The Hirundu – Syrups (2023)

Pitch And Putt

Doom rock Avant-garde Reductionism Psycho-acoustic Experimentalism Drone Abstract Improvised music Microsound

Mulle sitaks meeldib, et Johnny Crewdson vanuigi heliliselt radikaliseerub; olles viljakas ja aldis kõiksugu helieksperimentidele. Ei saa öelda, et kõiksugu hullusele, kuivõrd pöörasuse väljund eeldab planeerimist ja tahtekindlust. Võiks ju olla eeskujuks miljonitele veel enne, kui Vikatimees oma instrumendist viisi lahti ihub. Inglane alustas 80ndate lõpus koos kamraadidega muusika tegemist pärast seda, kui oli näinud telekast Happy Mondays'i esinemist (ilmselt nad ei olnud ainsad inspiratsioonihoost tabatud). Kohati ülinakkav madalaresolutsiooniline psühhedeelia ja indirokk arenesid üha keerukamaks ja määratlustele allumatumaks. Hiljem hakkas ta The Hirundu't vedama ainuisikuliselt. Vahepeal oli ka tegev ansamblis Golf Harris. Arvan, et AD 2023 on ta üllitanud vähemalt tosin albumit. "Syrups" on viimane -- see on küll kitarridega (ainult basskidradega?) tehtud, kuid see ei ole rokkmuusika. Vahetult peale jõule üllitatud, et kuulajail liigkilogrammid maha raputada. Album kõlab Sunn O))) trotsliku kaksikvennana, kellele ei ole kunagi miski liiga madal ega piisavalt võimendatud. Heidab vennale ette, et viimast kuulavad kõiksugu hipsterid ja muiduahvid. Kui ma väidaksin, et Johnny teeb doom'i, siis ma räägiksin osaliselt tõtt; kas see muusika on aleatooriline või determineeritud -- no ei saa aru! Lihtne vabandus oleks -- ilmselt siis mõlemat! See heli on küll ühelt poolt abstraktne, ent teisalt selle füüsiline ja hingestatud taak ei jäta midagi ripakile. Kui näiteks aborigeen hakkab puhuma didgeridood, siis paneb ta sellesse oma füüsise taha ja hinge sisse. Käesoleva viieloolise puhul on vaimu- ja hingeenergia šamanistlikku tootemi elektrivooluks konverteeritud.

The Hirundu – Rustica Radio (2022)

Pitch And Putt

Bandcamp

• Drone
• Microsound
• Avant-garde
• Experimental electronica
• Musique concréte
• Avant-electronica
• Drone
• Abstract
• Experimentalism
• Acousmatic music
• Ambient
• Microtonal

Mida vanemaks Johnny Crewdson jääb, seda süngemaks ja abstraktsemaks muutub tema ühemeheprojekti The Hirundu kõlapilt. Inglismann, kes 80ndate lõpus tele vahendusel Happy Mondays'i laivist inspiratsiooni saanuna hakkas kamraadidega tegema kodusalvestatud (kidra)mussi, mis kõlaliselt ennetas Ariel Pink'i kümnendiga. Helipilt on pika aja vältel muutunud, kõiksugu käike ja põikeid on kompromissitult proovitud; ja seda edukalt. Meenutab ses plaanis MES'i ja The Fall'i, kuigi stiilirohkuselt ületatakse Manchester'i legendit. Üllitiste arvult veel jäädakse maha. Lõnguse ekspressiivsus on muutunud vana toriseja detailidesse takerdumiseks. Detailidesse takerdumise armastuseks. Ja takerdumisest väljapääsu leidmise naudinguks. Siinkirjutaja tõlgendab pealkirja ja albumit vanaaegse raadioaparaadiga kusagil perifeerses maapiirkonnas kunati informatsiooni laiast ilmast hankimise ja töötlemise protseduurina. Enamus aega helipilt kahiseb-sahiseb, vahel hakkab isegi piiksuma ja pulseerima; aeg-ajalt kandub kuulaja kõrvu kiirendatult, vahetevahel tsükli lainepikkus muutub. (Des)informatsioon jõuab katkendlike bittidena kuulajani – jõuab küll, ent ilma tähenduseta. Selles edastuses võib tajuda uudise edastamise ja vormi agressiivsust või neutraalsust, ent ideoloogiline tahk taandub. Mainitud osise tahtlik ärajätmine osutab teose puhastavale iseloomule kaasaja informatsiooni ülekülluse tingimustes. Või andes asjale iroonilise keerme, kui teave jõuab kõlaritesse ümberpööratult. See on test kuulajale – kui väga ta januneb info järele – kas ta pöörab faili "õigetpidi", saamaks teada "tõde"? Väga eksperimentaalne kraam, mis väga peenelt läbi mõeldud-piiritletud ja seejärel teostatud.

