Wayne Coyne sends out a little X-Mas/Hanukkah cheer…from Mars. His home movie titled Christmas on Mars has finally been released. This is excellent holiday news because the film was made over the course of 8 years. Was it worth the wait? We’ll just have to see. Coyne plays in Oklahoma City for New Year’s with his nephew’s killer psychedelic band Stardeath and White Dwarfs. You’ll remember these wide eyed and wondrous pyrotechnics from 2007′s CMJ Music Marathon.
National Snack
Apply Machine EP
December 8th 2008
Scatty Cat Records
National Snack- Working for the Devil
There is something offensive about a lofi band with fuck-you aesthetics. London based National Snack exudes this ethos unapologetically. Their music is a messy discharge of rock and roll not meant for paradigm friendly genre definitions. Listen people, they are called National Snack—you think they care what you think of them? I am barely able to write a review that doesn’t simply mention that they exist. Not because they aren’t distinct or impressive, but because their music is made entirely on their terms; listen and think of them what you like. National Snack have no problem making sexually solicitous songs. Their guitar is fuzzed over and basic. Loud gristle is the only concern for these mungrel music makers. The band is fronted by singers Gemma Storr and Joe Carlo, both of whom guiltlessly execute their tracks. They aren’t here to induce awe or weigh the heavier philosophical quandaries of life; they want to be loud, energetic, and foul mouthed. Although, “We are the disillusion, too well fed for a revolution” from Self Conscious is a pretty damn good line.
Apply Machine is a mixed bag. The opening track Mischief is all funk-punk energy, but something about it sinks below board. I love all the talk about mouths, but there are times when Joe and Gemma vocals are poorly intertwined. Disjointed, it certainly does not prepare the listener for what is to come. The four tracks that follow Mischief are what make Apply Machine succeed. Had Working for the Devil been a single with three bonus tracks—Self Conscious, My Head Hurts, and This is Not Enough—the release would have been perfect.
From the moment My Head Hurts begins, it is entirely apparent that this band’s idea of a national snack is piss and vinegar. Their angst against life is tempered by self assertive declarations.
“Cause every fucking day, it’s all the fucking same.”
-This is Not EnoughGemma’s center pieces—Working for the Devil and This is Not Enough—are the glitter of Apply Machine. These tracks are excellent, showcasing National Snack’s best qualities. The EP retires with Rock n Roll, a track full of punchy guitars and clever melodies. Again though, Joe and Gemma’s vocals do not seem to work the way they were intended. Perhaps what alliviates this concern is that while there are thousands of bands that will spit in your face as much as look at you, few show the potential of Gemma and her boys. They are funding the release of their full length by selling space on the back of their record for £10. If it tells you how many of contributions the band needs, and indeed are receiving, to finish their record- you get a magnifying glass with your contribution so that you can amuse yourself at parties by telling other people that you helped develop this British trio’s album art.
-FF
http://www.nationalsnack.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/nationalsnack
The Real Tuesday Weld
The London Book of the Dead
August 28th, 2007
Six Degrees
London Book of the Dead is a noir dream. When met with heavy eyelids it imagines a world of midnight blacks and Jessica Rabbit reds. It emotes the warmth suffered under the lights of a burlesque stage, and the nostalgic chill of a near empty bar—dimly lit for the sake of confidentiality. A symbiosis of electronic accents and vinyl imperfections, this dose of art and sex isn’t so much conceptual as it is invocative, shuttling between clarinet swing and sampled sound bytes. I can’t help but imagine that Stephen Coates considers himself a fan of Matt Johnson’s eclectic style. Although this should come as no surprise; both men are clearly influenced by the myriad of soundscapes carved from the social soil of the early to mid twentieth century. It is a project that reaches back to an already immortal era to inflict the markings of post-modernity on what some would claim to be the golden age of music. It refuses the paradigmatic egocentricity of generational degeneracy. The jazz/rag era was not the end of history.
