The first 20 years of Bong-Ra’s existence were spent as a breakcore electronic music project. In recent years, founder Jason Köhnen (Celestial Season, The Answer Lies in the Black Void) has switched gears towards a more doom metal inspired sound. Newest album ‘Meditations’ is a tribute to the Stoic writings of Marcus Aurelius, each of the four tracks named after the Stoic virtues ‘Courage’, ‘Wisdom’, ‘Justice’, and ‘Temperance’.
Purely instrumental, ‘Meditations’ is bass heavy, punctuated by flourishes of jazz saxophone. It’s certainly not the most accessible of records and is definitely an acquired taste, however, the kaleidoscopic effects of the music create dense textures and multi-dimensional facets. The end result is one of exploration – despite its lack of vocals, this is by no means a passive listen. The build in atmospherics make for endless discoveries of varying tempos, a multitude of different instruments and an entire spectrum of moods.
Dark, dreamy and exotic, Bong-Ra are an enigmatic force of nature that occupy a space within alternative music that’s entirely their own. In leaning into the niche and avantgarde of the music world Bong-Ra open up endless possibilities and ‘Meditations’ is a record without limits or boundaries – an expert execution in the art of experimentation.
(7/10 Angela Brown)
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