8.5 (8.0-9.0)

The Hirundu – Field Drones Vol.2 Field Dronier (2022)

Pitch And Putt

Bandcamp

• Drone 
• Sampledelic 
• Abstract 
• Experimentalism 
• Field recording 
• Acousmatic music 
• Avant-garde 
• Microtonal 
• Musique concréte 
• Post-industrial 
• Spoken word 
• Organic electronica 

Inglismann Johnny Crewdson'i sooloasjale The Hirundu olen pühendanud palju lehekülgi, ent kunagi ei ole küllalt. Mees on kaheksakümnendate lõpust – algul koos kamraadidega – äestanud Blackpool'is lo-fi- ja DIY-helivagusid, ammutades dopingut ohtrast õllest ja jalgpallist. Olles inspireeritud Happy Mondays'i laivi nägemisest ning tehes algul kidrapõhist muusikat, pikkides sinna sisse üha uusi elemente ja nüansse. Säherdune rahutu loomus jõudis loogiliselt tantsu- ja elektroonilise muusika manu. Kamraadid kadusid kõrvalt, ent The Hirundu albumite arv kasvas jõudsalt. Koos sellega kasvas kõiksugu stiiliüleste katsetuste number. Käesolev album on teine osa selleaastasest dronotriloogiast. Kui esimene osa-album oli hästi madala kvaliteediga välisalvestistega vürtsitatud mikrotonaalne album, siis käesoleval on abstraktsuse määr vähenenud ja käegakatsutavus kasvanud. Vähemalt rohkemale ja kiduvalt õitsvale. Pigem õitsvamale, kuna kidub kah aeg-ajalt. Mis eristab Crewdson'i muusikat paljudest teistest on võime kätkeda midagi, mis haagib end kuulaja alateadvusse. Eks ta mängib lagundamise ja loomise viljakal piiril. Lagundamine loob positiivsed eeldused loomiseks. Mängides välja eluterve pinge vastandite võimendamise näol. Konkreetse muusika mõistmiseks tuleb kõrvaklapid pähe panna – see ei koosne ainult helikombinatsioonidest ja märkidest, vaid ka füüsilisest helivõnkumisest – selle füüsilisest mõjust. Droonmuusika puhul lisab see väärtust. Aitab koondada helikiired sugereerivaks poomiks. Kindlasti säherduse mikrotonaalse muusika puhul on oluline roll kuulaja fantaasial, ent muusikas endas peavad peituma päästikhelid, mis need vallandavad. Teisalt sõltub keskkonnast – looduslikus sünesteetilises keskkonnas kipub taoline muusika kahvatuma, ent tehislikus, sageli tunnetust kastreerivas maailmas helipilt rikastab ümbritsevat. Need 14 lugu sugereerivad bassisageduste, zombilike oiete ning mõnes mõttes eimidagiütlevate – et mitte öelda võõrandunud – helidega. Justkui osutades hiigelsuurele sipelgapesale, milles me elame. Selle muusika retooriline funktsioon ongi seda võõrandumist pehmendada mõtestamise ja kujutamisega. Selleks läheb vaja tuttavlikke kaunikõlalisi helisid nagu näiteks sulnis klaveriklimberdamine ja kellamäng mõnes kompositsioonis. Kellamängu iseloomustav kohmakus lisab midagi inimlikku, võib-olla koguni ilmestab üliinimlikku pingutust. Kellamäng sümboliseerib surelikkust – eriti just tänapäevases sõja ja haigustega laetud situatsioonis. Tekitab surmatantsulikus ringkäigus kord masendust kord lootust. Lõpuks loodetavasti leppimist sellega, mis ülevalt on vääramatuks säetud. Lõppude lõpuks oleme kõigest primaadid (esikloomad), kes on koja eesruumi, ent mitte (veel) tuppa lastud. Väga korralik teos, mis ilmselt sunnib siinkirjutaja dronoloogia esimese osa uuesti üle kuulama (kolmandat ei ole jõudnud kuulata). 

