It begins quietly
in certain female children;
the fear of death, taking as its form
dedication to hunger,
because a woman's body
is a grave; it will accept
anything, I remember
lying in bed at night
touching the soft, aggressive breasts,
touching, at fifteen
the interfering flesh
that I would sacrifice
until the limbs were free
of blossom and suberterfuge: I felt
what I feel now, aligning these words --
it is the same need to perfect,
of which death is the mere by-product.
~ louise glück
Sounds Like
Come to my arms, cruel and sullen thing;
Indolent beast, come to my arms again,
For I would plunge my fingers in your mane
And be a long time unremembering --
And bury myself in you, and breath your wild
Perfume remorselessly for one more hour:
And breath again, as of a ruined flower,
The fragrance of the love you have defiled.
I long to sleep; I think that from a stark
Slumber like death I could awake the same
As I was once, and lavish without shame
Caresses upon your body, glowing and dark.
To drown my sorrow there is no abyss,
However deep, that can compare with your bed.
Forgetfulness has made its country your red
Mouth, and the flowing of Lethe is in your kiss.
My doom, henceforward, is my sole desire:
As martyrs, being demented in their zeal,
Shake with delightful spasms upon the wheel,
Implore the whip, or puff upon the fire,
So I implore you, fervently resigned!
Come; I would drink nepenthe and long rest
At the sweet points of this entrancing breast
Wherein no heart has ever been confined.
~ charles baudelaire * translation: george dillon
But he who thinks man is bare
Discarded of pride by force
Has not the depth of soul to share
Emotions at its source
Perhaps my eyes shall never reach
The light of freedom's skies
But forever my hopes will span the breach
To keep my human ties.
Jaggery is an experimental art-rock collective who work the dark edge of a genre-defying musical style (darkwave jazz? siren rock?). fronted by Boston-based singer/songstress mali sastri ~ whose training in the expressive arts discipline Voice Movement Therapy is evident in her global-sized voice ~ the band suggests a classical, organic, avant-jazz-oriented Cocteau Twins or a “white witch” counter to the haunting Diamanda Galas. mali’s voice can be a leaf floating in the breeze, and then become an Earth-shaking, Everest-sized volcano. she is flanked by a rotating lineup of musicians and instrumentation including daniel schubmehl's west african approach to the drum kit, with jazz influences, tony leva's funky upright bass, and petaluma vale's celtic harp and backup vocals. this “exotic musical mobile” evokes what Alice Coltrane’s “Journey in Satchidananda” might sound like with Bjork singing over the top of it. the band's repertoire bridges the delicate and explosive ~ from haunting lullabies to furious, mixed-meter rants; tightly-woven compositions in odd time signatures to catharsis-inducing, barn-burning mini-epics (oft-times within the same song). the sound is rich, organic, captivating, both dark and triumphant. Jaggery (the word comes from the dark brown, Indian sugar) has toured across the east coast, and has released two recordings, the 2004 in lethe ep, and the 2006 full-length polyhymnia. their first music video (‘O Scorpio) won their director “Most Promising New England Filmmaker 2009” at the Boston Underground Film Festival.
“One of the most beautiful voices in modern music.”
~ Oedipus, Vice President of Alternative Programming, Infinity Broadcasting
Jaggery "Polyhymnia" New York USA 2006:
JAGGERY
The Middle East, Cambridge
6/10/08
You go to shows with the hope of a good time, with sugar plums dancing in your filthy frontal lobes, with the hope of a mind blowing circus of musical madness whose electric flesh paints the eyes of mother creation herself. However hard the ladder is to find, sometimes you get lucky and stumble upon a monolith of goodness.
This is the case at the Middle East where the band Jaggery conjures up an impressively unique set, dancing between Bjork, Diamanda Galas and Jack Kerouac. Mali Sastri (the lead vocalist and pianist) has a vocal style all her own, infused with petals of passion and rubies of inspiration. The singing crawls, runs, and soars over an instrumental sea of piano, contrabass and drums. The piano playing paints a brilliant horizon of tradition meeting innovation. The contrabass fills the oceans of planet Jaggery with waves of experimentation and skill. Suddenly out of the clouds come the percussive mountains and foothills laid down by Daniel Schubmehl crashing and smashing to the highest peaks, tracing the shorelines and splashing into the water with jazz flecks, rock specks, and magick tricks. Jaggery is for those who want beautiful original music that's dark in the vein of Van Goghs Starry Night. Don't wait pluck this jewel post haste!
