Jatoma
Music critics tend to carry big bags of creative insults, and one of the more bizarre is the allegation of “wallpaper music.” To some jaded critics, certain music is so inconsequential, so “background,” that it fades into unnoticeability like so much flowery wallpaper, or the corn-cob curtains in Marge Simpson’s kitchen.
But home decoration need not imply boredom. Jatoma’s self-titled album has been out on Kompakt for several months with bafflingly little buzz. Their music is not wallpaper music: it is Persian rug music. It is something you can sit on, roll around on, get lost in. The patterns are there, complex in their simplicity, wrapping around each other and weaving themselves into new combinations. And it tells a tale, creates a journey. If I were driving around in my car right now instead of looking at a rug, I would swear this album was the soundtrack to the voyages of some sort of astro-Jacques Cousteau. And like the fractal visions locked into a Persian rug, every strand is better than every other strand: choosing just one song to post was nearly impossible. Highly recommended album.
RIYL: Bonobo, Thievery Corporation, Jean-Michel Jarre, Matthew Herbert
Read: http://www.kompakt.fm/artists/jatoma
Buy: http://boomkat.com/cds/344008-jatoma-jatoma