8.5 (7.5-9.0)

The Hirundu – Gravalax Impersenator: A Diary Of A Plague Year a.k.a. Git Biscuits 4 (Final Biscuits) a.k.a Sagbutt Fever! (2021)

Pitch And Putt

Bandcamp

• DIY 
• Avant-pop 
• Electronic 
• Sampledelic 
• Lo-fi 
• Psychedelic 
• Experimental pop 
• Outsider music 
• Psychedelic 
• Spoken word 

Johnny Crewdson'i viljakus on positiivne, kuna hoides end pidevalt muusika produtseerimisega vormis, suudab asja perfektselt ära vormistada. Väljapool teda on enamasti vastupidised näited valdavad. Olgu, ootan pikisilmi esimest The Hirundu ebaõnnestunud üllitist. See neetud 15-looline istub iga kuulamisega üha enam ja enam pähe. No ei ole naljakas, et on nii tõsine kui naljameelega vürtsitatud; eriti karm, et viimastel aegadel valdavalt helieksperimentidega maha saanud artist teeb muuseas väga hea popalbumi. Siinsetes lugudes on kindlalt olemas suunitlus ja gravitatsioon ning jääb meeldejääv puudutus. Olles piisavalt avar ning samas sügav, et kangastuda millalgi taas kuulaja mälus. Isegi kohmakust ei märka – või on ta selle arendanud täiuseni kontekstis ja kontekstiloomes. Pigem Johnny Crewdson ei ole žanrivahetaja, vaid leiutab ise uusi (mikro)stiile. Ta mitte ei astu ühte ja samasse jõkke, vaid on ise vool. Me elame vastandite maailmas, ning lepitada poolusi on trikiga asi. Voolul on oma gravitatsioon, mis võtab kaasa siit ja sealt – ka vastandlikke asju. Mulle meenutab "Gravalax Impersonator" kergelt vana lemmiku Ken Nordine'i vaibi ja lähenemist 60-70ndatel – jutusämplid ja kummastavate lugude jutustamine valdavalt kergema ent veidralt nihestatud (avangard)helikeele saatel.

The Hirundu – casio brahe ep (2021)

Pitch And Putt

Bandcamp

• Lo-fi 
• Deconstructed pop 
• Sound collage 
• Breaks 
• Improvised music
• Psychedelic 
• Avant-garde 
• Sampledelic 
• Outsider house 
• DIY 
• Experimentalism 
• Drone folk 

Kui siinkirjutaja lemmikblogija Johnny Zchivago nimetas Mark E. Smith`i üheks Briti DIY-liikumise hertsogiks – hoolimata tõigast, et mehel võib-olla ei olnud kahekümne aasta jooksul mitte ühtegi kainet päeva ning ajakirjandus oskas üles leida kõige segasemad väljaütlemised (milledes siiski peitus tihti sügavam mõte), siis Johnny Crewdson on DIY-liikumise väikevürst, kes aastakümnete pärast – olen selles täitsa veendunud – leiab edutamist kõrgemale (aeg pikemas perspektiivis on armuline ja õiglane). The Hirundu sündis hetkel, kui kamp Blackpool`i õllelembeseid tüüpe vahtis diivanil Happy Mondays`i laivi 80ndate lõpus; saades sellest inspiratsiooni, alustasid veidrate popeksperimentidega, mille vundamendiks said kodused salvestussessioonid. Mingist ajahetkest jätkas Crewdson The Hirundu`t ühemeheprojektina, trikitades stiililiselt peaaegu kõigega. Iga järgmine üllitis oli prognoosimatu – abstraktsest elektroonikast ja sügavast tumeämbiendist sulnite klubirütmide, kummastava droonfolgi ja psühhedeelse indirokini. The Hirundu tegi kümme aastat enne Ariel Pink`i seda, millega Pink hiljem tuntuks sai. Üllatavad ka need 18 minutit – see on segu kinemaatilisest sämpledeeliast, perifeersest friikhausist, vaaremade-isade aegsest (tantsu)muusikast, jatsust, dekonstrueeritud elektroonilisest muusikast, udupasunasse kinni jäänud folgist ja-mida-veel! Olgem ausad, see tüüp on palju sügavam, sugereerivam ja samas naljakam kui näituseks Oneohtrix Point Never (keda ma ei viitsi-kannata enam kuulata). Vanameestes on see essents, mis noortel veel puudub. Nii hirmutav kui see ka ei oleks, siis seda EPd võikski lõputult kuulama jääda.