London Book of the Dead is medicated schizophrenia. Among the collage of gypsy strings, cabaret, and Brit pop, Coates sometimes sounds as if he is trapped in a Steamboat Willie world, contained by a two-dimensional, cartoonish fantasy. The record’s most manic moments can be uneven and discomfiting. But if the project is properly understood, it reveals a beautiful and sentimental creation that acknowledges the compromises we make against our own character and the distance we are from our idealized life. Self-inflicted wounds are often the rule rather than the exception. The music of London Book is dense and rich with acute attention to detail. The textural mapping of electronic beats over organic instruments is not necessarily the newest approach to music making, but Coates is effective nontheless. While every song on the record may not be appropriate for every mood, every song has its proper context; and in that context it succeeds, sometimes with stunning perfection— often a most gorgeous sedative.
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/therealtuesdayweld
http://www.tuesdayweld.com
Other Music
At The House Of The Clerkenwell Kid- 2001
I, Lucifer- 2002
Les Aperitifs et Les Digestifs- 2004
The Return of the Clerkenwell Kid- 2005
“Dreams That Money Can Buy”- 2006
At the End of the World- 2008
Wintersleep
Welcome to the Night Sky
October 2nd 2007
Labwork Music
Wintersleep formed in 2002 in Halifax Nova Scotia. Paul Murphy and Loel Campbell collaborated on songs that were unsuited for the various other projects in which they were engaged. What began as a repository for odd ends, emerged as a well spring of potential. With the help of various recruits Wintersleep made use of their creative resources to produce an album of exceeding excellence. Welcome to the Night Sky is themed with violence and illness, words referenced as key phrases on multiple tracks. Borderline depression asserts and capitulates itself throughout the record, although the mood is not formed out of self loathing or inadequacy. The “unknown self” quarantines the words to a weighty inner dialogue, with questions as often rhetorical as they are inquisitive.
Mouth full of teeth chewed up and spit on the ground
When I speak, are my words just white naked sound?
Carelessly rendered and scattered around
RandomThe lyrics are particularly artful. The poetics of the words are reinforced by a lack of repetition. There is little resemblance to the typical verse, chorus, bridge, reprise structure. The words are wrought with anxiety and self reflection. They expose the self interrogation undergone by those who do not know what to make of the world, let alone themselves. The lyrics suffer from a strange detachment of mind from body, and question the nature of such detachment. The mind is as anatomical as the brain. As we try to describe the phenomena of the mind, we visualize its throne and all its biological susceptibilities.
Oh my, I feel the teeth again
Gnawing and eminent in the lost lonely night.
Oh my, give me the words again, paint it aluminium, make it white, make it white.The music is not as provocative as the lyrics, but even with occasional pop-rock simplicities, it provides an infectious mode through which the obscure words can be implanted into our own consciousness. The music rarely challenges the listener; however its accessibility will not leave the sour taste of conformity in your mouth. During its blissful moments of intensity, the music is textured with synthesizers and sprawling guitars. On balance it is yet again another exciting band to emerge from Canada. I am extraordinarily pleased with Wintersleep’s Welcome to the Night Sky. Their next stop in New York will find a warm reception.
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/wintersleep
http://www.wintersleep.com/
Other Music
Wintersleep- 2003
Untitled- 2005
The Octopus Project
Hello, Avalanche
October 9th 2007
Peek-A-Boo Records
Part garage rock, part NES music protocol, and part taurine infused melodics, The Octopus Project’s Hello, Avalanche bravely transverses the boundary between electronica and post rock. The most apparent feature of this band is their overt interjection of digital melody and animated instrumentation into a genre that typically prizes subtly and droning repetition. A song will alternately run a sampled scale and a barrage of distorted noise, punctuating the electro-beats with organic instruments, disallowing the music to remain suspended in an epic or sprawling delay.
Hello, Avalanche was co-produced by Ryan Hadlock of Blonde Redhead, Eagle Seagull credit. The record again highlights Hadlock’s uncanny nose for talent. The hybridity created by The Octopus Project is extraordinarily pleasing to the pop senses. They allow for the striking textural juxtapositions of bands like Xiu Xiu, yet have kept the discordant ambiguities to a minimum. While the suppression of dissonance is in no way an inherent reason to praise, it is a nice contrast to music of equal scale but of jarring composition.
