A delightfully mixed-up crew from Europe’s current hotbed of roots activity – yes that’s right, Belgium. Quite why the bloke on the cover is wearing an imitation armadillo skin on his head isn’t clear, but then given the cavalier intentions of the rest of the album, there’s a scatty logic to the proceedings. The press kit invites us to formulate our own labels for the music, which stylistically ventures from pretty straight forward reeling Rain, Dear , to the plain out-there Human DidgBox, via the wigged-out trance of 7de hemel (Neven Remix), the kind of track that should have roots/ dub/ groove DJ’s scrabbling for a copy.

Fortunately for the listener, Tantra mostly seem to know where they’re going, even if the rest of us haven’t got a clue. Jane in the jungle, being such – chirping mandolins meet grunting didg in scurrying march scenario. Some tracks are just a bit too long, for instance the free-form seven minutes of Arabian-inspired Lorrmi/ Knoert could have done with clipping, as it stands sadly lost in a sandstorm. Mostly, however, the playing’s thight and chief culprints Peter Daems (writer-in-residence) and Thim Vandecauter keep the ship on an even keel on increasingly choppy waters. Honourable mention to Janneke Donkersloot (Is that really a true name?) for some truly inspired fiddling throughout, and thumbs up for the fact that this is a totally DIY-product, from bedroom recordings to self-promotion. No doubt they’ll have studied by their second album, but this is an adventurous debut and if you’re not scared to try variety, one for the more open-minded.

Simon Jones, fROOTS, april 2006 nr. 274, 22.03.2006