Wounded Buffalo Theory - Jingo, a dubpsych experiment

Jingo, the only tune in a minor key on the new Wounded Buffalo Theory album Golden Days, evolved from a pair of riffs that I brought to rehearsal last winter. Rhythmically they suggested something between swing and reggae. I had also originally thought of them as interlocking harmonically, but Rob quickly wrote completely different changes under what became the chorus riff. Over the course of a few rehearsals, we suddenly had one of those promiscuous songs that implies a multitude of styles and refuses to settle.

At the outset, the combination of an almost dub rhythm from John and Rob with the strong hint of '70's R&B in Jay's drumming creates an infectious groove supporting Jay's lyrical reflection on the problem of ethnocentrism. Then, the song slowly evolves into psychedelia with the bridge melody giving a nod to dark psych and a solo spiraling into a wall of interwoven guitars hinting at something almost recognizable, but never establishing a concrete form. The bridge lept straight from our collective head like Athena, fully formed in a single rehearsal. The solo was a longer process.

When we originally debuted the tune at an acoustic show in April of 2011, I don't believe there was a solo. By the time we recorded the basic tracks for the album in June, we decided on an extended one. In the basic tracks, John and I just layed out a ton of space, eventually working up to a rhythmic peak at the end. Atop that I decided to conduct an experiment in controlled anarchy. I played 4 solos completely independently of each other & then blended all four of them into the existing rhythm tracks. This is why the whole solo is suggestive of something without taking a final form. It's meant to reflect our inability to understand life as a totality - any almost established form is always receding into the ether.

Anywho - I thoroughly enjoy the way the synergy within our collective ears can take a couple of simple riffs and transform them into grand stylistic experiments. We hope that you all love it as well. You can listen to Jingo here:

You can purchase all of the tunes on Wounded Buffalo Theory's Golden Days at Cd Baby, or other common destinations on the internet. Kurtis out...