D.C.’s The Hamilton played host to DRKWAV on their very limited engagement tour on March 7, 2015. DRKWAV’s captivating strain of unearthly, freeform, psychedelic jazz held the fascinated audience hostage, caught within the band’s deep sonic haze.
Revered jazz masters, John Medeski (keyboards), Skerik (saxophone) and Adam Deitch (drums) rebuff compositional form completely, creating an ethereal, synth-heavy, melodically dissonant wall of sound. Album and live performances alike, challenge listeners. Complexity and chaos reign within their music. On the surface, compositions may seem arrhythmic and instrumentation detached, but the truth lies in the details. Adam Deitch’s perpetual groove is fully encrypted throughout. Medeski ‘s keyboards carry on fluid conversations with Skerik’s sax that flow into synthesized undercurrents inside of the melodic space.
L4LM Exclusive Premiere: DRKWAV’s ‘Count Chokulous’
DRKWAV’s first release, The Purge (Royal Potato Family), “creates deep, dark, and spacey sonic explorations, all while allowing light to be shed by the masterful playing by each band member.” With the help of their prolific co-producer, Randall Dunn of worldbeat outfit Master Musicians of Bukkake, DRKWAV defeats standard conceptual notions of genre and rhythm aiming to, “spread the DRKness far and wide.”
Exploring The DRKWAV Darkness With Skerik
DRKWAV appeals to experimental jazz enthusiasts. Their music may not connect with the masses, but for freeform music lovers, their performances captivate. Listeners must embrace jazz-styled improvisation and allow the band to guide them through shadowy recesses of the mind. “John Medeski, Adam Deitch and Skerik live in the unknown regions of dark sonics and have chosen to unite to bring the dark truth to light!” according to the band’s Facebook page.
DRKWAV brings their “sonic colonic” to Colorado for three more performances this week and finishes the tour in New Orleans on April, 27th.
-Katie Handlon
[Cover photo courtesy of DRKWAV Facebook]