For those of you who are tired of bands that seek to reproduce the melodies of Tortoise, the sequence execution of The Album Leaf, or the gravity of Explosions in the Sky, know that Hello, Avalanche is a contribution to the modern music soundscape of unique and particular character. The Octopus Project allows the audience to dance as they marvel at a functioning collection of flesh and blood, rather simply to listen with a dissatisfied and disinterested ear. This is the balance they strike; they have a defined structure without sounding sterile or methodical. Who knew Austin…who knew?
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/theoctopusproject
http://www.theoctopusproject.com/
Other Music
Identification Parade- 2002
One Ten Hundred Thousand Million- 2005
Tour
08/02 Chicago, IL Schuba’s w/ Okkervil River
08/03 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza Myspace Stage at 11:30am.
08/04 Kansas City, MO Record Bar
08/05 Norman, OK Opolis 08/06 Lubbock, TX Tequila Station
08/11 Phoenix, AZ Rhythm Room w/ Diagonals
08/12 Tucson, AZ Congress Theater w/ Diagonals
08/13 San Diego, CA TBA w/ Diagonals
08/14 Los Angeles, CA Knitting Factory w/ Diagonals
08/15 Visalia, CA Cellar Door w/ Diagonals
08/16 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill w/ Diagonals
08/18 Portland, OR Satyricon w/ Diagonals
08/19 Seattle, WA Nectar Lounge w/ Diagonals
08/20 Vancouver, BC Richard’s
08/22 Edmonton, ALB Velvet Underground
08/23 Calgary, ALB Hi Fi
08/25 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge
08/26 Denver, CO Hi Dive
08/28 Ft. Worth, TX Lola’s w/ Diagonals
08/29 Houston, TX Warehouse Live w/ Diagonals
09/28 Austin, TX Austin City Limits
Phosphorescent
Pride
October 23rd 2007
Dead Oceans Records
Matthew Houck’s performance as Phosphorescent is remarkable. His representation on record is near perfect. Houck’s rustic folk songs have a magic to them; they’ll enchant you with animistic melodies and fill your gut with a deep and anonymous sadness. His voice croons like a lone rancher singing to the stars while some small smoking fire dries the boggy mud on his boots. Pride goes beyond most Americana in defining with startling clarity, even if for a moment, the ambiguous and protean qualities that make American rural culture unique.
Houck’s music descends as much from Welsh and Irish ballads as it does African American hymns and the rhythm of the Lakota Sundance. We have created a mythology about this country and its people; this mythology uses crop fields, prairies, mesas, and deserts as contexts in which our imaginations root the fundamental meaning of the American genesis. Phosphorescent has given us a record that celebrates this known but unspoken communion.
Intended or not, he along and Sam Beam are the standard bearers when it comes to Southern Gothic music. It is a tradition that gives us what history cannot. Animals become metaphors that speak as much of human tragedy as any factual testimonial. Two tracks in particular deserve words of great admiration. A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise opens the record with a sweet and haunting melody. With the pound of each bass drum, the listener becomes more entrenched in the humbling beauty of Phosphorescent’s music. Wolves is perhaps most exhibitive of Houck’s ability to assemble melody, lyrics, and spirit. These two songs alone justify every kind word he receives. Pride is a short yet stunning record. Had I only heard it sooner…
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/phosphorescent
Other Music
The Weight of Flight- 2004
Aw Come, Aw Wry- 2005
Here is a beautiful video for A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise by Zach Sluser:
more about "Phosphorescent "A Picture of Our Torn…", posted with vodpod
Handsome Furs
Plague Park
May 22nd 2007
Sub Pop
In order to tie up some loose ends I thought I’d look back to 2007 when married couple Dan Boeckner, of Wolf Parade, and writer Alexei Perry released Plague Park under the moniker Handsome Furs. The band, named for a short story penned by Alexi, toured Europe before Plague Park was even complete. Granted, the Montreal duo had plenty of help in the label and marketing department from their association with Wolf Parade, benefiting from their status as a major buzz band of ’06 and ’07. The signs warning of Handsome Furs potential flaws were certainly imposing. Another successfully crafted record by a husband/wife team only a couple years after Apologies to Queen Mary? Let me guess, guitar riffs backed by synthesized drum sequences. Lay your doubts to rest, for someone who was never quite interested in the Wolf Parade bandwagon, this record will impress. I have had the disc for a while now, but it has only come to my attention as of late that Plague Park should have someone championing it for what it is, a great fucking record.
