Tortoise – Djed

Tortoise are a band who either nail it, as is the case with this track, or they miss the mark and sound like bland fusion with a touch of Ozric Tentacles. The opening track on 1995’s ‘Millions Now Living Will Never Die’ is one of their finest moments. “Djed,” sounds like a modern take on Jazz Fusion; a take that has integrated Krautrock, Dub Reggae, as well as Electronica . “Djed” was a bold move, as it was the album opener and clocked in at a hefty 20 minutes. It was also a condensed rundown of the bands career up until that point; with all of their trademarks and stylings thrown into the pot and then teased and tweaked into new shapes. It truly is an astounding track that could easily secure a band’s reputation on its 20 minutes alone. The track opens with crunchy effects and a simple, plaintive bass riff that has a warm, dubby feel to it. This lasts for a few minutes before a motorik drum pattern kicks in. Hints of NEU! are apparent, giving truth to the Krautrock comparisons that were being thrown about, and the bass riff also has a similar lilt to Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother‘s iconic band. A perky melody joins proceedings, lifting the track above motorik pastische whilst also bringing the Jazz Fusion comparisons to mind. This structure starts to break down at some point and the track starts to throb, throwing warm and fuzzy dub shapes where previously there were crisp riffs. The piece morphs several more times whilst always giving the impression that it’s a natural flow. Icy glitches show up at one point; and at another it feels like the track is being smeared over the original tapes. The track eventually enters into a beautiful section that is an outright homage to Steve Reich’s Music For 18 Musicians replete with mallets, xylophones, and what have you. It closes with an almost crippled breakbeat, with remnants of the track’s riffs and melodies hovering over the brittle drums. It’s a fantastic ending to an astonishing track, and is the sort of piece that has you yearning to instantly listen to it all over again. Addictive