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Ginger Leigh

Ginger Leigh * Merchant Of Death (cd 2008 masuno)

Totally unexpected a new album of Ginger Leigh fell in my mailbox yesterday. “Mercant Of Death” is another typical Ginger Leigh album. Sound collages with strange samples, weird rhythms and this time more vocals than we are used to. Swinging ‘noise ‘n’ roll’ (even though this new album is again not as noisy as the earlier albums) with jungle sounds, Middle Eastern flutes, etc. making a sound that I still have not heard anywhere else. Inspite of the strangeness, I find Ginger Leigh listenable and very enjoyable. Nowadays you can also have a try before you buy, since the website has free downloads and Ginger Leigh got a Myspace, see below.
Links: Ginger Leigh website, Ginger Leigh on Myspace

Ginger Leigh * And The Hallucinations (cd 2007 masuno)

Every now and then I receive a cd of Ginger Leigh, that weird American electronic project. The new album has as always ‘minimal packaging’ and the strangest sound. “And The Hallucinations” is again less noisy than its predecessor, but still has ‘that Ginger Leigh sound’. That sound is hard to describe, since I know no comparison. Strange samples in loops, either melodies or rhythms (which can be industrial as well as jazzy or anything else), together with more strange samples, (near) Eastern instruments or voices, guitars, singing, jungle sounds or whatever. Here and there the sound gets a distorted, noisy twist and on a few occasions the sound comes pretty close to noise. All this makes weird soundscapes with an atmosphere too. Also on this new album, older tracks can be found. All I can say is, if you enjoy strange sound collections with a noisy edge, get in contact with Ginger and try one of his albums.
link: Ginger Leigh
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Ginger Leigh * Sparrow Wings (cd 2006 red river productions)

This is the third Ginger Leigh album that I review but there are more. Ginger Leigh makes a strange kind of noise, “noisescapes” may be a good description. Strange tunes, weird rhythms (Eastern, jazzy, industrial), odd samples and distorted sounds make Ginger Leigh a crazy listening experience. “Sparrow Wings” is a short album, only 30 minutes. The sounds seems to be more minimal and noisy. There aren’t such ‘extreme’ parts as in “A True Life Story”, which makes this new cd more fit for background music. On the other hand, you better listen to it very well if you want to hear all the sounds, samples and ideas. Weird music for lovers of experimental noisy music.

Ginger Leigh * If I Should Die Tomorrow (cd 2004)

A year ago I got a copy of the previous cd “A True Life Story” which was also released by the band itself. This is a very good ‘noise-ambient’ cd with a very experimental and wonderfull sound. I play this cd quite often while reading. Now I got this new cd which is also experimental and strange, but especially the first half is less noisy. It took a few rounds in my player again to get into the original sound of Ginger Leigh, but this American artist did it again. Progressive industrial sounds, a “When” for the 21th century? Some tracks were also on “A True Life Story”.

Ginger Leigh * A True Life Story (cd 2003 masuno)

The promo copy of this cd came to me with a long list of quotes from reviews of colleagues who all recognise the originality of this American project. Ginger Leigh mixes noise and some industrial with ethnic ((near) Eastern) sounds, some tribal drumming and avantgardistic music that reminds me of When sometimes. 16 Tracks and 43.31 minutes of crazyness and originality. Here and there a shred of recognition, but often not at all. If you want some vague comparisons, I can refer to Tesco acts like C.O.T.A. and Cruelty Campaign (both also from the USA) whose music I referred to as “livingroom industrial”, “industrial soundscapes” and “industrial hearplay”. All these descriptions I could also use for Ginger Leigh. That does not mean that Ginger Leigh sounds much like the two mentioned bands, but if you like them, I think you will also like this. As said, I hear When here and there and maybe if you like the State-Art kind of industrial, you should try to get your hands on this one. Quality-wise, I would say that Ginger Leigh comes between Cruelty Campaign and C.O.T.A., not too far after CC.
Good to hear that there is still original music from the industrial scene. “Sophisticated noise”, how is that for a description?