rake - klang co.

Rake, formed by bassist Bill Kellum (owner of the alternative label VHF) in Fairfax (Virginia), belong to the florid progressive-school of the 1990s.
They established themselves as one of the most creative ensembles of the Washington scene via the single Cow Song/ My Fish Died (L Records, 1990), the EP Motorcycle Shoes/ Look at Rocks, My Miserable Existence/ The Center (VHF, 1991), the cassette The Day I Remembered Seeing Ice (Sweet Portable Junket, 1992) and the single Subterranean Marijuana Garden/ USTV (VHF, 1992).
Their first album, Rake Is My Co-Pilot (VHF, 1994), contains two lengthy improvisations, Thin the Herd and Motorcycle Shoes, driven by a jazz guitarist who listened to John McLaughlin till he went nuts and by a keyboardist who fell in love with the Moog. The sound is an aberration of Albert Ayler and Borbetomagus.
The single Squelch/ Phrase Text Slur (Fourth Dimension, 1995) heralded the double-CD album The Art Ensemble Of Rake/ Tell-Tale Moog (VHF, 1995), featuring Justin Chearno of Pitchblend. The sound is even more adventurous, bridging the gap between God Is My Co-pilot, Half Japanese and Boredoms
The first CD contains four lengthy suites. Klang Co (20 minutes) begins with minimalistic repetition that is soon dueting with thundering drums and wild guitar distortions. After about nine minutes, the rhythm decays and a chaotic swirl of faceless, scattered sounds (prominently Moog and saxophone) terminate the music.
Remote Sensing (13 minutes) begins with a terrifying eruption of jamming but the bacchanal loses rapidly steam and leaves behind a nuclear waste made of bubbling Moogs, drilling dissonances and harsh guitar mistakes. Remove any melodic element from the music of Albert Ayler and Art Ensemble of Chicago and add a sub-psychedelic indifference towards harmony.