Echopet and other musical Doodlings

A while ago my friend Mr Stevens asked me if  I wanted to work with him on composing a musical score for a recently found film from 1929. Of course I said yes, and the fruits of our labour can be heard at a screening in late June (hopefully). When working on the music for the film we also started working on some other musical ideas (getting sidetracked is a habit of ours) We put  2 SH101s, 2 Melos analogue Echos a Theremin and a Yamaha DX100 into an 8 channel mixer, and then recorded live onto DAT. Everything was improvised on the spot with no overdubs, and we ended up with over 30mins of music/sound/audio doodles. So we decided to use these ideas, and for  this project we will be calling ourselves Echopet. The 1st of these odd and spontaneous musical doodlings can be heard on Soundcloud. I should add that we might also be performing all this  live at a later date if we get the chance.

Roll up Roll up for the Elektrik Karousel

Sometimes in life I get completely sidetracked. Over the last few weeks I have started working on a new project with my Friend Mr Stevens (more on that at a later date), plus have been working on new tracks and ideas for my next album. Then what with work, school runs family etc I have been a tad bogged down. So when I recently received a copy of the new Focus Group album Elektrik Karousel the best place to keep it was in the car. This was not because I dislike the album or The Focus Group and wanted to banish it out of my sight, it was just simply the best place to listen to the album by myself and not get sidetracked, and after many listens and very long journeys, you must believe me when I say this album is outstanding. The samples/audio/sound cut ups that are a feature and style of The Focus Group's music are all there, but amongst the quirky and disjointed sounds there is something slightly sinister lurking, something that leaves you with an ominous feeling, a feeling that the odd the strange and unusual is also about to happen. In places Elektrik Karousel comes across as some sort of dark psychedelic alternative soundtrack to Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked this way Comes. You can imagine a smiling Mr House tipping his top hat as he invites you to board The Elektrik Karousel. The artwork for Elektrik Karousel is quite stunning with the CD coming in an 8 panel digi pack, with the inspiration for it coming from 1960s underground press. A truly wonderful release from The Focus Group. Personal favs on the album are Bachoo and ChordfI. So Roll up Roll up for the Elektrik Karousel....................but the cost of admission could be your mind. Which is definitely a price worth paying.