ALBUM: Divide and Dissolve – ‘Systemic’

“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

Follow Divide and Dissolve on bandcamp, Instagram, Spotify, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: Yatri Niehaus

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: Divide and Dissolve – ‘Gas Lit’

An exhilarating, powerful assembly of sounds designed to erode the foundations of colonialism and liberate the land for indigenous communities, instrumental activists Divide and Dissolve‘s second album Gas Lit smoulders with a righteous fury. Produced by Ruban Nielson of Unknown Mortal Orchestra, the record is an aural purging of injustice, fuelled by the diversity of Takiaya Reed’s doom-ridden saxophone sounds and Sylvie Nehill’s phenomenal percussion. It’s the band’s first full length release since their 2018 album Abomination, and much like its predecessor it flows with a unique gargantuan grace.

Released via Invada Records, Gas Lit sees Divide and Dissolve continue their sonic mission to disrupt toxic white supremacy. Reed & Nehill’s sublime instinct for colossal drop-ins permeates their music and acts as a powerful weapon in the fight against inequality. These cathartic shifts in sound saturate Gas Lit, and opening track ‘Oblique’ is the first of many aural shockwaves to hit listeners. Silence in a world of inequality is damaging and Divide and Dissolve seek to shatter the illusions surrounding this. The intense grit of ‘Prove It’ continues to hammer this message home, with its pulverizing beats and caustic riffs.

The pensive spoken words of poet Minori Sanchiz-Fung on ‘Did You Have Something To Do With It’ bring to life a poignant question that underscores the record: “are [we] a part of this world / or its affliction?” It bleeds into the epic seven and a half minute ‘Denial’, which is a disorientating sonic whirlwind of thunderous riffs, ear-shattering percussion and uncanny saxophone notes. The visceral sounds on ‘Far From Ideal’ and ‘It’s Really Complicated’ beautifully embellish the band’s narrative charge against oppression and provide more riotous cacophonies to escape into.

On ‘Mental Gymnastics’ and ‘We Are Really Worried About You’ Reed flexes more of her extraordinary sax-playing muscles and her ear for intense riff distortion. On the latter, they’re combined with Nehill’s crashing cymbals to form a swirling vortex of cathartic dissonance, reiterating the band’s message that the sufferings of indigenous communities have evolved beyond what’s “recorded in stone / and in bone.” The resentment and need to overcome this is now so strong that – in the words of Minori Sanchiz-Fung – “language can’t console it.” Divide and Dissolve are here to give weight and validation to these voices, and Gas Lit is a majestic and moving effort to do so.

Pre-order your copy of Divide and Dissolve’s new album Gas Lit here.

Follow Divide and Dissolve on bandcamp, Instagram, Spotify, Twitter & Facebook

Photo Credit: Billy Eyers

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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ALBUM: Divide & Dissolve – ‘Abomination’

A sonic force to be reckoned with, Melbourne-based duo Divide & Dissolve‘s second album Abomination, released via Dero Arcade is a collection of heavy-instrumentals designed to “decolonize, dismantle white supremacy and empower people of colour & Indigenous people.”

Together, Takiaya Reed (saxophone, guitar, live effects) and Sylvie Nehill (drums, live effects) seek to undermine the forces that oppress them. The duo have been receiving praise and support since the release of their debut Basic in March 2017, which earned them the accolade of ‘Best Heavy Album’ at The Age Music Victoria Awards. This year they’ve been granted a support slot with Poliça on their forthcoming US tour, and after listening to Abomination, it’s easy to see why Divide & Dissolve are currently in demand.

Opening the album is the eponymous ‘Abomination’. It’s five minutes and fifty seconds of unnerving riffs and ceaseless cymbals, crashing together to form a desolate but powerful soundscape. It paves the way for eerie second track ‘Assimilation’, poised between chaos and calm from the moment it starts. There’s an intense power in the lack of lyrical content on these songs, which feels reflective of the repressed minorities the pair seek to support with their music. ‘Cultural Extermination’ is another shining example of this.

The spoken word from Minori Sanchiz-Fung on ‘Reversal’ is incredibly poignant. “By using English, I have let out many violent spirits. Words that I trust would in English, fling themselves against the wall,” speaks Minori from her “Immigrant Mind” in a composed, but visceral manner. Subtle, reverb-heavy guitar scores her incredible poetry, making this collaboration an intriguing and important listen. ‘Resistance’ follows with its manic sax sounds that ring out like defiant sirens in the face of adversity, resisting all notions of conformity.

The brief but bold ‘Re-appropriation’ demands immediate attention with more of the Divide & Dissolve’s crashing cymbals and abrasive riffs, before the penultimate ‘Reparations’ seeks to musically right the wrongs that white supremacy and patriarchy have inflicted on indigenous communities. Its slow-building, atmospheric nature seethes and soothes in equal measure, before ‘Indigenous Sovereignty’ closes this exploration of the unheard.

The eight tracks on Abomination are a platform on which Divide & Dissolve “transform the experience of space and time” and draw on the experiences of their ancestors and surroundings to create their unique and extraordinary sounds. It’s instrumentalist activism that seeks to disrupt the norm – and we love it.

Abomination is available to stream  & download now. Follow Divide & Dissolve on Facebook for more updates.

Photo Credit: @annasnowsill

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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