[Ed. Note: Stay tuned for an interview Rocks Off's Ray Cummings did with Mr. Dionyso.]
To say that Arrington de Dionysio
is not for everyone is probably a pretty hefty understatement. If you're not prepared, your first listen to his enigmatic music is quite likely to elicit a breathy and subdued expulsion of "what the fuck?!", followed by an undeniable urge to change the station. Ride through that urge; while Dionysio's music may not be immediately accessible, it is immensely rewarding and unendingly inventive.
That the forthcoming Malaikat Dan Singa
is likely his most accessible album to date is a testament to his enduring otherness, but also to his ability to take highly unconventional sounds and methods and graft them together in an incredibly engaging way. This album, sung entirely in Indonesian, welds free improvisational jazz, throat singing, thrashing punk rock, and world-beat elements together into something so far beyond fusion that it might as well be coming from an alternate universe in which all of these elements went together in the first place.
For those of us from this universe, it results in an atmosphere of wondrous discovery, constantly wondering what's going to come next, expecting anything and everything, and yet surprised with each new twist. Now, forget everything you've just read, because it won't do you any good, anyway. Show up with no expectations, and let Arrington de Dionysio defy any you might have had in the first place.
With HellTown, Lance and the Pants and Michael Mroz's Curious Functions, 8 p.m. tonight at Super Happy Fun Land, 3801 Polk, 713-880-2100 or www.superhappyfunland.com.