Sapat - Mortise and Tenon LP (Siltbreeze, 2007)
A must-own, all-time personal favorite Louisville release of utmost personal importance. Not only is the music on this LP a sublime levitation of laid back, late night hypno volk-rock river steam, seance blooze, and warehouse commune trashcan fire-circle sonic incantations, but: it was also by way of my getting to know many -- of the MANY -- of the ensemble's members (past, future, and always/occasional) upon moving back home in the late '00s that I was fortunate enough to unearth a sizable handful of my "forever people."
Needless to say, Sapat is a special band. To me, to my friends, to this part of the country and its role in extending our own underground to that of America's shared one. An underdog psych unit of brilliantly zapped heads, misfit midwestern econo-jammers, junkyard improvisers, drunken virtuosos, seemingly "normal people" saddled side-by-side with human UFOs, and soldiers of boundless inspiration.
Start here if you're new to Sapat. Also, worth noting -- the time of this record's release marks a welcomed "second wave" / return-to-throne for Philly's legendary Siltbreeze label (see also: Pink Reason, Factums, the first Psychedelic Horseshit LP -- all of which came out in 2007) after half a decade in exile. Exciting times for "rock music"'s unslightly underbelly...
"Spawned from the formidable Louisville, KY collective known as BLACK VELVET FUCKERE (VALLEY OF THE ASHES, PHANTOM FAMILY HALO, KARK, etc.), SAPAT resides as the centrifugal force in this Midwestern psychedelic madrigal set in the psychosexual backwaters of the mighty Ohio River. For the entirety of the 00 decade, members have kept busy collaborating with and/or massaging the egos of various and sundry avant-pontiffs such as Robert Fripp, Magik Markers, Dead Child (David Pajo's metal band) and Eugene Chadbourne-when not honing the orgone energy of Sapat. For this self-titled full-length release, Sapat has opted for a more organic sonic waft. Acoustically packed to the gills, the octet effortlessly strums and blows breezy vibes, emitting kosmisch melodies and Teutonic ambience that channel-Julian Cope-like-past giants such as Limbus 4, Siloah and Lord Krishna Von Goloka (you know, the A-team of Krautrock). Once you launch into the groups spacey and entrancing, yet calming and soothing asteroid belt, you might mistake the Ozarks for the Alps if youre not careful. And who could blame you? Youre way up there and the airs thin; hallucinatings a must." - Siltbreeze
"Owing more to krautrock than punk or noise, Sapat veers between extremes in unpredictable and often gorgeous ways, using instruments from country to classical as they quietly shift the face of rural America like a rust-belt expansion pack for Populous." - Jason Crock (Pitchfork)