full moon rites, fire jumping, crystal geode worlds, pack animals, futuristic tribal living, Dionysian mysteries "the Dionysian, according to contemporary Greek and Egyptian observers - was one of spirit possession and an 'atavistic' liberation from the constraints of civilization and its rules. It was a celebration of all that was outside civilized society and a return to the source of being.", futuristic trance induction..."The trance induction that was central to the cult involved the 'invocation of spirit' by means of the bull roarer, and ecstatic communal dancing to drum and pipe.." FREEDOM, green energy, mountain magic, vulture magic, panther people, Malian drumming, cave dwelling, evergreens, The harmonic convergence 2012, time travel, power animals, tropical fantasies, underground lakes,
dithyrambic moments, group howls, "Hiawatha's childhood", copal resin, Chief Seattle,
"The magic in your mind", creative visualization, mandala magic, japa meditation, bird calls,
"FREETOWN" (AKU!!!!!!), Zimbabwe mbira, Jajuka, Shamanic journey, "mountain" cooking,
Flamenco music and dance, Ethiopiques!!!, fruit sculpture, the art of Andrew Goldsworthy, Holy Mountain and EL TOPO, silver Thunderbirds, glass fawns, psychic Warrior monks, mirrored worlds, Korean food, Modern gypsies, Cobalt hieroglyphics, space travelers, astrology, reiki, levitational break dance, black light art, bright feathers, Wig Wam dreams, Stuffed animals, sticks and Self hypnosis........
..
In an age when the violent disintegration of worldwide society feels
perpetually just a breath away and in a country that is moving towards
being one of the worst police states the world has ever known,
Celebration’s music is both timely and severely relevant. Their songs
posit an embrace of Dionysian mysteries as the only feasible way
forward from the ever-increasing weight of global political and
economic evil and the debris of civilization grown to proportions that
threaten to stifle the spiritual essence of human existence. Though it
carries some of the tightly-wound hysteria and harmonic violence of
4AD predecessors like The Birthday Party and Bauhaus, Celebration’s
music is essentially modern soul music, which marries the sort of
rhythmic hypnosis found in the music of Fela Kuti or James Brown to an
arch-romantic sense of drama. And, though they do deal extensively
with more classic soul music themes, (dancing, the potentially
transformative power of romantic love, etc.) ultimately the bulk of
their work serves as a sort of beacon of the ritualistic power and
magical potential of ancient civilizations performed and unleashed in
the modern world. Fittingly the musical union of singer Katrina Ford,
organist/guitarist Sean Antanaitis, and drummer Dave Bergander hails
from Baltimore, a city both crushed by institutional lower class
mauling and aggressively bristling with pockets of mutant art and
culture, and their heady music feels ideally suited for all night
dance parties in the hearts of decaying cities, illuminated by burn
barrel light.Since the release of their self-titled debut in 2005 Celebration
have found their stature steadily growing due in large part to a healthy
touring schedule which has found them traversing the US and Europe
with friends and like minds TV On the Radio, Liars, Blonde Redhead,
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and The Blood Brothers. Both recorded and in the
context of their ecstatic live performances, Celebration can provide a
truly overwhelming experience as the music, at its greatest peaks,
demands utter surrender of personal afflictions and worries, as well
as the civilized minds’ knowledge of global ills, to the cleansing and
transmutive power of trance. All of this is in shining evidence on
their second record, The Modern Tribe, an album that not only
surpasses their debut but makes a moving case for Celebration as one
of the most inspired bands making music today. Helmed, as was its
predecessor, by the stirling modern art rock team of producer Dave
Sitek(of TV on the Radio) and engineer Chris Coady,(who most recently
lent a shimmering clarity to Blonde Redhead’s 23) the results find not
only the band but their sonic collaborators in greater artistic accord
than ever. The eleven songs that comprise The Modern Tribe find
Celebration in even more electric and full-blooded form, expanding the
dimension and scope of their songwriting to include a more blatant and
extroverted emotionality on stunning songs like opener "Evergeen" and
the aptly titled "Heartbreak." Furthermore, they make the most
unabashedly dance music they have yet produced, as on the sinewy,
teasing "Pony" and even engage in full blown anthemry with "Tame the
Savage." (whose soaring singalong coda, "They say the world has just
begun to tame the savage heart of men," could be read as a sort of
core mantra for Celebration’s work)
Overall, The Modern Tribe finds a more complete confluence of lyrical
and musical content than on any record in recent memory, as the
album’s varied calls to shed the unhealthy layers of civilization’s
skin resound powerfully in the hypnotic, overwhelming beauty of the
music. It is possessed of the sort of triumphant, world-healing energy
harnessed by everyone from Michael Jackson to the Boredoms, and raw
nerves of hope are threaded throughout the songs. The record’s
yearning for a psychically and spiritually healthier world is palpable
and forthright; on "In This Land" Ford asks earnestly, "How can the
killing go on when our love is so strong?" while the feverish
"Wildcats" calls simply to "dance until the world returns." As
referenced in its title, The Modern Tribe’s essential theme is that
even in a society in which evil reigns from the top down it is
possible to forge beautiful and humanistic circles amongst friends,
family, and lovers, and that the energy there created can truly affect
positive change in the world. Indeed, in whatever dystopian future
awaits us, Celebration could inherit the mantle of World’s Biggest
Band; it is easy to imagine them tearing the roof off of Thunderdome
or rallying the child armies to the next revolution.
I edited my profile with Thomas’ Myspace Editor V4.4
just wanted to say you are easily one of my top 5 favorite bands to see live. you blew me away the first time i saw you, and i've never heard of you. bought your album and saw you again later that later and it was even better. keep up what you're doing, its amazing!
It's 2008 and I'm still as excited about the Modern Tribe as if it were 2007. SHIT SONS (and DAUGHTER)! Can't wait to see you at Whartscape afterparty 2k8!
