Photos by Joe Puglisi. For more shows, check out our photo section
"Happy music, but not too happy" is the simple tag Tobias Winterkorn attached to
Junip, the new project from infamous solo artist Jose Gonzalez. He is right, there is a certain unquantifiable mysticism at work. The guys mostly sat for the hour, rummaging around a bit as their jammy tunes rose and fell almost as suddenly, drawing cries of enjoyment from the audience with each additional layer. Gonzalez himself is the epitome of modesty, smiling and nodding after a closed-eye trance, with a simple, Swedish tinted "thank you" at the conclusion of every song. These guys wouldn't know "pretentious" if it decided to sit in with them.
Lucky for us, the intimate set at Brooklyn's Knitting Factory was both work and pleasure; we set up some cameras and captured all the action.
Of course "action" is a loose statement for Junip's aesthetic, somewhere in between drone and trance; bongo-infused salsa and the elongated jam sessions of legends like Morrison and the Doors. Gonzalez writes melodies worthy of desert cut scenes, images of long drives and the hot sun fit perfectly with his rhythmic nylon guitar riffs. Openers
Mountain Man and
Twi The Humble Feather evoked this hypnotism as well (the former with baroque chorale, the later with guitars), acting as catalysts for Junip's set. When the band sparked, drums dropping in and out, heads bobbing, the whole thing felt as dynamic as a stage full of backup dancers and fanfare. Sometimes the most exciting climaxes are the ones that exist only in the sonic sphere.
The
Rope and Summit EP is out now, stay tuned for the full concert video from Baeble. -
joe puglisi
We weren't the only ones filming!
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Pictures:Junip at The Knitting Factory 