Bitchin Bajas: Cooper Crain – Dan Quinlivan – Rob Frye

Bitchin Bajas is one of Chicago’s most renowned experimental outfits who’s music has been compared to that of Terry Riley, Emeralds, Cluster, Harmonia, Popol Vuh and J.D. Emmanuel. Originally conceived in 2010 as a solo endeavour by Cooper Crain, guitarist and organist of the psych/kraut band Cave, Bitchin Bajas quickly expanded to a trio when Dan Quinlivan of Mahjongg (guitar/synths) and fellow Cave-member Rob Frye (guitar/wind) joined in around 2011. After their amazing show at Zuiderpershuis in 2014, Oorstof and Klankhaven are bringing the Bajas back to Antwerp!

The early sounds of Bitchin Bajas were equally psychedelic but decidedly less aggressive than Crain’s primary band, opting for more textural exploration than rhythmic force. By now, the trio is famous for conjuring up rhythmic and electronic soundscapes, often loop based and hypnotic by nature, thus inviting the listener to dive in deep. The project has been prolific in its release of music, with more than a dozen albums on labels such as Drag City and Important Records and a bunch of singles, splits and EP’s. They collaborated with Bonnie “Prince” Billy on several albums and were prominently featured  on Natural Information Society’s ‘Autoimaginary’. One of their latest efforts, the brilliant ‘Switched On Ra’, features the music of Sun Ra where they channel the cosmic jazz and experimentation of the legendary Afrofuturist icon to match with their own musical vision. Their most recent album ‘Bajascillators’ (2022) was well received by critics and even got a five star review in the world’s biggest jazz magazine DownBeat.