“If you can imagine something ending, then it can end,” offered Divide and Dissolve‘s saxophonist and guitarist Takiaya Reed during an interview with Get In Her Ears back in 2021. Visualising a world without injustice is at the core of what Divide and Dissolve do. Their uniquely heavy sound is designed to erode the foundations of colonialism and liberate the land for indigenous communities.
Since the release of their debut album, BASIC, in 2017, Reed and her bandmate percussionist Sylvie Nehill have been honing their unique form of gargantuan-yet-graceful noise in order to help cauterize the wounds of colonialism. Their 2018 album, Abomination, and third record Gas Lit (2021) continued this necessary aural purge. Now, the band have shared their fourth offering, Systemic, and it’s equally as commanding and as poignant as its predecessors.
Released via Invada Records and produced by Ruban Neilson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Systemic continues to push Divide and Dissolve’s essential, empowering message into the ether. Fuelled by Reed’s distinctive, doom-ridden saxophone sounds and Nehill’s phenomenal percussion, the nine tracks that make up Systemic seek to undermine the separateness that colonialism enforces, and instead, engage listeners from all walks of life, uniting them in a sometimes blissful, but more often blisteringly heavy cacophonies of resistance.
From atmospheric opener ‘Want’ and the beautifully dense sounds of ‘Blood Quantum’, through to the majestic closing track ‘Desire’, Systemic is permeated with an altruistic blend of both overwhelming fury and unyielding optimism. Whether listeners are being pummelled by the crushing beats and riffs on ‘Simulacra’, or being lulled by the striking, melancholic sax sounds on the intro to ‘Indignation’ – before being hit with an obliterating volume shift two minutes in – Divide and Dissolve’s dynamic instrumentals assault the senses and reflect the complexities of the emotions and concepts they’re inspired by, including the strength of non-verbal communication.
The only words on Systemic are uttered on ‘Kingdom Of Fear’ by Minori Sanchiz-Fung, who the band have worked with on their previous records. “I have pleaded / let me return these songs to the dirt / cognizant of the wound / that has yet to heal” the Venezulan artist quietly urges, articulating and acknowledging the dispossession that occurs in the aftermath of colonial violence. This message resonates deeper alongside the band’s sublime, drone-like score.
Changing the heavy music landscape one record at a time, the patience and empathy that underscores Divide and Dissolve’s sound inspires a deep sense of awe and respect. “The album is a prayer to our ancestors,” Reed offers about Systemic, and what an awe-inspiring ode it is.
Divide and Dissolve’s new album Systemic is available to buy here
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Photo Credit: Yatri Niehaus
Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut
Get In Her Ears 