Outer Space / Inner Space

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Buckle your gravity belts space cadets. Electro-jazz eclecticists Flanger have just added another stellar release, 'Outer Space/Inner Space' to their arsenal of otherworldly Jazztronica. Flanger (Atom and Burnt Friedman), who teamed up brilliantly on past releases 'Templates' and 'Midnight Sounds,' again prove that they are rocket scientists in the electronica circuit and beyond.

The title of Flanger's third release 'Outer Space/Inner Space' was inspired by J.G. Ballard's 1962 essay 'Which way to Inner Space?' Ballard's writings are fitting inspiration for Flanger's music, for both involve exploration into the earthly lands of consciousness and a lunar transcendence into the darker realms of the unconscious. Both J.G Ballard and Flanger draw inspiration from unlikely sources, Flanger from the white noise nature of electronic clicks and pops, and J.G Ballard who recommends reading 'invisible literature' such as transcripts of airline black box recordings.

The 'Outer Space/Inner Space' journey appropriately launches with an electronic buzzing, a robotic voice, and a typical electronic drum loop. The electronic drums slowly gain texture as snare and high hats become increasingly recognizable, eventually transforming into (what sounds like) an organic, human-played drum groove. The progression from electronic to organic is fitting because most listeners assume that Flanger records live instruments that are later tweaked and processed. In fact, prior Flanger releases were processed from the very beginning. 'Outer Space/Inner Space' signals a departure from Flanger's normal recording process as there are nine guest musicians from three countries listed as collaborators on the release, necessitating new methods in song architecture and recording.

As 'Outer Space/Inner Space' progresses, the otherworldly electronic elements fade and resurface, but are always surrounded by wonderful percussion, upright bass, vibraphones, guitar, and horns. The result is an atmosphere of a sonic struggle between waking and dreaming realities. Check out track three 'The Men Who Fell From Earth' for frantic rhythms and lush loungy keyboards, or the dreamy latin groove and robotic voice of 'Inner Spacesuit.'

'Outer Space/Inner Space' does not delve into the dark, foreboding ambience of Flanger's first release 'Templates,' but instead rockets further into the upbeat latin-tinged territory of 'Midnight Sounds.' 'Outer Space/Inner Space' however, is funkier, funnier, and more frantic than its predecessor, placing much more emphasis on percussion and upright bass in this new martian mix. There is a definite sense of humor in the 'space' theme of this release, hinted at by the cover in which goofy-eyed Atom and Friedman don astronaut suits. Try and imagine if Darth Vader and Ricky Ricardo ever made a jazz record.