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The Hellblinki Sextet
Augusta, Georgia
Indie
http://www.myspace.com/hellblinki
http://www.hellblinki.com
Industrial / Gothic
September 25, 2007
“Simple music for Difficult people…”
What would happen if Tim Burton had decided to create a band? Perhaps the result would have been something wonderfully eccentric and dark. It really wouldn’t be hard to envision a talented darkwave band encompassing a gamut of musical intellect under the tutelage of Burton’s magnificent brilliance. It is fortunate for us that Andrew Benjamin shares a dark eccentric genius with Burton, for The Hellblinki Sextet is such a band.
Benjamin’s creation took form in Augusta, Georgia with the aide of various other talented musicians. Their first album (1999) was a self titled masterpiece of homemade instrumentation, Andrew Benjamin’s jazzy/eerie/ stirring vocals, classical talent and harmonious discord. From the 60’s anti war sound of I Pray, to the rock-a-Billy sound of Diggin’ this first album proved the vast width of genres Hellblinki could easily shift into without loosing stride.
The Hellblinki Sextet’s second album A Pirate Broadcast (2004) is a divine amalgam of gypsy, pirate music blended with immersing storylines. It Comes to This, sounds like a sea shanty tuned in on an old radio, while Love, She Said is an upbeat dirge blend of ghostly vocals and fast paced demonic strings
In the later part of 2006 Hellblinki released a Christmas EP for “The 12 Bands of Christmas” charity. These four Christmas songs are a joy to listen to even in their distinctly dark flavors. Every song is one that kids of any age should know. The operatic/bad boy creation of Nuttin’ for Christmas is a definitive reminder of children’s Christmas concerts. Emmet Otter’s Jug band Christmas is returned from obsolescence through angelic female vocals and sincere backup harmonies.
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With vocals reminiscent of Weird Al and dark humor similar to Voltaire, Andrew Benjamin and The Hellblinki Sextet cannot be “pigeon-holed”; their music has a dual layer of art. Beyond the indomitable humor the individuality of the sublime music, be it gypsy, carnival, or irreverently delicious remakes of traditional favorites, the sound is always something eternally Hellblinki. It is not surprising that this eclectic, eccentric and exceptional band was chosen as one of the performance groups at the Eccentrik Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina. From what I have read the only thing better then listening to Hellblinki’s music is to get to see the band perform live, audience participation is quite welcome from what I hear. Their interpersonal relationship with the audience, be it Andrew Benjamin’s one man band on guitar, vocals, drums and the occasional cornet, or the additional percussion, strings and voices provided by previous members of the larger group, makes The Hellblinki Sextet a band one must see AND hear to appreciate. So head on down to Raleigh, North Carolina October 13, 2007, this fourth year of the festival is sure to be extraordinary.
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Topics: October 2007 |
September 26th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I used to be a musician with The Outcasts. We played in The Village at The Cafe Wha? Next door The Lovin’ Spoonful played at The Midnight Owl. And also at another club, Frank Zappa. Our warmup band was Jimmi Hendrix’s and the balladier Richie Havens also played warm up.
My band introduced Jimmi to The Animals at Googies Bar on Sullivan Street, the latter took Hendrix to England. They made a film about that event…and I was there that night.
September 27th, 2007 at 4:03 am
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