Those elements beyond guitar and beat machine that elevate Handsome Furs above their initial humdrum grow in your bones the more you listen. What you want to distrust becomes clever and interesting. The sequences become ingenious and you feel cheated because you’ll never get to be the one who thought of it. Isn’t that one of the best compliments you can give; distain because some band claims another inch of creativity from a nearly exhausted cerebral fabric? Boeckner’s voice is intensely woeful, and the lyrics are beautiful. They shuttle from dirge to digital, expending high amounts of energy but quick to slow and return to contemplation. There is never the sinfulness of Eagle Seagull or the synthetic dexterity of Xiu Xiu, but Handsome Furs deals a heavy blow to snobbish ears. Plague Park is an urban memory of rural roots; it is an exhalation of intimate song-craft; it is a great fucking record.
-FF
The Tuss
Confederation Trough
May 7th 2007
Rephlex Records
The Tuss- Rushup Edge Review
Frederick Foxtrott Battles the Tuss Cult
The Tuss- For Real Aphex Twin?
After lengthy discussion and little in the way of certitudes, we know that The Tuss is from England, is on Rephlex, and is very good. Plenty of people from We are the Music Makers, a site dedicated to acid electronica innovators like Richard D. James and Square Pusher, have their opinion as to who The Tuss actually is, and I have certainly had my thoughts on the matter. As I concluded in my article about The Tuss Cult, no matter who The Tuss is, the music deserves to be evaluated on its own merits, rather than some supposed or implied association with a master programmer.
The Confederation Trough EP was actually harder to get than I anticipated. I finally found a copy at Other Music in Manhattan. I noticed that they filed the EP under “Miscellaneous T” instead of Aphex Twin as they had earlier. I am not sure if this speaks to Other Music’s changed opinion on the matter, either way RDJ and Brian Tregaskin both be damned.
Confederation Trough is a great supplement to Rushup Edge, a Tuss LP also released in 2007, but it by no means matches it. Rushup Edge made many top 10 lists last year including Frederick Foxtrott’s with Rushup I Bank 12 serving as a perfect example of its greatness. There is nothing on Confederation Trough that is as smart or intense as what is offered on the LP follow up. The beats are danceable and quasi-accessible enough, but it is a softer, smoother collection more reminiscent of Aphex Twin’s earlier ambient work and his later Analord series.
Being that the collection is rather straight forward, it acts as a prelude to what would soon be released on Rushup Edge. As I mentioned, Confederation Trough is hard to find and can be a bit expensive, costing $10+ for three songs. Fredugolon 6, Alspacka, and Gxi Solo may seem too mundane for those out there who love brainy acid, but they are good tracks that will have an easy time finding their way on to your play list.
-FF
http://www.myspace.com/thetussofficial
http://www.rephlex.com
Also From The Tuss
Rushup Edge
Other Records as Other People
Aphex Twin
Selected Ambient Works 85-92 (1992)
Selected Ambient Works Volume II (1994)
I Care Because You Do (1995)
Richard D. James (1996)
Come to Daddy (1997)
Windowlicker (1999)
Drukqs (2001)
Analord 10 (2005)
Chosen Lords (2006)
As AFX
Analogue Bubblebath (1991)
Analogue Bubblebath 2 (1991)
Analogue Bubblebath 3 (1993)
Analogue Bubblebath 4 (1994)
Hangable Auto Bulb (1995)
Analogue Bubblebath 3.1 (1997)
As Polygon Window
Surfing on Sine Waves (1993)
Worst Case Ontario
Burning Politely
Fall 2007
Unsigned
Burning Politely comes out of the gate swinging. The first track, You’re Glib, is packed with melody laden pop-rock super senses. It is a short jolt of candy cane crafted guitar riffs melded with a vocal style reminiscent of lazy mouthed song writing demigods like Paul Westerberg and Stephen Malkmus. What separates Worst Case Ontario from the rest is the contrast between Sam Weisberg’s hands and his lips. His voice is a specter of late eighties college rock while his hands play heavy pop riffs as a zippy guitar solo fast-forwards the songs into late 90’s alternative rock radio. The contrast can be heard most explicitly on the track Discouraging Things Happen at Recess. It truly compresses an entire decade into a single song.
