Dead Neanderthals and Aidan Baker team up for their first collaboration, Cast Down and Hunted. Two heavy doom drone works split over on LP
Cast Down And Hunted is released as LP mastered by Marlon Wolterink and comes in artwork by Steven Kenny, designed by Rutger Zuydervelt.
About Cast Down And Hunted
Canadian-currently-residing-in-Berlin and multi intstrumentalist Aidan Baker teamed up with Dutch demolition duo Dead Neanderthals late 2023 to work on the collaborative album entitled Cast Down and Hunted.
Cast Down and Hunted is an abstract affair. Angular and dark, droney and lush. Two lengthy tracks, Subterfuge and Paranoia, each fill one side of the LP, which will be released by the Dutch label Moving Furniture Records.
The artwork was made by Steven Kenny and the album layout was done by Rutger Zuydervelt (Machinefabriek). The album was mixed and mastered by Marlon Wolterink at White Noise Studio.
Reviews
Vital Weekly / Igloo Magazine, Bauke van de Wal
It will be a while before it gets released in the open, but we just couldn’t wait to get this review to you. Moving Furniture Records from Amsterdam is releasing this 12″ vinyl with both sides completely maxed out on what is possible time and frequency-wise. This 2023 collaboration between Canadian multi-instrumentalist (emphasis on ‘mental’) Aidan Baker and the Dutch Dynamic Duo Dead Neanderthals.
We all know Aidan’s work solo and, very possibly, his collaborations and side projects. If not, you kinda should be ashamed for not knowing it, or you should simply be proud for being hidden under that rock for so damn long. Reading the promo made me wonder why his bio mentioned that he worked with people like Tim Hecker, and I asked if Tim Hecker’s bio would say the same thing. Dead Neanderthals is a whole different story. This Dutch duo with drums and sax has been active for over a decade, throwing anything towards the audience, from deep drone doom to improvised jazz, grindcore and general psychedelica.
“Cast Down and Hunted” is a weird one. Two sides measuring 20 and 21 minutes in length carrying the titles “Subterfuge” (A) and “Paranoia” (B). “Subterfuge” (is it a ‘fuge’?) is a deep droning and throbbing piece. It’s filled with a guitar ambience from Aiden, like what we know him for, and Rene from D.N. adds ultra-slow rhythms, giving it just enough coherence to be considered a rhythm. The waveform of Otto’s sax is perfectly moulded into uniformity with Aidan’s guitar, and the result is a really fantastic piece that would make me visit the Roadburn festival.
Side B is called “Paranoid”, and it is for a reason. The opening dissonant sax sounds are pushed towards the front and generate uneasiness. Maybe restless would be a better word. The drums are more steady and constant – and faster – but it’s also way less attractive as it’s a steady kick over and over. But everywhere you listen, there are the sax sounds, and they are not those luscious bass sounds you just hear on the reverse side of the album. Aidan’s additions to this collaboration are less obvious, but you’ll find them all if you listen carefully. The title is fitting because the whole track will make you uncomfortable. Which is – if you realize music is capable of doing so – a compelling thing. But instead of getting paranoid, I prefer to be fed another emotion.
Overall, it is a powerful release where I doubt I’ll ever play the B-side again. Because it’s THAT powerful! But that A-Side might well end up on a ‘best of’ year list … (BW)
Audiovisual Ohlsen Overkill, Stephan Ohlsen
“Subterfuge”, first of the two twenty+ minutes long tracks an “Cast Down and Hunted” would indeed suit a sci-fi score, but one far away from the space opera tone of Star Wars.
The swelling layered drone and the painfully minimal, slow yet heavy drums of this track rather beget an eery, distressing mood, which would work perfectly in scenes of dark suspense and phantasmagoric horror – like that super creepy surreal one – come on, you know which! – in “Under The Skin”.
This is pure howling gloom become sound. Its rhythm barely qualifies as such and it doesn’t require any perceivable melody. No, Aidan Baker and Otto Kokke just weave this thick wave, which is hard to even ascribe to specific instruments. As so often on recent Dead Neanderthals releases we hear synthesizers on their side, but regarding Baker‘s part I would have probably taken the easy guess of guitar, if there were no credits. And those credits claim that in truth he plays what Kokke predominantly did back in the day: saxophone. Ok. But don’t expect Kenny G. here! This is a beautifully uneasy listening experience.
In theory the B-side “Paranoia” should pretty much be more of the same, but it actually feels much more action-packed, mainly because René Aquarius’ steady primitive pulse is a lot faster here. It’s as minimalist as possible, yet it definitely is a beat at least.
The rest still is just blaring Ambient? Drone? Noise? Call it what you will, it is a big haunting wall of something. This track however features sharper textures, a greater richness and more movements in the sound. It even displays dramatic fanfare-like qualities, both from the keys and the sax, which is a lot easier to identify here, too.
Could be a chase from a dread in a labyrinth of spacecraft corridors. Or just a collapsing mind crumbling from within. One thing is for sure: both Aidan Baker and the Neanderthals show their most sinister side on this collaboration. The result is as restricted in form as you would expect, but cinematically wide and gloriously harrowing.
Want a good laugh? This might be the wrong choice. At least if nervous hysteria isn’t your way of coping with this kind of psychological horror. Personally I just appreciate it in contened silence – and maybe also write a review about it.
The album comes digitally or in limited capacity on classic black vinyl in a simple but fitting layout and a nice cover artwork, which feels like a companion piece to the Vampiristic “Ordo Dracul Demo”.
LP limited to 200 copies or digital available in our webshop
Or find the album in your prefered streaming service here: https://orcd.co/castdown
Aidan Baker
Aidan Baker is a classically-trained multi-instrumentalist focusing on the electric guitar as his primary instrument. Using prepared and alternate methods of playing the guitar, along with various electronic effects, Baker creates music which generally falls within the ambient/experimental genre but draws on influences from post-rock, shoegaze, electronica, neo-classical, and jazz.
A highly prolific artist, Baker has released numerous recorded works, both solo and with various group projects—most notably his dreamsludge duo, Nadja—and including collaborations with Tim Hecker, Carla Bozulich, Jussi Lehtisalo, and Andrea Belfi, among others—on such independent labels as Karlrecords, Gizeh Records, Important Records, and his own imprint, Broken Spine Productions. A frequent live performer, Baker has toured extensively around the world, including appearances at such international festivals as FIMAV, SXSW, Incubate, Unsound, Roadburn, and Mutek.
Originally from Toronto, Canada, Baker currently resides in Berlin, Germany.
Dead Neanderthals
Dead Neanderthals have spent more than a decade putting together an eclectic and envious back catalogue that spans multiple genres – from free-jazz to grindcore to doom drone by way of psychedelia – and continuously throwing curve balls that defy expectations. You never know what you’ll get, but you know it’ll be heavy.
http://deadneanderthals.bandcamp.com
