“The Release” by Near Death Experience (NDX)
We invite you to accompany us on a musical journey to London, to the lively Ealing, where the sounds of Near Death Experience (short NDX) enchant us. The band has brought out their latest album “The Release” after “Mouth to Mouth”. Since their debut in 2016 and their sensational performance at the Glastonbury Festival 2017 (and also Glastonbury 50!) they have acquired a reputation that commends their live performance as extraordinary and thrilling. As music lovers, we cannot afford to miss this album.
The album begins like a lightning strike and electrifies us from the first instant. With the funk-rock opener “Conquer” they present us with a cocktail that was mixed from explosive ingredients and makes us long for more after the first sip. This longing is satisfied with the swinging “Underground” and the gentle electro-groove of “Religion”.
Then follows for me the climax of the album, “Moves”, the finest jazz-funk with a dash of psychedelica, that impresses on all levels. With “Everything” and “Living” they reduce the tempo, to afford us a respite, before we travel with “Found” in the direction of rock, almost pop. The spiritually inspired “Lord” and “Lightning” are followed by a worthy finale in the form of “Dynamite”, where the musicians around singer Ian Whiteling put everything on the line and perform splendidly.
In summary, “The Release” can be described as a soul-rock album of the highest class, in which jazz and especially funk nuances are not overlooked. With “Conquer”, “Religion”, “Moves” and “Dynamite” there are four fantastic tracks, while the other songs are hardly inferior and it is surely only a matter of taste, which ones you have as favourites. Musically, the groovy rhythm section convinces, which harmonises perfectly with the vocals and gives them the necessary energy. Both push each other again and again and demand everything from each other.
Content-wise, NDX bestow upon us a bonus with their lyrics and take us into their cryptic world, in which a crazy mood of departure between light and dark manifests itself. When you envisage this album now “live on stage”, you know at the latest then, why NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE (NDX) have earned this excellent reputation!
“The Release (Album)” by Near Death Experience (NDX) [DE]
Wir laden euch ein, uns auf eine musikalische Reise nach London zu begleiten, ins pulsierende Ealing, wo uns die Klänge von NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE (kurz NDX) in ihren Bann ziehen. Die Band hat mit “The Release” ihr neuestes Album nach “Mouth to Mouth” vorgelegt. Seit ihrem Debüt im Jahr 2016 und ihrem sensationellen Auftritt beim Glastonbury Festival 2017 (und auch Glastonbury 50!) haben sie sich einen Ruf erworben, der ihre Live Performance als außergewöhnlich und mitreißend preist. Da können wir uns als Musikliebhaber dieses Album nicht entgehen lassen.
Das Album startet wie ein Blitzschlag und elektrisiert uns vom ersten Moment an. Mit dem Funk-Rock-Opener “Conquer” kredenzen sie uns einen Cocktail, der aus explosiven Zutaten gemixt wurde und uns nach dem ersten Schluck nach mehr lechzen lässt. Dieses Verlangen wird mit dem swingenden “Underground” und dem sanften Electro-Groove von “Religion” zunächst gestillt.
Danach folgt für mich der Glanzpunkt des Albums, “Moves”, feinster Jazz-Funk mit einem Schuss von Psychedelika, der auf ganzer Linie begeistert. Mit “Everything” und “Living” drosseln sie kurz das Tempo, um uns eine Atempause zu gönnen, bevor wir mit “Found” in Richtung Rock, fast schon Pop, reisen. Dem spirituell angehauchten “Lord” und “Lightning” folgt ein würdiger Abschluss in Form von “Dynamite”, hier legen die Musiker um Sänger Ian Whiteling noch mal alles in die Waagschale und performen großartig.
Zusammenfassend darf man “The Release” als ein Soul-Rock Album der Extraklasse bezeichnen, in dem Jazz und vor allem Funk Nuancen nicht zu kurz kommen. Mit “Conquer”, “Religion”, “Moves” und “Dynamite” gibt es vier fantastische Tracks, wobei die anderen Songs aber kaum nachstehen und es sicher nur eine Frage des Geschmacks ist, welche man als Favoriten hat.
