Revelators Sound System

Description

Revelators Sound System is the collaborative musical project of MC Taylor (Hiss Golden Messenger) and Cameron Ralston. Recorded in 2020 and 2021, primarily at Taylor's home in Durham, North Carolina, and at Richmond, Virginia's Spacebomb studio, where Ralston is the house bassist, the album is a deep meditation on the feeling of community that oscillates between avant-funk and spiritual groove, solitary cosmic minimalism, and shimmering, dubby ambient. But above all, Revelators is a profoundly emotional record, the soundtrack to a world in confusion. "Grieving," with its double-drumming that rattles the walls and burning electric clavinet, imagines a rhythmic encounter between The Meters, Miles Davis after his Bitches Brew album, and Can. The track then dissolves into a smoky, time-stained coda that descends directly from Lee 'Scratch' Perry's most intoxicating Black Ark productions. "Collected Water" is a somber, pointillistic improvisation between Taylor's drifting guitar loops, Ralston's swirling double bass, and the melodic dance between Daniel Clarke's chiming piano, J. C. Kuhl's insistent saxophone, and Reggie Pace's subtle, circular percussion. "Bury the Bell" is a sparkling, Alice Coltrane-inspired piece for guitar, clarinet, and orchestra that transforms into stardust. The album ends with "George The Revelator," a lush, unspooling epic built on J.T. Bates' drumming, which shakes and rolls with psychic and psychedelic fervor. Revelators is a testament to the telepathic and spiritual musical interplay between Taylor and Ralston. This record is about grieving. Grieving, and everything that comes after. The two musicians were looking for a way to communicate this emotion musically. Ten percent of the proceeds from the sale of Revelators will be donated to Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp campaign.