{"title":"Bitchin' Bajas","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"rebajas","title":"Rebajas","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe CD box set called \u003ci\u003eRebajas\u003c\/i\u003e is a 7-disc, 6 hour and 42 minute second time time around - for some of you, anyway - through the Bitchin Bajas catalog to date, including all 11 of their solo releases: eight albums and the Bajas sides of three split records! It's a musical second time around - but on this format, it's a first. The music on the \u003ci\u003eRebajas\u003c\/i\u003e box represents the dawn and early pleastoric period of Bitchin Bajas -in the time of their conception, none of these releases were issued on anything other than vinyl. Maybe a cassette too, for some of them. It made sense....analog synth music recorded on analog tape - why wander from the warmth of the original signal path? It sounded great. So why now? Well, there's finally enough material to make a really Deep listening experience, all put together! This boxset includes all recordings and original release details, the additional personnel and the original jackets, label and insert details, along with a few schematic details to provide a true overview into the parameters of their world. What's more, additional information can be heard in the material in its transferred-for-CD form, which has corrected inadequacies in several of the original pressings. Bitchin Bajas is moving, always flowing - but with \u003ci\u003eRebajas\u003c\/i\u003e, all of their output to date is captured in the unending amber of digital sound. The limitless vast that Bitchin Bajas music implies even in its smallest sampling is well-served by a multi-disc set: put all of it in your CD changer and let it rotate endlessly. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Drag City","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":50417384259915,"sku":"1041449","price":49.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/f693a1c8-904c-46cc-8eaa-b70876d6fd46_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726728138"},{"product_id":"bajascillators","title":"Bajascillators","description":"\u003cp\u003eAmorpha, a side-long shower of synthetic bells and bass, as patterns interlock and repeat and the beat within the bar lines shifts constantly, forms a new, latest miniature of infinity. You flip it, and ‘Geomancy’ resets you, starting anew, with heavy drift and drone leading into a space of shorter broken lines and Middle Eastern tonalities, that roll back into ether again - new spaces, but mysteriously consonant with the vibe.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBajascillators\u003c\/i\u003e arrives almost five years since their last official full-length, 2017’s \u003ci\u003eBajas Fresh\u003c\/i\u003e. In the eight years prior to \u003ci\u003eBajas Fresh\u003c\/i\u003e, Bitchin Bajas issued seven albums, plus cassettes, EPs, singles... wave after wave of analogue synth tones and zones extending into a stratospheric arc. Each release its own headspace, shape and timbre, each one sliding naturally into their implacable, eternal gene pool.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFollowing the flow, always, the Bajas went ever-deeper-and-higher on these records, whether making soundtracks or collaborating with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, using only fortune cookie fortunes as a libretto. Plus engagement, with a steady stream of shows and tours around the world; live re-airings and expansions of the space captured in their records as they continued to grow and flow - all the way through, really, to the present moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlus, there have been releases since 2017 - a split 12”, a 7” single, digital track release and two ‘Cuts’ cassettes, plus the all- covers cassette release ‘Switched On Ra’. But the overall number of releases, plus the five years between long players, implies a potential distance between phases, a new line in the sand. The sound of \u003ci\u003eBajascillators\u003c\/i\u003e bear this out. How couldn’t it? Compared to 2017, this is a different world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMastered directly from half-inch analogue tape,\u003ci\u003e Bajascillators\u003c\/i\u003e floats transparently from the speakers, its expansive grooves gathering resonance and building momentum over the four sides, from genesis to re-conclusion, cascading ecstatically. The elastic magic of time at its brightest. As the world keeps turning, so too do Bitchin Bajas, in the same unknowable way. You can’t explain it - just keep turning.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Drag City","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50457279070539,"sku":"1163873","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/27798074-a08d-4928-b128-b0cf392278b5_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727204353"},{"product_id":"switched-on-ra","title":"Switched On Ra","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt’s almost four years since their last opus - two years since the most-recent run of live shows. Now, Bitchin Bajas return from whatever kind of rare ether they occupy when they’re at home, bearing the riches of the whole cosmos in their hands. And strictly OG as well - on cassette only.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eSwitched On Ra\u003c\/i\u003e is the outcome of a typical Bajas exercise: pouring some out for the pioneers that came before (as they’ve done with Bitchitronics and their participation in the annual Chicago performance of ‘In C’ over the years). It’s a nice way to get a flow - they play a little of themselves, then some for the pioneers, then a little more for the band. Before long, they’re playing with the inspirations twined, as they can only come from within.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor \u003ci\u003eSwitched On Ra\u003c\/i\u003e, this meant a deep delve into the song-book of one of their soul-predecessors, Sun Ra, whose music is literally written in the Bajas DNA. Digging into this music sounded wild on paper: the drone synth group taking on the Arkestra harmonies and Ra’s loose grooves? The trick was to get that sense of rhythm to translate across the spectrum from Ra to Bajas, in a way that worked for them both.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSun Ra of course was his own kind of original keyboard visionary, using electric keyboards in the late 40s and 50s to fill a role in jazz that had traditionally been played on acoustic piano only. Once he’d done so, he took his writing in directions inspired by the electricity, places no one had thought to go before then.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBitchin Bajas have been content to dominate in a microtonal world, usually without a single chord to be found anywhere. But here, they step up righteously, their vibe triangulated as they bring Ra’s music forward with some Wendy C style, making an unexpected space for all to thrive. There’s a real feeling of joy as these collected signals bounce off the tape and through the speakers into your space.