file under advanced listening

so I'm well aware that this post is not for everyone (Darwin - don't even bother downloading this one). but chances are if you like the artists involved or this sort of music, you'll really like this track.

Subtle feat. Mike Patton - Long Voice

I've written plenty about Subtle previously (here and here), so I'm going to write about the other half of this collab piece today.

first off, I should say that I went through an inexplicable Mike Patton/John Zorn phase (I blame it on serious grad school-induced listlessness and angst), which had me listening to things that drove my neighbors and friends up the wall for months. however, I loved it. experimental, sure, but when you need a change, better to take it and run with it all the way than just stray ever so slightly from home. so I did. in case you only know him in light of Faith No More, Mike Patton's energies were almost always focused on his army of side projects (so much that it partially brought about FNM's end), the most widely known being Mr. Bungle (whose third album, California, is something else; it packs surf rock, sitars, and gamelan into 10 tracks of intense musical entropy. but it's fun). I'll pause and recognize that people love to hate Mr. Bungle on account of the nutso fanatics that make it their religion, but I'm not one of them and I'm certainly not apologizing on their behalf. but some love does go to Matt on account of his recent Bungle trauma.

beyond the Bungle are Mike Patton's collaborations with the experimental jazz artist John Zorn, the X-ecutioners, Dan the Automator (Lovage, anyone?), Bjork, and his bands Tomahawk, Fantomas, Maldoror, and Mike Patton as Mike Patton. through all of these, he seems fascinated primarily with two things: manipulation of the human voice, and making music as cohesive chunks. the former explains why he appears on the new Bjork LP, while the latter has led him to do such things as cover the entire Godfather soundtrack, name the different songs as Books instead of tracks on Fantomas CDs, and on and on. dude's strange, but he moves with a purpose. here, he lends a hand to Subtle on this track (appearing on a new 12" from Lex Records, which you can probably [purchase at Warpmart] when its released). the song deconstructs their usual style almost entirely, and you're left with something more similar to the oral chip-chop you hear on Patton's challenging adult themes for voice. not a track to play out, but if you've ever had any interest in the artists mentioned above, stay in, dig out those headphones and give it a whirl.

Patton's Ipecac Records has info on many of his collaborations and bands.

**[ed. note]**
apparently, one of subtle's members was injured in a car accident over the weekend. pitchfork has the story.