REVIEW: Theurgic Seed, ECD 07/01
From first glance, one cannot help but be intrigued by the Theurgic Seed’s CD single. The artwork, by Frustr8, is nothing less than fantastic. The image of a feminine fertility goddess on the cover intertwines graffiti art and a stain glass window together. But enough about the art, it’s the music and the message I got from it that I’m writing about. As I slip in the enhanced CD to my PC I open the one page insert. It reads...“When freewill and destiny collide the dirt in my hands makes me feel so alive.” By all means a precursor to Jair’s poetic style of sophisticated metaphors and revolutionary thought.

The first song, “Free Your Mind” is a wake up call to the citizens of Earth to realize the suffering and tyranny going on every day around us. It calls for you to make a change before it’s too late. The funk meets hip-hop meets Pink Floyd over-tone is embedded with incredible turntablism by Needlebreaker, who has by all rights earned his name. Kevin Murphy’s melodic and technical mandolin playing cannot go unmentioned either. I found the catchy and impacting chorus, sweetened by the vocals of Danielle Opal and Lewis Pollard, continuing to float around in my head.

The second track, “Collage”, is a live (un-mixed?) instrumental starting with a peaceful reverberant quality of chimes and electric keys. It molds into what sounds like free-improvisation, wellÉas the title suggests, collage of sound and soul. Jair melts with the music in a very emotional and soulful guitar solo. His sound and effects sit in very tasteful pocket in the mix, as does the band’s choices for accompaniment. Half way through the song the vibe shifts into a more rhythmic and melodic groove. Scotty Perey gets his chance to exhibit his keyboard virtuosity. After an impressive journey in musicianship from the entire band, “Collage” ends as it began with a relaxing and introspective passage. One would be a quite the passive listener not to notice, and recognize the creative and inspirational drum work by James West. The sounds of his technical and rhythmic stick work melt together with Theurgic Seed’s own style.

After being both amazed and humbled by the sonic journey, I myself a musician, the Enhanced CD offered an equally imaginative insight into the mind of Theurgic Seed. The CD-ROM opens up and gives you four choices to explore. I chose the “live” first. Here you get to experience the sounds and sights of a Live Theurgic Seed concert. “Bonus” offers some sounds and clips of Jair working on his anticipated new album in the studio, which has seen its share of platinum and gold records. The shots include world-renowned tabla player, Abhiman Kaushal who has performed and recorded with the likes of Ravi Shankar. The “studio” link shows the making of the “Collage” track in Studio Apocalypse. Finally, “Weblink” links up to the Theurgic Seed web site where you find updates on the band’s music and gigs, links to a variety of environmental and political web sites, an artists gallery, and some poetry by Jair himself. It is a very impressive package indeed. I’m sure I’m not alone in the anticipation of the full-length release.