The Hirundu – Occupants 2 (2020)

Bandcamp

• Avant-rock 
• Experimentalism 
• Electronic music 
• Drone 
• Lo-fi 
• Outsider music 
• DIY 
• Ambient 
• Post-punk 
• Experimental rock 
• Abstract

The Hirundu Johnny Crewdson'i kehastuses on fokusseerinud järjekordsed muusikalised perifeeriad, et luua keskmisest väljapaistvamat ja huvitavamat. Nagu ikka võib täheldada helilist mitmekesisust, ent mitte kvaliteedi langemise arvelt. Temas räägib Mark E. Smith'i kiuslik vaim, Angus Maclise'i rahutu müstikaotsing ning glennbrancalik maagilise momendi leidmine kitarrimüras. Teisisõnu, 13-loolisel albumil on vastavalt kuulda nurgelist postpunki, sahinatesse-kahinatesse mattunud droonakorde ja seestunud kitarriämbienti. Loomulikult ei tähenda see seda, nagu Johnny Crewdson püüaks matkida nimetet artiste, vaid sünteesib neist midagi uut elujõulist, vägevat, vaimustavat. Ma täägisin artisti muusika kui "outsider music", kuigi teises tähenduses kui see termin inglisekeeli diskrimineerivalt ja rumalalt osutab. Nimelt termin osutab artisti vaimse tervise puudustele, mis justkui tingiks konkreetse muusika kunatise iseloomu. Mis on absurdne, kuna paljud artistid, kes on muusikat loonud psühhotroopsete ainete mõju all või vaimselt ebastabiilses seisundis, oleksid justkui normaalsed. Ja mis asi kunstis on objektiivselt normaalne üleüldse?! Minu tähenduses osutab termin nihilismile ja konfrontatsioonile meinstriimmuusikaga. Väga hea album nagu kõik varasemad The Hirundu omad.

The Hirundu – Occupants 2 (2020)

Bandcamp

Pitch And Putt

• DIY 
• Experimentalism 
• Electronic music
• Drone 
• Avant-garde
• Post-industrial 
• Psychedelic 
• Acid rock
• Ambient 
• Freeformfreakout 
• Lo-fi 

Ilmselt Johnny Crewdson pidas pealkirjaga silmas teatud tüüpi sipelgaid… . Brittide puhul olen ikka imestanud selle üle, et käivad pubis, ajavad seal isekeskis lolli ja pealiskaudset juttu ja – kui vaja – kasutavad ka rusikaid argumendina. Sellest hoolimata on võimelised looma head ja (vahetevahel) väga head muusikat (keskpärast muusikat on muidugi kordades rohkem – ei saa salata!). Juba neljas kümnend on Blackpool`i mehel DIY-muusikuna jooksmas, aga dünaamika liigub nii esteetilises kui loomeplaanis ülespoole. Prügine psühhedeelia, obskuurne radiofooniline kunst ja dada pop ning provokatiivne sämplipõhine muusika; rokk- ja popmuusika mitte kui eesmärk, vaid irvitus- ja peksuvahend masside reliikvia purustamiseks. Pühasse allikasse oma mädaneva sõrme pistmine. Hiljem lisandusid viljakatele eksperimentaalmuusikutele nii omased (võib-olla koguni paratamatud) põiked elektroonilisse tantsumuusikasse ja katsetuslikematesse valdkondadesse nagu tumeämbient ja eksperimentaalelektroonika. Viimaste aastate The Hirundu albumid sisaldavad läbilõiget muusikagrupi varasemast – mitte otse laenatult –, vaid varasematele eksperimentidele sügavama sisu ja tähenduse andmises. See on igati ausam ja väärtustloovam tegevus kui tänapäeval nii aktuaalses varasemate albumite uuesti masterdamises (ja raha lüpsmises). Albumil “Occupants 2” on erinevaid tahke – psühhedeelsest sünt/happerokist ja kiiskavast ämbiendist introspektiivsetesse elektroonilistesse sügavustesse langemises, et sealt lolle, volle, holle ja kolle esile manada. Pealtnäha düsfunktsionaalsed mürarohked drooneksperimendid, mis teoreetiliselt juba eos peaksid olema hukule määratud, elavad siin jõuliseimat elu kui kusagil mujal. Inimene vastutab siin elus iga oma teo ja tegemata teo ees – miks mitte siis pühenduda muusikale ja kunstile? Ehk õnnestub tohutut tühjust vormida oma-mina järgi. Johnny Crewdson on intrigeeriv DIY-muusika hertsog Uduselt Albionilt, kelle kunstiline pärand ja erakorraline kunstiline mäkketõus – mis jätkub! – ootavad tunnustamist. Isegi Mark E. Smith`il ei ole midagi sellist ette näidata.

