***"Amish Records is pleased to announce the first recorded collaboration between David Watson and Bill Nace, entitled On Bats.Historically, ensembles combining taishōgoto and bagpipes (at least inside the milieu of “jazz”) have been on the tame side. The Winkler Twins, Dagnabbit, CUZ and other such units pandered to the bowtie set so exclusively that many people have all but dismissed the instruments as hopelessly moldy or even (in the words of critic Milo Fine) “tools of fascism and complacency.” That said, it is my pleasure to announce that the duo of William “Bill” Nace and Dave “David” Watson has made a mighty effort hereon to liberate these instruments from the yoke of yokelism.Nace is a Philadelphia-based wizard of avant-string tomfoolery with a recording history stretching back to Vampire Belt (with Chris Corsano) in the early Oughts. Watson is an NYC-based New Zealand ex-pat whose multi-instrumental genius was first evidenced with the Primitive Art Group in the '80s. Now, with On Bats, the pair have set out to right the wrongs of generations of the dull ass taishōgoto/bagpipes artists who preceded them.The taishōgoto is, of course, a Japanese stringed instrument perhaps best described as a cross between a zither and a typewriter. Bagpipes are...well...pipes with a bag attached. Using their respective instruments to create both long-form tones and berserk machine-like squeedles, Nace and Watson create a varied and surreal aural landscape that shifts contours and colors with ease. The way they combine voices here often manifests as a sonic analogy to...
LP $27.75
05/01/2026