The Jesus People USA Busker Kibbutznik project will be distributed at 2000 Cornerstone at cost and as a premium for pre-fest ticket purchases. A collage that borrows from many sources and traditions, I'm told that satisfying copyright restrictions would be cost prohibitive, but this project is too good to be buried in a 5,000 piece run. Somebody finance this band!
JPUSA is a community that encourages artistic exploration and expression, and this project is the logical extension of that nurture. Didgeridoos join Tibetan throat singing, atonal women's voices, a sitar, industrial byproducts, Hebrew, Chinese, King James English, T. S. Eliot, flutes, gongs, and every type of percussion instrument ever created to worship their creator.
Originally staged as a Christmas piece, at the urging of the audience Kibbutznik's many members recreated their cantata in the community's recording studio this past winter. During that process, the body of work doubled in size with the addition of a series of spoken pieces whose connection with the incarnation is much more obscure. This is a sprawling, disjointed work-in-progress but its incomplete nature adds to its immediacy.
In the canon of "alternative" Christian worship music, this piece is a worthy successor of the At the Foot of the Cross series. It is challenging, yet accessible for those with ears to hear, who are willing to suspend their western notions of scale and instrumentation for a bit to hear some new perspectives on some old, old themes.
4.5 tocks
Other coverage for this album
Opus 2000Reviewed by Jason MoreheadOne of the more interesting shows that I caught at Cornerstone this year occurred after midnight about halfway through the fest. At least, I think it happened. It may have all been a dream, induced by the exhaustion of the day's activities and emotionally draining series of shows. Whatever it was, I saw a stage crowded with people playing all manner of instruments, from guitar to hand drums,…
