drew Sayers: Tenor saxophone
Philo Tsoungui: Drum kit
Violins were played by Anna Bishop, Ellen Riccio, Meredith Riley, Adrian Pintea, Treesa Gold, Jennette Jang and Stacy Matthews. Violas were played by Liz Stahr, Derek Smith and HyoJoo Uh. Cellos were played by Peter Greydanus, Schuyler Slack and Steph Barrett.
If all of this sounds like a lot to take, it is and isn’t. Revelators is as dense as a rain forest but its also filled with beauty, charm, movement and surprise, a free-flowing exchange of ideas and emotions whose roots dig into electric Miles and spiritual jazz (e.g. Pharoah Sanders and Alice Coltrane) with Lee “Scratch” Perry’s lovely human haze providing a deeper groove. Comprised of four tracks running from 5 to 10 minutes a piece, Revelators is also to be taken in whole, from beginning to end, if you want to partake in the complete sonic journey.
Spoiler Alert: “Bury The Bell” is 10 minutes of pure lustrous beauty. Yum.