Musikalisch überzeugt die groovige Rhythmus Sektion, die perfekt mit den Vocals harmoniert und ihnen die nötige Energie liefert. Beide pushen sich immer wieder gegenseitig und fordern sich alles ab. Inhaltlich bescheren uns NDX mit ihren Lyrics dann noch einen Bonus und entführen uns in ihre kryptische Welt, in der sich eine verrückte Aufbruchsstimmung zwischen Hell und Dunkel manifestiert. Wenn man sich dieses Album jetzt “live on stage” vorstellt, weiß man spätestens dann, wieso sich NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE (NDX) diesen exzellenten Ruf erarbeitet haben!
Q&A
with Ian Whiteling, singer, guitarist and songwriter of NDX
How did you form your band Near Death Experience (NDX) and what inspired you to pursue music?
From the moment I picked up a guitar at the age of 13 I wanted to write songs and have been doing so ever since, honing my art as I’ve progressed. You could say I’m a little obsessed with song structure and melody. The inspiration for my songs comes from the rock, soul and funk of the 60s and 70s – The Doors, Love, The Rolling Stones, Isaac Hayes, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Bowie, Curtis Mayfield, etc…
Near Death Experience came about when I was asked to join a covers band by a friend of a friend. This was back in 2016 when I’d taken a break from performing live. I’d never been in a covers band before, but was talked into going along for an initial rehearsal to meet the guys.
When I turned up I realised that they rehearsed in a beautifully restored church in Ealing, West London – the part of the city where The Who and The Stones first played. The vibe felt good so I decided to give it a go.
The guy who invited me to join the band – Amar Grover, the NDX bass player – had heard me perform live previously and loved one of my songs (Tequila from our first album Mouth to Mouth). He asked if I’d play it to the band. They loved it. And immediately we were no longer a covers band!
I’d always wanted to call a band Near Death Experience, the band liked the name, so NDX was born!
Your new album “The Release” came out two months ago. What is the main theme or message of this album?
We’re released into the world and released from it. In between we experience a rollercoaster of existence, experiencing extremes of joy, sadness, fear, euphoria, ecstasy and pain and much more. The songs on our new album reflect this – they take the listener on an emotional and spiritual journey through life. Without telling obvious stories, each song an emotive force that allows the listener to interpret them as they wish, helping them make more relevant, deeper connections.
Which song from the album was the most challenging to produce and why?
The Release brings together the songs we’ve been working on during and after the Covid lockdown period in the UK. This means a number of the tracks were written, developed and recorded when the band were isolating, which was obviously quite a challenge.
All the elements of these songs had to be recorded remotely by each band member, sent through to our producer separately, then pieced together. The drums were recorded in the studio during the brief periods of ‘freedom’, apart from one song, Religion, which uses electronic percussion. So, I guess this was the most challenging of all!
What are some of the challenges that you face as a musician in today’s music industry?
The music industry has always been challenging and musicians will always be exploited for their art – it’s simply the way of the world. During the 80s and 90s the problem was getting songs released. Now anyone can release music, but the problem remains of getting it heard. Which you could say is more difficult than ever with so much music available and accessible, and the amount of choice increasing.
But at least we can get our music out there and control our own destiny more than before. A small percentage of us will be lucky enough to deliver our music to the right place at the right time and spark sudden interest. The rest of us simply need to keep doing what we do and enjoy making music for what it is rather than a career opportunity. Keep honing your musical and songwriting talent and the better you get the more likely you’ll be of ‘making it’. Just don’t bank on it!
If you had the chance to talk to any musician, alive or dead, who would you choose and what would you talk about?
It would have to be David Bowie. He was such a complete musical artist – incredible voice, multi-instrumentalist, fantastic songwriter, brilliant performer and constantly changing, moving in and out of fashion but staying true to his art. There would be so much to discuss from every area of music across the several eras his career spanned. It would be great to understand how he wrote his songs and how this changed over this career.
Do you have any live shows planned and where can your fans see you live?
We’re always playing around London, either as an acoustic duo at open mic nights, or with a full band in music pubs and cool venues. Our next main gigs are both in South London on Wednesday 24 January at Skehans in Peckham and Friday 26 January at The Rebel Inn in Streatham. Plus we’re playing our favourite open mic in West London at The George IV pub in Chiswick on Wednesday 10 January.
What are your goals or aspirations for the near future?
Simply to keep getting better and better at what we do, from songwriting and musicianship to performance. And striving to get our music noticed by a wider audience. But mainly to keep enjoying the whole music experience. This starts in 2024 with getting our album ‘out there’ and then starting work on recording our new songs – we already have more than enough for another album! And of course securing the best gigs we can, as we just love performing!
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