King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Drop New Song ‘Sleep Drifter’

Aussie psych lords King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard have dropped yet another new song from their upcoming album Flying Microtonal Banana, in the form of the sleep-inducing ‘Sleep Drifter’.

Posting ‘Sleep Drifter’ to Facebook today, King Gizz also shared a lengthy diatribe about Western music, tuning and rhythm.

“NOTHING IS SACRED IN OUR WESTERN MUSIC,” the band writes.

“OVER HUNDREDS OF YEARS OUR MUSIC DE-EVOLVED TO FEATURE LESS EMPHASIS ON RHYTHM AND MORE ATTENTION TO HARMONIC IMPERFECTION. OUR ANCESTORS ENDEAVOURED TO CREATE A SYSTEM BASED ON PERFECT 5THS YET WE END UP WITH A SERIES OF SEVERELY OUT OF TUNE 3RDS AND WONKY HARMONIES.

“BACH COMPOSED IN SOMETHING CLOSER TO JUST INTONATION . MODERN PIANOS ARE TUNED SHARP AT THE TOP AND FLAT AT THE BOTTOM. VIOLINISTS INSTINCTUALLY BOW PERFECT HARMONIES IN ORCHESTRAL ARRANGE MENTS. BARBERSHOP QUARTETS INSTINCTUALLY SING PERFECT PERFECT HARMONIC 3RDS AND 7THS.

“THEY ARE RIGHT. WE ARE WRONG. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS. WE CONTINUALLY DUMBED DOWN THE RHYTHMIC COMPLEXITY IN FAVOUR OF HARMONIC ENTANGLEMENT. HARMONIES THAT ARE OUT OF TUNE. NOTHING IS SACRED. AND NEITHER IS THIS ALBUM. 24-TET EVERYBODY. WRONGER THAN WRONG.”

‘Sleep Drifter’ is the third track to be shared from Flying Microtonal Banana, following ‘Nuclear Fusion’ and ‘Rattlesnake’. The album is set for release on 24th February.

Meanwhile, King Gizzard are gearing up to perform as part of Laneway Festival later this month.

Hear ‘Sleep Drifter’ in full, below.

Listen: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – ‘Sleep Drifter’

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