World Music - Goat (#1, 2012)

Like any rockin' party, World Music by Goat feels like it just flies past. Here's the full 37:39, which seems shorter than that by about half the length. Good times!

"Diarabi" (live) kicks off the proceedings with a sidewinding North African/Middle Eastern intro that wouldn't be out of place on this year's #3 Six Organs of Admittance record.

Title interpretation: "Diarabe mean infatuated or extreme love. Like if you can't go without someone." Maybe also a reference to "Diaraby" by Ali Farka Touré & Ry Cooder?

Although I've mostly focused on the hit singles and official videos in previous posts, the album frontloads the "Goat" ones - so here we are, again.



"Goatman" (live) from World Music (2012)

Title interpretation: a man of the goats? a superhero?
Recipe for instant classic: Soaring & detonating guitars, full-frontal low-end, frenzied hand-drum assault, dat chant. Mix well.

By now, Western musicians have been copping Near Eastern moves since at least The Beatles (#6, 1969). But if there's been a big resurgence of raw Afro-Funk a la Nigeria 70 (2001), I guess I've missed it. And far from shying away from any concerns about imperialistic misappropriation, Goat doubles down - weaving a ludicrous and awesome backstory about some ancient traveling witch-doctor importing Voodoo culture to their remote Swedish village.



"Goathead" (live) from World Music (2012)

Title interpretation: the godhead? a tribute to Swedish-Afro-Funk pioneers The Rolling Stones (#19, 1969), who also released an album called Goats Head Soup (1973)?

Brewed up from similar ingredients as the previous one, with maybe a more spindly lead guitar, a more chooglin' rhythm, and a stop-start breakdown. The solo drips molten slow molasses napalm into a blender set to frappé. And with a twist ending - acoustic mellow-down coda!

"Disco Fever" (live)
Title interpretation: a reference to some South Bronx shithole? an actual malady in the jungles of Sweden?

That's some classic relentless driving Afro-Funk riffs, interrupted here & there by wah-wah drops and an extended organ freak-out. As always, the vocals contend with everything else thrown out under them. [Click-thru image to GOAT-fan blogger-artist.]


"Golden Dawn" (live)
Title interpretation: reference to the 20th Century occult society? or Greek fascist party?

I don't know what that trick or effect towards the beginning is called, where the different parts' rhythms seems to race each other to get ahead and then tumble behind & back in line, but I like it. Also what's that dissonant tone in the bridge - like a chromatic diminished 13th or something?



"Let It Bleed" (live) from World Music (2012)

Title interpretation: back to ye olde Rolling Stones again? Or literally 'let it bleed?'

This was a single released before the full-length came out, or more importantly, before I'd heard of them. I'd put that on my jukebox! Scale Power-ed all the way to the drop-out... No-one expects the saxophone.

"Run to Your Mama" (live)
Title interpretation: If you're not Swedish, you probably wouldn't get the cheeky reference to Hardcore Superstar... I'm not judging - just here to help.

I think that break has a little "War Pigs" DNA, am I right?
Lay it down + Belt it out = PROFIT!

Guess what I literally just learned while searching for the image above. There's a whole non-album B-side tune floating out there: "The Sun, The Moon!!" (The only place I've found it for download is on the iTune single for "Goatman.")


"Goatlord" (live)
Title interpretation: Lord of the goats? a goat who is also a lord?

Drone out with tha pump organ. Niceness all the way around - with a super-overdriven lead guitar from outta nowhere. But no-one expects the pump organ!



"Det som aldrig förändras / Diarabi" live) from World Music (2012)

Title interpretation: Swedish for "what never changes." Duh.

Sweet video, sweet song(s). Nice step-up to full accompaniment with the now-riffing pump, and the transition back into the intro as the outro. Like a veritable Ouroboros of awesome!

Might I take a moment to point out that Rocket Recordings have been killing it for a few years now? Nice job (again) on this one! I mean, check out (or listen to, or escucha) this playlist...


PNKSLM.com - GOAT- The World Music Mixtape by PNKSLM

Also this exclusive Goatmix, via the label blog (w/ tracklist)... There's also a recent, similar BBC6 mix as well.

BTW, I was just kidding about "Run to Your Mama." Not joking about the Rolling Stones, Beatles, Nigeria 70 or Black Sabbath though.

Genre - Voodoo-delic Afro-Funk
Official/blog - goatsweden.blogspot.com/
Location - Korpilombolo, Sweden

Review - The Quietus
Download - Amazon, iTunes
Purchase - Forced Exposure