The Hirundu – Tantalus (2019)

Pitch And Putt

Bandcamp

• Alternative pop/rock 
• Psych-rock 
• Lo-fi 
• Electronic 
• Alternative dance 
• DIY 
• Indie dance 
• Outsider music 
• Psych-pop 
• Indie pop/rock 
• Electro-rock 
• Baggy 
• Dance rock 
• Progressive 
• Avant-pop 
• Experimental pop 
• Progressive

Comment: the members of The Hirundu got an inkling to embark on recording their own music by watching a TV show with the appearance of Happy Mondays there. It did happen sometime at the end of the 80s when soaring guitar sound was mingled with acid house inspired dance-appealed beats. I guess Johnny Crewdson and company from Blackpool did not get interested in that not because it was hip but it did have a strong psychedelic groove, possible DIY attitude and a solid amount of humour within the backbone. The things would have developed in the way the number of albums by The Hirundu today can already be compared to The Fall, another big favourite of theirs. From initial strong psychedelic groove and dadaist take on radiophonic art and frantic lo-fi pop and rock to be progressing into an idiosyncratic electronic experimental slot. However, by exploring the discography of the combo one can figure out unpredictable twitches between the aforementioned stylistic developments. Additionally, The Hirundu made a lot of modern lo-fi/DIY things to happen approximately a decade before Ariel Pink and a new wave of home recording artists did.
By listening to this 15-notch album and from the very first psychedelic soporific chords one can admit the proper way to set up new directions in music is to explore the past because music like everything around is an experiential and synthetic field for sure. More profoundly, it is Johnny Crewdson's retrodelic act one can hear influences coming out from Primal Scream's Screamadelica (A Nuttist) and sublime baggy rhythms by searching for psychedelic cloudless quietude and to be succumbed to halcyon gravity-free grasp. Indeed, at times I was even struck by a heretical thought Johnny Crewdson tries to retreat deliberately from the previous efforts with regard to either some more silent moments or progressive examples (Seven Feffers) within it. However, there is no heresy in the artist's thinking, Tantalus is a knowing realisation of his frightening yet mesmerizing ideas. For instance, the album is ended up by Merengue, a superb melodic artsy pop approach where you can feel the ambition, dynamics, humor and sensibility. The album is top notch by any means especially living at a time when (mainstream) music is being fucked-up due to stupid exploitation of mechanical voice machines. At a time of talentless and cowardly artists.

The Hirundu – Git Biscuits 2: More Git Biscuits (2018)

Pitch And Putt

Bandcamp

• Electro-funk 
• Lo-fi 
• Funk 
• Outsider music 
• Alternative dance 
• DIY 
• Electronic music 
• Funk rock

Comment: The Hirundu (from Blackpool, the United Kingdom) is an oblique DIY/lo-fi act which is being underrated so far. They started creating music after seeing a Happy Mondays` show on TV in 1987. Later, at a time onward the combo would have been continuing as a one-man-project led by Johnny Crewdson. However, he has preserved the quality and quantity of The Hirundu by magnifying obsessively new stylistic slots and reshaping mental impact. As I said being underrated so far because they started creating bedroom-tinged psychedelic vanguardian pop a decade earlier than Ariel Pink, for instance. Both aforementioned artists used to reject the concept of time and any stylistic tags and a sustainable amount of humor within it. For the beginners I recommend listen to No Preservatives (1989), and Uneasy Listening (1994) which are stylistically quite different from one another yet related to one another by uncompromising zeal and experimental intent. One could listen to the discography through the artist`s own site Pitch And Putt and Bandcamp. To illustrate the project one can imagine as if Captain Beefheart, Bruce Haack, Jack Smith, Delia Derbyshire, Cabaret Voltaire, CAN, The Fall would have met at a remote crossroad for to start a brawl. Git Biscuits 2 is a 5-track part of the Biscuits trilogy either providing steeply broken funk (rock) with lulling feel or immersing in more synthetic, air-reduced and spasm-filled sequences as if doing away with clear-cut rhythm (although Johnny Crewdson does), however, the veiled rhythm oozing out of the structure propels it forward. Yeah, its greatness reminds of an exploratory branch of the 90s electronic music full of erratic playfulness and frantic aspiration. Last but not least – I was already unfortunately thinking of getting a year without any release by The Hirundu but at the very rear part of the last year there would be released an issue called Tantalus. In a word, keep going on by both sides.

