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Mike Reed / The Separatist Party: A Low Frequency Nightmare

By John Chacona
December 13, 2023
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In 2021, the Chicago instrumental drone trio Bitchin Bajas dropped Switched on Ra (Drag City), a collection of Sun Ra covers for synthesizers. Drummer, bandleader and scenemaker Mike Reed probably heard the cassette-only release and he almost certainly heard the band's October 2021 performance of that material at his Hungry Brain venue. They must have made an impression on Reed who brought the Bajas into the studio three months later to record The Separatist Party (Astral Spirits/We Jazz, 2023). It's the first of a projected trilogy about isolation, but there's nothing solitary and inward about "A Low Frequency Nightmare." Over a low synth drone and crunchy guitar from Cooper Crain, cornetist Ben LaMar Gay and Rob Frye's tenor wind a bluesy unison line that evokes the Saturnian's "Angels And Demons At Play." Reed's pummeling habanera-of-doom on toms doubles down on the demon part, coming at you like a boxer sensing the knockout or a dark thought that won't leave you alone.

Contact John Chacona on All About Jazz.
John Chacona is a freelance journalist, content writer and producer in Cleveland.

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