TAU

Superior ethno-prog from Irish visionary and chums.

Belfast-born Sean Mulrooney has been a key figure in Berlin’s underground scene for a decade now, either as a producer or collaborator, linking up with such legends as Damo Suzuki and Michael Rother. He’s also a highly gifted artist in his own right, as evinced by this second album recorded under the signage of TAU. In keeping with his M.O., there are plenty of helpers at hand to flesh out his vision of world music as an inclusive and endlessly malleable series of cultural exchanges, from The Pyramids’ Idris Ackamoor and Tindersticks percussionist Earl Harvin to the LN Sisters, aka Indian classical types Lalitha and Nandini. Much of TAU And The Drones Of Praise finds parallels in the work of Goat, Vodun or Jah Wobble’s Invaders Of The Heart, fusing infectious tribal rhythms to mystic jazz and psychedelic drones. It’s Already Written is a prime example, as Mulrooney meditates on the governing power of DNA and the myth of the cosmic serpent. Berber grooves inform the outstanding Tonatihuh, as North African styles merge into ancient Mexicana, with rich backing vocals, pipes and sonorous acid guitar. Sure, there’s so much going on, but Mulrooney avoids overload with some diligent arrangements.