Eugene Levy Unbilled is perhaps the album’s best track because of its consistency. I am a sucker for inconsistent music, but Worst Case Ontario is at their best when they bust out their stuff under 2:35. They aim to satisfy the nerdy late eighties college student in everyone. Unfortunately, they interject that influence with trite guttural “rawk” in songs like Purge. The vomitous vocalizations are meant to illustrate the song’s vomitous theme. The illustrative effort leaves the overall splendor of Burning Politely muted and diluted, not slanted and enchanted. Worst Case Ontario’s lyrics are not particularly interesting, complex, or witty, and they could certainly drop a few tracks off the record for a condensed and delicious EP, but they have a style that sets out to reinvigorate a sound that once dominated mixed tape nights everywhere.
When this band signs a deal, they will certainly find that their strength is not the replication or echoing of the various artists who have come before them, rather they will remind us why the slacker spirit will never die. It is not who they sound like, but why they sound the way they do. This may seem to be a line blurred beyond distinction, but the difference is important. Although they will create new music and structure it in new ways, Worst Case Ontario is the kind of band that will charmingly never venture too far from the indie heroes of yester year. That would simply be too much effort. While that sentiment may not be unique, it will always have a universal appeal in the world of independent music.
http://www.myspace.com/wcoband
Click for Review of Rushup Edge
***New “Official” Tuss Myspace Page began 1/29/08***
http://www.myspace.com/thetussofficial
Click for Review of Fluorescent Grey’s Gaseous Opal Orbs
I’ve never claimed to be a super-sleuth, although I suppose I believed I had gotten to the bottom of the whole Tuss mystery. The identity of The Tuss was fun to think about for a while, but over the last day or so I have decided it has become a bit too much for me. I never claimed to be an electronica expert and I’ll have you know that I am content to leave some things unknown. The identity of The Tuss has lost its mystery and appeal, not because the music is no good, but because the secret is being kept with an oddness that repels further investigation. I have decided that the intention of a hoax to mislead can be every bit as powerful as apparent facts are when trying to uncover the truth.
Frederick Foxtrott received a record for review by an artist named Fluorescent Grey, the name used by electronica producer Robbie Martin of Record Label Records. I was and still am very excited to review the disc. I had listened to some of Fluorescent Grey’s music and found it to be superbish. Others on the label were equally as talented. As I browsed through the album art I noticed something strange. Mr. Martin thanked a certain William Reid Dunn in the credits. Pausing to contemplate the moment of familiarity, I suddenly remembered that I knew this name. I remembered it from my research for the article The Tuss- For Real Aphex Twin? The “Band Member” section of Brian Tregaskin’s Myspace page lists Reid William Dunn and Robbie Martin as members of The Tuss. Clearly this Myspace page is a hoax and its dubious appearance begins a domino chain as one fact clicks and thuds onto the next, making the orchestrated nature of this whole fiasco just a bit more obvious.
When the name William Reid Dunn is Googled, the search reports an obscure page from Last*fm that reveals that W. R. Dunn uses the stage handle Wisp. On Myspace, this handle is used by an experimental electronica artist from Niagara Falls who calls himself Lord British. Listed among Wisp’s friends is none other than Fluorescent Grey, also known as Robbie Martin. At this point I became disillusioned at the prospect of ever knowing the truth. Little did I know I was only at the tip of a very large and disastrous iceberg. There are so many people who are involved in the hoax. How such a coordinated effort could go on unchecked is beyond me.
Update: Wisp, aka Lich, aka W.R. Dunn, aka Lord British will be releasing some work on Rephlex Records.