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTo get this unique colloid exactly right, Bitchin Bajas used nineteen different keyboards. They abstained from deploying their arsenal of reed and woodwind instruments: everything had to be on the keys. This meant Yamahas, Rolands, Korgs, Casios, a MicroMoog and of course their trusty Ace Tone organ. They even broke out the Crumar DS-2, to have some of Ra’s chosen tone in the mix. Then Jayve Montgomery added an EWI as a solo voice on a few tunes, just to get some air-blown signal (and a natural shout out to EWI master Marshall Allen) in there, after all. It felt like somewhere in the universe, Ra was decreeing it.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Drag City","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50486259482955,"sku":"2000037","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"Tape","offer_id":50486259188043,"sku":"1135039","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2d953be4-f653-48a9-b563-cab6e5f98a1d_thumbnail_4096.png?v=1727607711"},{"product_id":"bitchin-bajas","title":"Bitchin' Bajas","description":"\u003cp\u003eBitchin Bajas have been around the world in five years; chasing sonics through space and time and drawing a lot of conclusions along their discographical path. Always, they push forward, recklessly consuming processes in order to realise their own works - but the sound and the music regularly emerges with tranquil essence, bringing them and their listeners into a shared experience. Bitchin Bajas' output has been remarkably diverse in search of this singular goal, which makes for great listening across multiple releases and with the release of this new double-LP, they have mapped and traversed their own ecosystem as they journey in search of the aural epiphany, the true unknowing. With plenty of room stretched over four sides, Bitchin Bajas use their many methods to attain perfect flow throughout the 76 minutes of this self-titled record. Self-titled because this is who they are at their core; these are the flares and oscillations of their soul. They will be other things again, horizons will continue to rise and fade away in their path as they continue forward and upward - but this self-titled record is a pure vision at the heart of Bitchin Bajas. Acoustic is the beginning. Eastern tonalities relocate Bitchin Bajas farther inside the source, finding the timeless point from long ago and slowly sliding via fader until then is now, until acoustic goes analog.  What began in randomness, pitch-shifting and tape manipulation emerged in the cutting as a single direction, a journey in scales, divided by the format perfectly into four stages, eight discreet parts. Bitchin Bajas reach high and low in their consciousness as expressed through equalisation to see (hear) what affect it will have on them - and what it does to them, reaches through to the listener too. The space found on Bitchin Bajas was located with organ, synthesizer, winds, xylophone and autoharp, employing a 1\" 8-track tape machine to the fullest extent. Additional contributions from strings, keys, guitar and field recordings helped make Bitchin Bajas everything that it is.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Drag City","offers":[{"title":"LP | x2","offer_id":50492681945419,"sku":"378960","price":34.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/800c6363-f622-4e22-9eaf-f87fe647f278_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727692992"},{"product_id":"bajas-fresh","title":"Bajas Fresh","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt’s been over three years since the last proper Bitchin Bajas album - a natural paradise of woodwinds, droning organs, analogue synths, field recordings and an ever-expanding sense of more (and less). In between then and now came a series of collaborative albums, with Natural Information Society (\u003ci\u003eAutomaginary\u003c\/i\u003e), filmmaker Olivia Wyatt (\u003ci\u003eSailing A Sinking Sea\u003c\/i\u003e) and Bonny Prince Billy (\u003ci\u003eEpic Jammers And Fortunate Little Ditties\u003c\/i\u003e). Each time these varied external stimuli came into contact with the Bitchin Bajas’ acroamatic process, it left the group with expanded perimeters to traverse. So 2017 - the pursuit is still the same: a perfect continuous flow. The means to attain it are in full, fluid transition; woven into the strands that unspool so peacefully (and with such potent enervation) are new elements - like chord changes, for instance. The use of percussives is evident for the first time as well. Plus a horn section, a cover song... but before you start thinking that this ‘Bajas Fresh’ is some kind of whole-cloth change, recall to your mind that the nature of equilibrium around Bitchin Bajas is such that new properties tend to melt into the surrounding texture, providing vivid sonics without uprooting the mindset. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile flowing towards a wholeness, the four sides of \u003ci\u003eBajas Fresh\u003c\/i\u003e feature distinct approaches, approaching the ephemeral with subtle tweaks from new angles. Eschewing the grainy expansiveness of the self-titled album, this new one has an almost monolithic approach, whether spitting forth with Harmonia-styled data riffs, finding Denny- esque South Pacific exotica within a classic Sun Ra piece or teasing out almost imperceptible inflections inside the epochal fizz and whir with glassy-eyed, glacial patience. On \u003ci\u003eBajas Fresh\u003c\/i\u003e, the cellular system of Bitchin Bajas continues to synthesize amid a growing ecosystem also of the Bajas’ making, both morphing naturally together into a state perhaps not that far removed from its former incarnation, while also essaying refreshing new tones for new zones. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2LP - Succulent half-speed mastering done at Abbey Road gives the LP pressing greater depth, extension and resonance than all previous Bajas incarnations.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e2Tape - Double cassette version of course holds its own unique experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Drag City","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50497222869323,"sku":"1021150","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/4fdec2f8-7b61-46c4-9275-50db49fbe4da_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727726892"},{"product_id":"bitchitronics","title":"Bitchitronics","description":"\u003cp\u003eBitchin Bajas are back, baby! Their new album Bitchitronics, out on Drag City, is ready with the quickness we expect from the Chicago-based band - which is funny, since their area of expertise and mastery is in the area of synthetic ephemeral sonic languidity known more instinctively, inclusively (and let's face it, irresponsibly) as drone music. Put it this way - they make slow music at a fast pace. 'Bitchitronics' is their first realized record as a trio.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Drag City","offers":[{"title":"LP","offer_id":50521862144331,"sku":"363620","price":27.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/38973a5a-1c20-4523-8e25-acf7fb78d8d2_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727996046"}],"url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/bitchin-bajas.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}