The Asphodells
Ruled By Passion, Destroyed by Lust
Rotters Golf Club
Well, space is a commercial product these days and so is space music. This tasty collection comes from a collaboration between Andrew J. Weatherall and Timothy J. Fairplay, a pair of hipster DJ types who hang at clubs in Glasgow, London, and Berlin.
While I’ll toss this in a spacey side of my collection, there’s a solid sense of rhythm and classic musical structure. Opener “Beglammered” feels a bit Middle Eastern in its ringing chords and snaky atmospherics, and at seven minutes plus, it’s a relaxing start to a long complex journey, sort of like starting a driving tour of Istanbul, Aleppo, and Katmandu. “Never There” is more club based, its electronic beeps and boops mixed with woody percussion and a slight whooshing sound in the background. Imagine a still breeze blowing through a screen door. It blends effortlessly into “Skwatch”; the same sonic elements are there, just with a slightly different mixing ratio. Midcentury modern computer noises form the backing tracks, and the front sounds are the sort of incidental music a Bugs Bunny in Space cartoon features. Skip ahead to “Late Flowering Lust” and you’ll find the Kraftwerk text reads like the lyrics sheet from a Cabaret Voltaire MTV late night track. It says “Lust” in the title but it’s more a mechanical sex appeal. Imaging Robby the Robot and Rosie, the maid from The Jetsons, getting it on: their “protection” is a quarter-amp fuse and a multipin connector dust cover.
You get the picture; this is post-postmodern space music, not quite Arthur Lyman tiki madness, not exactly Gary Numan engineering school dropout. But most certainly the best electronic collection I’ve heard in months.
Rotters Golf Club: http://www.rottersgolfclub.co.uk
