king of woolworths - ming star, dew point ep
having read an online review elsewhere which compared jon brook's (for it is he) stuff to bill laswell/my bloody valentine and future sound of london .. to say i was intrigued would be an understatement.
and so i came to hear the epic that is ming star.
primarily an downtempo electronica album, but, that quick synopsis does not do the album justice, for there is far far more going on here than your average chillout/coffee table sanctioned release.
deep warm basslines, echo, reverb, synths and a smattering of samples add to the varied ambience. sometimes the vibe is mellow and loving - at others downright creepy and disturbing.
the king obviously likes his films, as there is a epic cinematic feel to the music, and he is keen to get the next john carpenter soundtrack contract, as the opening 'kentish town' would spook any hardened thriller fan, this is quickly counteracted by the stone dead classic of 'bakerloo (main titles)' which outdoes all the ryoksopps/lemon jelly's as far as this listener is concerned, which is then followed by the distorted acid drenched beatmonster of 'the stalker song' with a lifted dialogue to scare all those with a nervous disposition ... do not hit the stop button, i dare you. next track liam howlett wishes he could get near, heavy pounding beats clashed with more acid squiggles and i swear i can hear aliens in the mix .. but this is the centre of the album after which an uneasy calm pervades, as the listener cruises towards the end credits, passing sonic landmarks such as the stringed 'kite hill', and the calm ambient 'theydon'.
the track titles clearly show that this album is the music to accompany a private in-head movie that only jon b knows the storyline to. as the album progresses you cannot but succumb to the wonders within .. there are simply too many highlights as the album is a consistent piece of work and needs to be digested as a whole.
the only release from king of woolworths of 2002, the dew point ep.
which has 'this is radio theydon' more downtempo moods and is followed by jons ibeefa track 'sunken field' a house beat over strange vocal vocoder samples, but for me the highlight of this ep is the final 'take the strain' with its spoken word calming monologue to a sunrise blissout bleeps and basslines, absolutely gorgeous.
and i hear that there is a new album about to be released,
i cant wait...
new album : l'illustration musicale
second album. similar but very different. while the basis is still electronic music the overall feel is far more complete and listenable.
since album 1 jon has got married and this new found domesticity has calmed his music. there is joy oozing from many tracks on this bright-n-breezy release.
from the packaging to the opening few tracks the links to many classic movies becomes very apparent. with its influence coming from 60's spy dramas and 70's love stories . it should come as no surprise that jon lists 'get carter', 'italian job', and 'ipcress files' amongst his favourite films.
this passion for a visual atmosphere being recreated in a sonic setting is very impressive and is rather special.
gone are the scary techno beat monsters and instead there are now proper pop songs with guest vocalists - dot allison, pete ingo, cimacima. favourite for me has to be pete's breathy vocals on the poptatstic track evelsong, which i believe is to be a single lifted from this, and could propel all concerned onto our nations radios !
'sell back my soul' returns dots vocals to a pleasant dreamy pop track as opposed to her recent dark sleaze-electro experiments that she has deleved into. while i like her new stuff this track fits her like a well worn glove, the two should definitely collaborate more as the 2 styles and talents combine brilliantly.
overall this album flows as a whole and draws the listener into its vibe, from the funky opening to the gorgeous piano 'a12', to the sunset chillout classic 'this is radio theydon', through to the obvious st etienne influences - note that bob stanley appears disguised on one track - though you cant tell !
a great album for the onset of spring.