Bass-forward jazz fusion from Taiwan,
with healthy doses of pop, hip hop, math rock.
The tunes are often instrumental, but sometimes
there’s a lead vocal, usually from a guest artist,
and, as Elephant Gym is an internationally
collaborative unit, the vocals might be sung
in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, or English.
Sometimes Elephant Gym gets noisy, but most
of the time they are tight, intricate, melodic,
playing music full of finesse and dynamic range
and incredible precision. I imagine that this
band is especially popular with drummers
and bass players. The interlocking grooves
and wonderful interplay between bassist
KT Chang and drummer Chia-Chin Tu are, at
least for me, the most exciting thing about
Elephant Gym’s music. So much so, that I kept
going back for more. Never a dull moment.
Only within the last decade or so have I found
myself seeking out music that is international,
and, when sung, is sung in languages other
than English. Elephant Gym keep company in my
collection with other artists I have grown to love:
Arooj Aftab, Tricot, and Lucretia Dalt. Lately, I find
myself streaming music from Achiko Aoba and
Natalia Lafourcade. Language has ceased to be
a barrier. Case in point (for most Americans, that is):
Bad Bunny.
Notes on the vinyl editions: Underwater, Topshelf Records, 2018, translucent turquoise marble vinyl. Dreams, Topshelf Records, 2022, black vinyl. World, Topshelf Records, 2023, white vinyl.
In case you don’t already know: I’m listening to almost everything in my vinyl collection, A to Z, and writing at least one, sometimes two or three long skinny poem-like-things in response for each artist, and on a few occasions, writing a long skinny poem-like-thing in response to more than one artist. As a poet and a student of poetry, I understand that these things look like poems, but they don’t really sound much like poetry, hence, I call them “poem-like-things.” I’ll admit that they’re just long, skinny essays that veer every now and then into the poetic or lyric.
michael jarmer 