This Tussian cult has several Myspace pages associated with it. Some believe that the real Rephlex backed page is hidden among them. Others believe that they are all false. I am inclined to believe the latter prospect. I’ll examine a few pages claiming to be associated with The Tuss so that some of the dots can begin to be connected. It is worth noting that all these pages have or at one time had music on them. The tracks on the pages have a definite AFX/Tuss style and could be considered by some, including me, to be very good. So the individuals behind the faux websites are talented in more ways than one.
http://www.myspace.com/briantregaskin
http://www.myspace.com/briantrageskin
http://www.myspace.com/briantregaksin
http://www.myspace.com/karentregaskin
http://www.myspace.com/thetussmusic
http://www.myspace.com/cat189
http://www.myspace.com/patregaskin
http://www.myspace.com/thepussfuss
As mentioned earlier, the first page labeled “briantregaskin” lists Robbie Martin and Reid William Dunn as band members of The Tuss along with Richard D. James, and both Brian and Karen Tregaskin. Karen is listed as the writer and producer of the material on the actual CD titled Rushup Edge. In the “Friend” section of the page, Fluorescent Grey is listed as a top friend. In fact, he is the second friend listed in the section. In the “Influences” section, it lists Ghostbusters III as a favorite movie. Notably, Robbie Martin released a disc called Ghos Busters III in 2007 on Record Label Records.
While the “briantrageskin” page has been deleted, the “briantregaksin” page is still around. This is a mock Brian Tregaskin page with very good electronic-phonics. Humor seems to be a important aspect to The Tuss cult pages. Instead of Rushup Edge or Confederated Trough, this site lists the record names as Rushup Hedge, Pushup Egg, Mushup Reg, and Confederated Turf, with a song titled Deaf Fuck instead of Death Fuck. In a Q&A session threaded in his blog space, the hoaxter acknowledges having many Myspace pages with many aliases. His friends include both the original Tuss and Brian Tregaskin Myspace pages, both of which are clearly involved with Robbie Martin and W. R. Dunn.
“karentregaskin” is the URL for a beat layer Neil from Aurora Records. This is the first time we see another label other than Rephlex get involved. At this point it should be noted how many friends all these websites share. I would guess that these pages share a good 20% of their friend lists with one another. It is strange that the handle of this site is Neil, when it was clearly created as a hoax Karen Tregaskin page. While the artist on the page does not pretend to be Tregaskin, the pictures are of women and the comments left and accepted by the site’s host are often addressed to Karen or AFX. Neil is also friends with an artist named Brian Krapowski who is also on Aurora, both of whom are friends with Fluorescent Grey aka Robbie Martin of Record Label Records.
It goes on and on like this; loose connections waver in substantiality. Another Tuss music page, “thetussmusic,” makes a more concerted effort to convince the skeptic of its authenticity. The format is very similar to Rephlex’s home page. It is very minimal with a black background and neon green lettering. Although it is strange that Rephlex is a British label and yet its homepage ends in .com. On The Tuss Myspace page, there are no blogs with Q&A sessions or cutely rhymed song titles. In fact, authentic Rephlex labelmates like D’Arcangelo are top friends. This Tuss site is also friends with acid pioneer Mike Dred as well as Aurora Records, home to Neil, Brian Krapowski, and others.
Although this Tuss site has all the looks of a real Rephlex publication, the tracks on the site, while amazing, are not tracks released on any record by The Tuss. The presence of the electronica artist named FaultyDL from New York City also bothers me, as he appears on multiple websites involved with this hoax and he comments on Robbie Martin‘s music page. The other Tuss website “cat189” is obviously referencing Rephlex Catalogue Number 189. This is the Rephlex catalog number for Rushup Edge. This Tuss music page is also friends with the likes of Rephlex labelmates D’Arcangelo, Aurora programmer Brian Krapowski, and notably with Mike Dred. It is perhaps the most authentic looking of the group, except the telling Q&A session in the blog space.