The Hirundu – Tartarus (2018)

Pitch And Putt

Bandcamp

• Electronic music 
• Alternative 
• DIY 
• Psychedelic 
• Art music 
• Synth-rock 
• Tribal music 
• World fusion 
• Avant-pop 
• Experimental pop 
• Crossover

Comment: the Englishman Johnny Crewdson is back with his project The Hirundu. By me he is always being welcomed because he used to have always something intriguing to say. Neverthless, he has been active for three decades already and musically The Hirundu has been a fabulous case by having been a platform for every kind of sonorous experimentation veering away from provoking an outsider lo-fi and DIY-tinged aesthetic and psychedelic alternative rock and nihilistic post-punk tendencies to frantic, dada-inspired radiophonic and disparate kind of electronic and ambient music experiments. In fact, something new will be added with every brand new ones and something old will be reflected back. That's what used to be called cohesive creative process and adhesive feedback, respectively, isn't. By listening to the first half of this 14-notch release one may think of it as a chill-out release in terms of The Hirundu because frequently those compositions lose weight by gravitating in a haphazard yet joyous manner with some sort of easiness with supportive faint reverberations of ecstasy (no hints at the pill, though). I am very convinced Johnny created it with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. The touch of poignant humor always helps and adds an extra value to a mix. With regard to it, for instance, one can think of Frank Zappa, and Captain Beefheart. More profoundly, the course of the first side runs across a patchwork-alike landscape. On the other side, the poignant humor is not the case for confined persons. There is no possibility to think of the album in an ambivalent way – it is thoroughly uncompromising and without any hints at a sleazy taste. Oh damn, I shall have to say again – a favourite issue in 2018. A case of breathtaking music indeed.

The Hirundu – Pain Levels Of The Rich And Famous (2017)

Pitch And Putt

• Dada music 
• Experimentalism 
• Avant-garde 
• Leftfield 
• Electronic music 
• Alternative 
• Singer-songwriter 
• Indie folk

Comment: recently we all got the sad announce that Mark E. Smith passed away. The true old-school (post-)punk leviathan who had been the synonym of stubbornness in music for the four decades. MES and The Fall had influenced an innumerable amount of artists including The Hirundu, and Johnny Crewdson behind it. I could say The Hirundu shows up the quality by blending together old and new tendencies and similarly to MES Johnny Crewdson fights against the stupidity and evil threads of the human race by employing incisive irony. What else could be the best weapon but irony and sarcastic approach? Similarly to The Fall it could be admitted about the music of The Hirundu it's always different, it's always the same. It does mean the scope of the sonic phenomena must be stylistically wide enough to drift freely within the borders. From uncanny piano music and energetic electro pop to guitar twangs filled with slight instability to more or less heavily twisted electronic music to mutant world music, and frequently pulling some elements out from one track to transfer them to another. However, I have never heard Crewdson of singing folk songs (it happens in one song though). He seems to reinvent himself with any brand new one. At Neeto The Wonder Wig Part II you can hear a zombie singing a lullaby to you. It's so cute, isn't it? In a word, Johnny did it again. Thereafter I recommend listen to The Fall's Perverted By Language (1983).

The Hirundu – Telemachus (2017)

Hirundu

Bandcamp

• Experimental rock 
• Lo-Fi 
• Ska 
• Jazz 
• Electronic 
• Art pop 
• Alternative pop 
• Electro-indie 
• DIY 
• Ambient 
• Mood music 
• Indie 
• Leftfield pop 
• Post-rock 
• Crossover

