Two veterans of electronic music give us a lift on their time machine while they go back in time to invade a crowded 70s glossy fancy lounge. It's all there- bright glossy colours, swirls everywhere, everything is shiny, glittery and spangly. Funky textured carpets, funky textured walls, funky textured cloths and most of all funky textured people, on sparkling platform shoes of course... Glam!
The surprised guests will have to deal with twisted 21st century electronic weirdness. It won't be easy, no doubt, so our two musicians are being nice to them and give them enough of what they know to keep them from running away- the music is funky, the music is groovy, full of 70s feel, 70s TV shows feel actually. You know, the ones with cool cops with bell bottom pants and mustaches chasing evil looking criminals in battered American 70s sports car in multi-story car parks?
These are your Hi-Fi Companions- Merv Pepler of Eat Static fame teaming up with Steve Joliffe from pioneers Tangerine Dream. This is the first of 3 Merv Pepler collaborations coming from Twisted's Backroom Beats, the next being Flexitones' Joyrider with Will White of the Propellerheads, which takes a similar direction, and the expected third is with Mr. Shpongle Posford, which is still covered in mist, but supposed to be quite a different story.
This first collaboration, Hi-Fi's Swingers in Paradise, is quite a delicious treat- funky, funny, groovy, jazzy, punchy and very very loungey. All covered with spunky electronica a-la-Eat Static and with sound games and tricks all over with some added psychedelic edges and a weird mishmash of musical touches of different genres and corners of the world.
Memorable moments include the sexy I Croon on Ermine, the totally amusing and funny xylophonic Bin Liner, the funky oriental and mysterious Dr. Phibes and the trancey Night in Timsoara and Amoria. Swingers in Paradise, which we already recognize from Hommega's Another Life is nice to come back to as well. A penetrating moment is that space whistle in Skyclad, which gives me goose bumps, but the turn it takes back to the cozy lounge area kinda ruined the magical moment for me, I must say... Also you gotta love the infinite, livin', roughin', stompin', whippin', flippin' non stop end! And that's a quote! |
