Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

I originally posted this as a thread in the Music forum, but it got no responses at all, so I'm reposting it here in the hopes that a few people will read this entry and listen to this extraordinary album.

I'd never heard of Divine Styler until I read an essay by Scott Seward about his album Spiral Walls Containing Autumns Of Light. The article was one of those Lester Bangs-derived attempts at interweaving music criticism with autobiography and social criticism, but unlike most, it actually worked, and it made me want to hear this apparently strange, unconventional album. The high expectations I had were more than fulfilled, as this is one of the most fascinating records I've ever heard in my entire life.

Calling it a rap album isn't entirely accurate-- only two tracks, "Livery" and "Grey Matter", find Divine Styler rapping in the conventional sense. Otherwise, he either speaks in a voice that sounds as though he's stoned on some incredibly potent weed, or he sings in a limited but resonant voice, almost like the conversational delivery of Lou Reed but with greater flexibility and emotional range. His lyrics are largely concerned with his interpretation of Islam, but are full of vivid poetic images and on some tracks have an almost impressionistic quality, if that makes any sense. The music-- some tracks are played entirely by him, others feature a band credited as the Autumns Of Light-- ranges from spacey ethereal soundscapes to tight, funky jams and even acoustic balladry (on the hauntingly beautiful "Width In My Depth" ). And all of these elements combined make for an incredibly compelling listening experience-- I find myself returning to it repeatedly, and finding new elements in it the mix every time.

If anyone else out there is familiar with this record, I'd like to hear your thoughts; but mostly, I posted this to get others to listen to it. While long out of print, it's fairly easy to obtain-- I got my copy from a third-party seller on Amazon for less than $5.