Comment: it happens approximately in the mid of 2008 when I discovered more closely then such a great platform as lastfm and mostly due to it I discovered a huge, independently existing sonic world called the webaudio/netlabel scene. Of course, there were up an immense amount of artists who had been existing on their own way. One of the most magnificent artists was The Hirundu from Blackpool, UK; firstly John Crewdson-led combo/or John Crewdson only had been so productive though his tenure as the combo's frontman started off at the end of the 80s, secondly The Hirundu's sound was being so variegated and provoking yet being technically in accomplishment a cut above in comparison to most other combos around. From incisive lo-fi/DIY/post-punk madness to kinda radiophonic and plunderphonics art and broken psychedelia to an idiosyncratic electronic music and stoned dance act which later on evolved into a dark ambient branch. Telemachus, the 12-notch outing is a step further within the discography showing up Johnny Crewdson's ability to create potent ditties. These can freely be entitled pop songs of certainly deserving to be played on respected indie/alternative pop radio shows. Or maybe it is way too radical and unpredictable to be presented through the air because one can feel a tongue in cheek attitude in these wonky pop songs. However, it is a part of the credibility of the Hirundu we used to adore and jealously defend for because of being a hallmark of our own strong identity. On the other hand, I have had no time and wish to listen to The Fall's last albums for a while because I know what I could expect by MES and it does not cheer me up anymore. What you could get by Johnny Crewdson it is being a cheerful expectation due to a cornucopia of seminal ideas. From murky experimental rock to moody jazz standards to a blissful ambient progression to a funky ska number to a chopped-up yet exuberant electronic/ post-punk to something indecipherable and the description goes on and on. Top tier by any means. Hail to The Hirundu. By the way, Johnny Crewdson has also been a member of another combo, Golf Harris. Pitch And Putt has been the unofficial imprint for The Hirundu's music for all these years.

The Hirundu – The Savage Crimes E.P (1990)

Bandcamp

• DIY
• Lo-fi
• Alternative rock 
• Avant-rock 
• Experimental rock 
• Psych-rock
• Indie rock
• Outsider  
• Jangle pop

Comment: Mark E. Smith and The Fall are being considered as true representatives of the underground rock movement. Although The Blackpool, UK-based John Crewdson-led project The Hirundu could be considered a doppelgänger of the Manchester legends yet they have represented something even more through since the end of the 80s. Stylistically they are more diverse and musically more hoarse and firsthand. This was their one of the first issues at all while they were being more guitar driven sounding as a demented, fucked-up blues influenced rock and roll act, the formula which was two decades earlier invented by Captain Beefheart. Strumming (indeed, reflecting upon then strong jangle pop influence – for instance, at I'll See You you could draw comparisons with McCarthy) and at times light-hearted propulsive guitars are set atop in the middle of buried singing and reversed sonic effects and inferior yet somehow stimulating tape hisses. The Blackpool-based combo's music consisting of four pieces is very elegant and irresistible in its lo-fi tinged approach. It is a very solid notch within their great legacy being issued under their own Pitch And Putt Records.

The Hirundu - The Golden Wig​-​helmet of Mes​-​kalam​-​shar (2013)

Bandcamp

• Film noir
• Alternative
• Leftfield
• Piano music
• Neoclassical
• Experimentalism
• Avant-garde
• Minimal

Outstanding tracks: 

The Perfidious Hive Mind of Taco Dibnitz

Peter Shilton's Mystery Theatre

The Hirundu - Velocetrix a​.​k​.​a Hell Is A Place In Space (2012)

Pitch And Putt
Bandcamp

• Abstract
• Ambient
• Microtonal
• Acousmatics
• Electro-acoustic
• Avant-garde
• Experimentalism
• Modern classical
• Leftfield

Outstanding tracks:

Grelikanis

What Have I Seen

Themonitacon

The Hirundu - Páv a Krab (Peacock and Crab) (2013)

Bandcamp

9.2

/Modern classical, Piano music, Alternative, Experimentalism, Minimalism/

Comment: every album by the Hirundu is a kind of mystery because you never could foresee what can be found within from it. The Hirundu is the project of the Englishman Johnny Crewdson. Although being influenced by post-punk and dance rock bands his music is frequently more radical than the biggest part of musical groups under the aforementioned styles. This time Crewdson`s sound is restrained, principally piano-driven where the chords are incessantly followed by each other. However, at times these slightly bleak, minimal keys are variegated with the sounds of orchestrations resembling the whistles of hoys somewhere in the midst of a big river. Indeed, Crewdson`s still life is really worth to be enjoyed, despite the fact that his previous whimsical tricks and acute knacks might be more impressionistic and expressive.       