The Tregaskin family is represented by more than just Brian and Karen. Patskin or Pat has his own music page on Myspace listed as “patregaskin” in the URL. The good music and familiar friends are characteristic of the Tussian cult. This page really exemplifies the redundancy of the hoax. On the other hand, the music page “thepussfuss” is delightfully twisted. The Tuss becomes a play on words as a Cornish Tuss (cock) needs a Puss(y). Brian Tregaskin becomes Brian Treforeskin and song titles reflect the absurdity of the hoax of The Tuss’ identity. Of course the usual suspects are befriended by the parody. Found in The Puss’ friend pages are FaltyDL, who is regularly featured on other Tuss/ Tregaskin pages, Robbie Martin, alias Fluorescent Grey himself, and Wisp, also known as the beloved William Reid Dunn.
It is clear to me that all of these pages are a hoax. It does not surprise me to know that Robbie Martin is involved. Martin released a fake Autechre album in 2005 that he says was “spread so successfully that Sean Booth was asked about it in an interview.” He even sports a “PRANKOGRAPHY” section on his Myspace page where he recounts all his practical jokes. What is different with The Tuss as opposed to Autechre is that we have no one to question or confront. Only surrogates and Myspace pages presume to speak for the artists. The media hasn’t interviewed Brian or Karen Tregaskin to confirm or deny anything, and representatives from Rephlex aren’t making anything clearer. All they do is deny Richard D. James’ involvement in The Tuss, and then confirm that the Tregaskins are the real artists. If Robbie Martin and friends are the hoaxters then why doesn’t Rephlex dismiss them directly?
Brian Tregaskin was said to be discovered after an exhaustive talent search on Myspace, yet all the Myspace accounts for The Tuss and their affiliates seem to be fake. If The Tuss hoax is driven by people living in Santa Cruz California, Niagra Falls, and New York City then why doesn’t Rephlex have anything to say? After finding Dunn’s name in a CD that was sent to me because of Frederick Foxtrott’s Tuss coverage, I think that this should have been obvious all along. I am probably the last person to connect some of these dots. Like I said, I am not a super-sleuth.
But something strikes me as odd when very talented artists from Record Label Records and Aurora Records perpetuate a band into obscurity. The strangest part is that nearly all the tracks on all these false pages are excellent. Robbie Martin is excellent, so are the yahoos from Aurora, whose music page uses the same black/green format as The Tuss‘ and Rephlex‘s home page. No matter the identity of The Tuss, I think that Rushup Edge was one of the best records released in 2007. Without a doubt it is one of the most intricate and smart electronic albums I have heard in quite a while.
I still have my convictions about the identity of The Tuss. I don’t think the Tregaskins exist, not as people anyway. Richard D. James released 41 tracks on Rephlex from the Analord series and a condensed CD called Chosen Lord on a label that he started in the early 90’s. He has released records under different names in the past and it seems as if he has done it again. The Tuss called their record Rushup Edge after a ridge in the Derbyshire Peak district in England. The highest point of Rushup Edge is Lord’s Seat. This fascination with the word Lord is not particular to AFX though. As mentioned before William Reid Dunn, also calls himself Lord British. Fluorescent Grey has a labelmate named Brian English, which reminds me of Brian Krapowski, and of course Brian Tregaskin. I suppose any number of things could be true. Robbie Martin gets off on hoaxes. I suppose I like to talk about them. But any investigation is meaningless when Rephlex and the band themselves do not see fit to substantively set the media straight. It is made meaningless when disinformation is spread so thick throughout the community of listeners that it is impossible to make sense of anything. No matter what facts are known, no order can be discerned. This was truly a marvelous experiment.
Rushup Edge is an album without an author.
It is a record without association or baggage.
I suppose Richard D. James would have it kept that way.
http://www.rephlex.com
http://www.lastfm.jp/music/Sk%C3%B8nflap
http://www.myspace.com/fgrey
http://www.myspace.com/wisp
http://www.myspace.com/aurorarecord
http://www.myspace.com/krapowski
http://www.myspace.com/mikedredacid
http://www.myspace.com/darcangelo2
http://www.myspace.com/brianenglishdotcom
http://www.myspace.com/faltydl
http://www.recordlabelrecords.org
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