Burlap Productions
Welcome to Elestrion IV✭✭✭1/2
Album Release Date: February 2nd, 2020
Burlap Productions had a busy 2019. Releasing the ambitious Proud Suction Bar LP plus two other EP’s, as well as creating a new mix-tape soundtrack for the 1921 vampire film Nosferatu, there is reason to reflect.
Enter the hindsight year of 2020, and Burlap’s eclectic back catalogue of analog recordings lands into the hands of boutique label U•LOT Records.
Opening the lid on a shoebox full of complete albums on cassette, U•LOT presents Welcome to Elestrion IV; a curated cross-section of Burlap tracks, recorded on a Tascam 4-Track in Chicago and Los Angeles between 1989 - 2000.
The songs collected here resemble a series of low-budget - but effective - costume changes, testing out several styles and moods. The tape hiss of the source material is still audible; the audio equivalent to a treasured photograph, faded over time.
From the slinky jazz-sample mashup of Slippin', the playful bounce-house of Fuzzy Buckles or melancholy funk of Song for Max, the lyrics reveal an off-kilter sense of humor. Elsewhere, the deep atmospheres of Stitches and Grass and 6 Rooms take ambient deep-water dives into treated vocal loops and samples, anchored down by a framedrum or bassline.
Sequenced electronics and treated rhythm tracks are a steady presence on this collection, especially with songs like Physiognomy and The Eel, but the real centerpiece of the album is the anthemic MOTHRA -- mashing techno, house, trance and funk, and featuring dialogue from the golden-era of Toho Pictures. It is here, more than any other selection, that Burlap makes the most of his limitations.
Some pieces show signs of age, hovering over the mid-90’s electronica scene from pioneering English labels like WARP, Skam, FFRR and Rephlex. The influence is unmistakable, but distinct. Notable, therefore, is Drinkin’ Song, featuring distorted drum machines, heavy synthesizers and overdubbed field recordings of folk/blues singer Leadbelly. Here, Burlap was ahead of the curve -- it would be a full 2 years before techno-giant Moby would employ the same techniques on his top-selling album Play.
Colorful, off-center and ambitious, Welcome to Elestrion IV is a masterful sketchbook. Some of the dust is permanent now, but it serves as a showcase for not only the art of analog 4-Track recording, but for Burlap Productions - a small champion of the genre.
Bonus Audio: Listen to 'MOTHRA' here
Follow Burlap Productions on Bandcamp or Soundcloud
Follow U•LOT Records on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment