Starting with the album release of Black Background in 2016, Bad Angels has been one of the rare few Doom Jazz artists to come to prominence in the decade since. With a sound more akin to Doom Metal and Dark Ambient, this record is a must-listen for anyone jonesing for that ‘pure dread’ sound.
Enveloping walls of reverb play off of sparse instrumentation; noirish brushed drum loops, saxophones awash in haze, and the inevitable ‘ominous whooshing noise’ are all present.
Bad Angels is as much of a mystery as their sound implies. One of the only names I can pin within a mile of this project is Polish-based ambient artist Adrian Anioł, credited with composing and arranging the album. The Discogs, Bandcamp pages and social media channels all ultimately lead to nowhere, with the majority of information on Bad Angels coming from their own Bandcamp listings.
With that in mind, Black Background started out as the sound accompaniment to the visual art exhibition Not Even The Angels which took place on October 12th, 2011, with 32 tracks created specifically for the exhibition. Adapted for album release, Black Background was eventually released on November 11th, 2016. Paired down to 7 tracks, Black Background is full of Jazz and Industrial tropes dubbed out on reverb and delay.
I highly recommend giving this record a listen if anything said here has piqued your interest. As an aside, if you’re a big fan of the video game LA Noire, I’d also recommend giving this a listen.
You can find Bad Angels on streaming or, better yet, here on Bandcamp!
For fans of: Bohren & Der Club of Gore, Marek Zebrowski & David Lynch, Dale Cooper Quartet
Like Bad Angels? Give these a listen: Harold Budd, Sewer Election, Nortt
The Resident Sound 