A new year is upon us, that means a new year of releases. One of my favorite parts of January is when one of my all-time great record labels begins to drop release dates, and El Paraiso Records is doing just that. One of 2018s biggest surprises was Norwegian band Kanaan’s debut album Windborne. An El Paraiso release, Windborne showed the three-piece band laying down a mixture of prog rock, post-rock, and even 70s fusion vibes over incredibly catchy melodies. Songs that ranged from doom-y dirges to light-as-air Krautrock, all the while locking in and staying the course till our minds were fully blown.
Well one of the first releases El Paraiso is dropping this year is February’s Odense Sessions from Kanaan. Not only is this a proper sophomore release for this power trio, but it’s also a full-on collaboration with music wizard and El Paraiso Records co-head Jonas Munk.
On the brilliant Odense Sessions Kanaan set up camp at Jonas Munk’s home studio in Odense, Denmark and the four of them guide us through semi-improvisational jams that tip their hat to classic psych jams, as well as heady sound excursions that owe as much to Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72 as they do Hawkwind or Explosions in the Sky. With Jonas Munk playing guitar on all the tracks(as well as even some synth) there’s a musical language being spoken between the guitars, while the rhythm section sets the controls for the heart of the sun. Four songs that create a loose and ethereal mood which allows us to fully engage in the trip these four are offering.
First single, the driving “Of Raging Billows Breaking on the Ground”, brings to mind Munk’s main gig Causa Sui as the guitars chug and the drums wallop. But the Kanaan crew firmly stake claim to the musical mojo, allowing Munk to slip and slide through the song with ease and taking us to serious interstellar heights.
If you’ve ever gotten lost on a serious trip with Causa Sui’s Summer Sessions, or found yourself taking the long way home so you could listen to one more track on Kanaan’s Windborne, then you’re in for a real treat. Odense Sessions will be your 2020 obsession, and “Of Raging Billows Breaking on the Ground” is your first taste. Listen to it below, and preorder Odense Sessions here.
https://elparaisorecords.com/releases/kanaan-odense-sessions
Complex Distractions 
I’m gonna give this a listen in a bit. Get the volume turned up.
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Yup. Crank it up.
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