TEXT VERSION:
HASHIMA – TIDELAND review
Tad Greenland
In the heart of southern Europe’s Balkan Peninsula, a
flashpoint for political and cultural unrest, Serbia has
embraced jazz through its festivals, clubs and talented
young musicians.
Hashima, a Belgrade-based quartet led by
guitarist Igor Mišković, is named for the abandoned
Japanese island that was once a forced labor camp,
now only a concrete graveyard. The cover of Tideland,
their debut, features this ghostly prison, towering
above a steep seawall, a visual metaphor for the stark
but richly laminated music contained within.
Mišković’s archtop electric guitar, filtered through
deep reverb and wet, washy signal processing, creates
a distinctive sonic thumbprint; his unusual chords
are ambiguous yet richly suggestive, tremolo
strumming more textural than declarative. Tenor
saxophonist Srđan Mijalković adds more familiar jazz
elements while bassist Vanja Todorović and drummer
Aleksandar Hristić bring a harder edge to the sound.
Among many compelling moments, “Muted” stands
out for its interactivity and angular lyricism.
For more information visit thehashima.com