Daniel Brandt & Eternal Something
You enter a London club and get absorbed by a wall of sound. Rumbling trombones, rhythmically intertwining guitars, and rolling yet playful drums: instead of a special orchestra, you see just three people and a whole pack of electronics in the mist of the stage. And you know right away that you want THIS at your festival. You only learn the name of the band from their agent after the concert. Daniel Brandt & Eternal Something. You get them confirmed in a few days. Later on you realise that the band's leader Daniel Brandt is the Brandt of the wonderful Brandt Brauer Frick formation that played a fantastic set in the dance tent at Pohoda, previously having exhibited a great deal of creativity with the Brandt Brauer Frick Ensemble orchestral project on the big stage. Now, this multi-talent comes with the equally interesting solo album Daniel Brandt & Eternal Something released by the experimental label Erased Tapes. Pitchfork gave it 7.6/10, Pop Matters did 8/10, and he aroused interest also at the biggest showcase festivals and last year's Sonar. Witch Doctor wrote: “Brandt has recorded a seductive and gently adventurous album”. Allow it to seduce you in only 160 days at Pohoda 2018.
26. January 2018
Brandt was originally planning to make a drum-only album, but he considerably changed his mind during the recording. Besides drum, he himself recorded all guitars, bass guitars, and key boards. He also invited other great musicians to participate on the album: trombonist Florian Juncker, violinist Andreas Voss, and Man Delaga who plays a rhythmic-melodic instrument reminiscent of a brisbee disc called “hang”. The sound of hang is exceptionally beautiful in the song Turn Over. The introductory song Chaparral Mesa emphasises simple riffs and repetitive rhythmic patterns. These, gradually layered, change into an overwhelming wall of sound. This composition approach seems to be dominant in the way Brandt creates the atmosphere of his compositions. However, do not expect some kind of spiral perpetuum mobile and an infinite crescendo. “Eternal Something” offers a balanced alternation of tension, noise, and the finest passages.
Brandt Brauer Frick was more of a dance performance; “Eternal Something”, in contrary, is a contemplative, uplifting, dreamy yet absorbing and striking music. Daniel Brandt cannot deny his drummer's essence; even the tracks played on melodic or harmonic instruments feature a strong rhythmic component: at his debut album, he made rhythm sing. The rich instrumentation is a balanced whole, there is no leading instrument. “Eternal something” is in some places reminiscent of Revelove Bolero for the 21st century. Inconspicuous motifs gradually, in diverse variations, layer and evolve into an impressive total. It is best to experience his music from the beginning to the end and ideally live—for example, at the Trenčín airport.