Old Time Relijun

Biography

Old Time Relijun is a three-piece ensemble formed in Olympia, Washington in 1995. With frequently rotating drummers (the current drummer is Germaine Baca, but past drummers have included Phil Elvrum a.k.a the Microphones), the main stalwarts are Arrington de Dionyso (vocals, guitar) and Aaron Hartman (stand-up bass). Dionyso is also a respected throat singer and has a degree in ethnomusicology. The band has added Aaron's brother Benjamin to the mix, taking over the horn and woodwind work. Pull...

Old Time Relijun is a three-piece ensemble formed in Olympia, Washington in 1995. With frequently rotating drummers (the current drummer is Germaine Baca, but past drummers have included Phil Elvrum a.k.a the Microphones), the main stalwarts are Arrington de Dionyso (vocals, guitar) and Aaron Hartman (stand-up bass). Dionyso is also a respected throat singer and has a degree in ethnomusicology. The band has added Aaron's brother Benjamin to the mix, taking over the horn and woodwind work.

Pulling influences from no-wave sax machine James Chance, Howlin' Wolf, and Captain Beefheart, Old Time Relijun creates a frenetic, challenging sound. Longtime members of Calvin Johnson's K Records' stable, Old Time Relijun has received divided reviews amongst critics. Many critics deride the band for being inaccessible but others see the band as visionary.

While there is a great split over their recorded albums, Old Time Relijun has a solid following amongst anyone who has seen their frenetic live show. In these live shows, it is not beyond Arrington to be playing in nothing more than his tighty whiteys while he and the band kick out the jams.

There is great live footage of them from one of their last concerts in hometown Olympia, Washington at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvRXeUINCV4

Arrington de Dionyso also has an extensive recording catalog as a solo performer using an experimental approach to multi-spectral throatsinging, bass clarinet, and a variety of homemade instruments. In 2009 he founded a new group, Arrington de Dionyso's Malaikat dan Singa, in which nearly all the lyrics are sung in Indonesian, using rhythms inspired by dancehall, post-punk, and traditional Indonesian "kuda lumping" trance music. The band tours extensively in the US, Europe, and Indonesia. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.