The Desert Island Big Band (DIBB) continues to kick down the doors of perception and show no interest or intention of allowing itself to be categorized easily with the latest single “Chasm Club”. Released June 16 via Kick Me Records, “Chasm Club” teams up with underground hip-hop act Sociably High for a song that twists the already kaleidoscopic scope of the DIBB that leaves genre and labels floating in the ether.
A pseudonym for multi-disciplinary artist Stefan Jurewicz, The Desert Island Big Band craft enigmatic and explorative art-rock fused with pop accessibility for a listening experience akin to describing a platypus. Like the egg-laying, venom-filled, stomach-less mammal that was once thought to be a hoax because of its insurmountable oddities, The DIBB share a sliver of the duck-billed curiosity because both produce more questions than answers – and should be celebrated because of it. With a sound tied to their aesthetic that includes bold colours, evocative shapes, puppets, and paper mache heads at their live shows, The Desert Island Big Band create a full sensory experience.
The frenetic energy and rich, intoxicating textures swirling around “Chasm Club” can make even the stiffest of hips start to sway. Marking the third single from the forthcoming LP entitled Elaborate Dogs (due out in September), “Chasm Club” utilizes fuzz, distortion, an anthemic chorus, smoothly delivered lyrics, and pulsing electronica to weaponize whimsy designed to blast away any ramparts of realism. Labeling the project as art-rock is a disservice as each release offers something dramatically different in tone. If a label had to be attached to “Chasm Club”, something along the lines of Dissociation Disco gets close enough to the mark but still feels a lightyear away.
It should not be surprising that the project is based in Canada’s capital of Ottawa, home of Parliament Hill and the Noodle House on Preston Street that serves handcrafted noodle dishes and hosts epic dance parties simultaneously. Like the city it hails from, The DIBB represent a colourful and diverse style that feels alive, everchanging, yet firmly grounded in its praxis.
“Chasm Club” is a mystifying addition to the intangible mythos that The Desert Island Big Band has established, and is a brilliant signal song for whatever comes next.
**Also, shout out to Ahora Mexican Restaurant on Dalhousie in Ottawa.
Connect with The Desert Island Big Band:
Instagram
Facebook
Bandcamp
Spotify
Website
YouTube
Kick Me Records
Bio:
The Desert Island Big Band is the pseudonym of Stefan Jurewicz—musician, producer (Kick Me Records), and author (Lemon, Milk Crate Shorts) from Ottawa, Canada. Dada-esque art rock informed by artists like Bowie, Beck, and St Vincent.