The Hirundu - The Puce Album (2013)

Pitch and Putt

• Avant-prog
• Experimentalism
• Weird pop
• Avant-garde
• Sampledelic
• Progressive
• Art rock
• Neoclassical
• Sound collage
• Experimental electronica

The Hirundu - The Colour Of Pamanganates (2012)

Pitch and Putt

Bandcamp

Lastfm

9.5

/Alternative, Anti-rock, DIY, Art rock, Ambient, Electronic pop, Brass pop, Experimental electronica, Leftfield, Experimental rock, Avant-rock, Experimental rock, No Wave/  

Comment: undoubtedly Johnny Crewdson is one of those unsung geniuses whose loads of issues (with or without comrades) are up to be discovered in the future. Having been active since 1987 he has been demonstrating an infernal drift between off-kilter electronica/sound art/alternative dance and uncompromising indie/lo-fi/post-punk/No Wave aesthetics, between knee-deep avant-garde and quirky pop music. This time his music seems to be more string and natural drums centered, though, those sparkling "guitar pop" tracks are more or less bent and warped. Listen to slight funk track Casual Paging, and light-hearted orchestration Planet Of The Lathes, and lofty violin hook based Itll All Work Out In Poundland, and delightful vocoder-induced Feed The Ducks, To The Swans, and and ebullient brass pop beauty Near The Photographic Island you will get the idea of my aforementioned words. Moreover, imagine The Beta Band meets Arthur Russell meets Super Furry Animals meets David Bowie meets The Nits, for instance. But not only, of course. In the first place - it is The Hirundu in Crewdson`s idiosyncrasy. Very inspiring compositions by any means.

The Hirundu - The Return To Swill Mountain (2011)

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.5

/Dark ambient, Experimental electronica, Ambient noise, Sound-art, Ambient drone, Noise, Microtonalism, Minimal, Avant-garde, Experimentalism/

Comment: The Return To Swill Mountain was the first album released by Johnny Crewdson in 2011. More detailly, it is a massive exploration on droning snippets, minimal yet englutting brown noises and microtonal thudding, often surrounded by ghastly (dark) ambient mist which at times is "illuminated" with the glimpses of ancient human voice samples or more "recognized" electronic music (electronica) and shimmering electro-acoustic facades. By the main intention this 8-track publication can have common parts with the likes of Pan Sonic, Caustic Reverie, slept., Frank Bretschneider, The Vitrines, Morgen Mittag, and Marc Broude. An eminent album by any means.

The Hirundu - Cinnamon Hill (Lost Hirundu vol​.​3) (2011)

The Hirundu
Pitch & Putt

Bandcamp
Lastfm

9.4

/Alternative, Avant-garde, Leftfield, Electronic pop, Psych-pop, Sampledelic, DIY, Weird pop, Avant-pop, Experimentalism, Singer-songwriter, New Weird Europe, Psychedelia, Crossover/

Comment: firstly I discovered The Hirundu (formed in 1987) 3 years ago and still having opinion about John Crewdson-headed combo as one of the craziest combos worldwide. If someone would dare to entitle it as the most frenzied one under the God`s sight I would probably agree with him/her. At least the British one for sure. Crewdson himself as a band leader can be compared to much of Mark E Smith`s doings, though, in a more nihilistic way. In fact, every Hirundu`s issue is an universe on its own, including the elements of indie rock, avant-garde, experimental electronic, dada experiments, industrial, acute psychedelia, radiophonic art, cut and paste/sampledelic aesthetics, club dance, DIY, lo-fi, and countless elements more to exist separately or in interwoven ways. Crewdson made Ariel Pink-like music before Ariel himself had the chance to realize his timeless pop ideas. While it might be that Crewdson did not have any idea about R Stevie Moore`s explorations, he is having some similarities with the US legend sometimes. And you can compare it with Speculativism, another highly eccentric singer-songwriter from the Foggy Albion.
Believe me this 14-track album lives up to your expectations, veering from hazy, gloomy electronic rock to atmospheric incantations to catchy symphonies to catchy guitar twanging to acid-fried drone electro to spaghetti electro blues to mariachi surf rock to unidentified cathartic explorations above your contained imaginations. Indeed, this time the album as a whole is established to follow more melodies and harmonies, though, in the Hirundu`s own idiosyncratic way. All in all, I have got a free-spirited experience again. Vitally certifiable. I am going to search for the Hirundu`s old publications once again. Thank you, Johnny.