~ The Noise (Boston)
At times Jaggery makes you wonder, "what if Dave Brubeck and Diamanda Galas jammed?" The band's singer/pianist, Mali Sastri, conjures up emotion and atmosphere which can only be weighed on a global scale. Her voice can be leaf floating in the wind, and then become an Earth-shaking Everest-sized volcano. Yet delicate or explosive, it's always magnificent, captivating, and sustained by a gorgeous tapestry woven by her brilliantly talented band. Jaggery features dream-like harp, soulful stand-up bass and rich, organic percussion. This debut album has the warmth of Blue Bell Knoll-era Cocteau Twins with a modern avant-jazz sensibility, wrapped in an ethereal, spiritual, blue velvet haze, full of mystery and intrigue.
~ Triage Music
Jaggery "In Lethe'" (EP) New York, USA 2004:
Mali's voice has the depth, charm, and finesse of a mermaid in distress. Her siren call enthralls listeners embracing the visceral and yet subdued caterwaul cooing that is her sublime vocal presence. Lethe is as likely a birthing ground for the sound as any. Entranced and certain of having one's cortexes erased of any ill-begotten thoughts and meanderings, this music relaxes our tight grip on reality, transporting readily. Supplanted in Hades for the duration, unmitigated immersion begets greedy quaffs of this divine musical elixir.
Peals of escape traipse along your face as the world fades from view, created anew from an intimately interior space. Likewise nightmarish and soporific, simultaneously hopeful and melancholic, purportedly diametric factions of the soul are mesmerized in tandem via polarized dynamics. Jaggery is expertly lethal in anthropomorphizing the riddled incubus rattle within this mortal coil. Wholeness binds and blinds us. The careening verse, 'I can never fill up this hole,' beaming powerfully from inside of the cavernous recesses in "7 Stone" could not be more of a truism.
Summarily shaking off the soot of humanity's foibles and subtly corralling the essence of phoenix ascent from the depths of a dark pupal id, this windswept prancing blurs fathomless. Not a single moment is spared their keen idiosyncrasy. Somersaulting lugubriously, structures tumultuously sprawl into an effortless sub-routine of rollicking acrobatics. Tension mounts opportunely to decidedly raucous peaks as melodic lines undulate, glowing and glistening underneath, bearing the weighty anticipation of soaring narcoleptic liberation. Do not sleep, be reborn.
Cesar Montesano
10/19/05
I reviewed this Brooklyn group’s three-song demo when they were The Throes, and their essentials remain the same on this five-song, 28-minute EP as Jaggery. Mali Sastri’s unearthly voice (I compared her to Enya) still coos like she’s a choirgirl singing madrigals or hisses in a guttural growl like an irritated Ani DiFranco. Her brother Raky Sastri backs her up with some oddly timed, arrhythmic, freeform jazz drumming that has me wondering how he manages to hold it together against the strident piano and mysterious organ. Nor really jazz, not pop, not ethereal rock – this is not like anything else you’ve heard, aside from maybe what Suddenly, Tammy! might sound like with a hyper-jazz drummer and a gothic bent. In Lethe would provide a murky, absorbing soundtrack for Silence of the Lambs II, perhaps, and it’s really unusual music for sure.
That was an excellent video. I really like the whole feel of the song with the attitude of the video. This taurus can certainly understand those excellent lyrics as well.
Hi Mali! Wow, thanks so much for the wonderful kind words!! We appreciate it so much :) And I am similarly in awe of your music. So beautiful and intense. The video is great too! ~ Sharon
Thanks for touching base a few weeks back. Keep us in mind if any Boston opportunities come up. I hope you are doing well and I enjoyed your video for O Scorpio!
mali! i finally posted some tunes! hope you're doing well and that you had a wonderful run in texas! looking forward to seeing you play in nyc in july. best, ange
NNNOOO!!! How horrible that the lovely Jaggery made it to Texas while I was on a MySpace strike. I am SO SORRY that I missed you, and I hope you had a wonderful time in Austin!
Online Now!
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