As the sister group of The Kilimanjaro Doomjazz Ensemble This group treads similar waters. While not a new group by any stretch this, their most recent full length of new work continues their original routing. The question many people would have is "what exactly is doomjazz?". The easy answer would correlate to the genre name itself. While it contains pieces of jazz it doesn't rely on the easy distinctions of the genre, instead it uses the avant garde parts of the genre as well as some of the choices of instrumentation. The doom part of the genre name is much more prevalent being that the sound itself tends to rely on stretched out and morose structures in order to give the listener a properly darkened atmosphere. Outside of their previously mentioned sister band the closest comparative band in the genre would be Bohren & Der Club of Gore. Both share basic similarities within both song structure and overall atmosphere. While Bohren tend to use a more limited instrumental palate Mt. Fuji swings for the fences, on this live recording the group is composed of 7 members.
To get into the music itself, experimental and abstract would be the 2 easiest descriptors. While these are both the simplest they also happen to be the most apt in this scenario. The opener "Elevator of The Machine" uses a slow build of strings as its foundation before piling on ethereal wordless vocals that become nearly drowned in the miasma of horns that use dark notes to complement the ambience of the strings. By the time you fully hear the layer of electronics on the song it is merely icing on the unexplainable, magnificently black cake you're already ingesting. Throughout this song and the other 3 included the group employs moments of improvisation that adds to the song itself while contextualizing the jazz portion of their name. The songs build and continue building within the recording making a strong case for this being completely deserving of its 70+ minute runtime.
The group makes use of its parts while also making use of the atmosphere within the theater that this record was recorded. The choice by the group to make this a live record may or may not make sense upon first look but makes perfect sense upon multiple listens. While an incredibly clean sounding recording overall the acoustics of the building allow the band to get the most out their instruments and only helps to convey the overall feeling of the record.
Needless to say if one is searching for something different, something that can truly be delved into for both ambiance and emotion then this may be as good a record as any. The band do something that sounds both airy and dark, doomy and light while never having a second that could be confused for being happy. Darkness permeates this recording without using any cliches musically. This is certainly something different.
