Mong Tong 夢東 – Tao Fire 道火
On their latest album, Taiwanese duo Mong Tong 夢東 combine Southeast Asian influences for a collection of transportive, mesmerising soundscapes
Perhaps it's time to step out of your comfort zone and try something different. Maybe something that edges towards ambient music, but with a psychedelic rock twist, utilising an eclectic polyrhythmic combination of instruments? Mong Tong 夢東 create bizarre, mesmerising soundscapes on their newest release Tao Fire 道火, transporting you from the final-boss-on-the-beach energy of Tropic Sub to the humid, hypnotising determination of Naihe Bridge.
The album combines Southeast Asian influence with bitty decaying synths, atmospheric nature sounds, incongruous percussion (like steelpans), and an impressive spectrum of guitar effects. This almost hodge-podge collection of tones and textures creates an incredibly compelling, intense, and generally dense experience that's easy to get lost in.
However, Tao Fire 道火 truly peaks in its last two tracks – Ghost Island and Rain Maker. The first paints a post-apocalyptic bleakness rooted in current reality, with an unnervingly apathetic voice stating 'They’re lying to you, GI… / Your rich leader gets richer whilst you’re dying in the swamp'. Then Rain Maker persistently builds a storm of textures, with sustained guttural singing like opening the gates of hell, before… silence, for a minute, cut by a crunch, and a limping, haunted melody suggests that perhaps you have succumb to the music and are now, in fact, dead.
Listen to: Fire Wind Wheel, Areca, Ghost Island, Rain Maker