title:

label:

awkward silence

format:

3" cd / mp3

release date:

26.11.07

cat. no.:

awkward 24

tracks:

moody copy

drogo

"after a reasonable hiatus awkward silence return with another 3" split cd. i think the last one was by nautilus and uga. gosh that seems like ages ago.... followers of cheju will be all excited with his appearance on the label along side shoosh. cheju unleashes 'moody copy' and showcases his trademark warm melancholic electronics with solid beats and an emphasis on melody and texture. 'drogo' is a more somber piece with shimmering strings that head straight for your heart. meanwhile shoosh's contribution 'elastic soil' has an almost spanish sounding guitar underpinning a psychedelic male vocal that has a trippy melting acid effect that reminds me of hush arbours. the man responsible for these mind warping vox is neil carlill, formerly the singer in 90s indie band delicatessen and he was also in lodger and is now in vedette. 'come in from the cold' is an alien acoustic track with weird vocals that are like neil young possessed by one of the muppets. 300 copies only." - norman records, 01.08

"past editions of awkward silence’s split cd series has seen some notable artists featured throughout its 23 volumes. the likes of isan, stafrænn hákon, marcia blaine school for girls and epic45 have all appeared, often offering exclusive material. this release, the 24th edition, pairs a duo of electronic tracks from cheju with two offerings from the unique trio of shoosh. cheju is the work of boltfish recordings co-owner will bolton, whose particular brand of sprightly laptronica merges inventive astrobotnia-like beats with glistening melodies. “drago” is the pick of cheju’s two compositions, with the sun-kissed, harpsichord textured synth work anchoring this effort at the euphoric end of the electronic scale. shoosh, though, steal the show. featuring the talents of solipsism man craig murphy (programming and synths), oregon-based multi-instrumentalist ed drury (guitar) and former delicatessen frontman neil carlill on particularly evocative vocals. carlill is heavily influenced by surrealism and the dadaist movement of the early twentieth century and this transcends to his unique, other-worldly vocal style. while other shoosh compostions come across like a space-age version of pink floyd, “elastic soil” finds them exploring a different plain altogether. carlill’s vocals immediately pique the interest with its multi-tracked and warped out of shape tone. these are cushioned by a galaxy of spectral drones and superb spanish guitar work to create this highly inventive piece of music. the trio has somehow invented a brand new genre, that i will now christen flamenco-infected psychedelic ambient space folk. they take all of these elements and wrap them together to create something entirely new. “come in from the cold” only confirms these sentiments, shoosh are one unique proposition. they have clearly spent a lot of time honing their art that quite literally sounds like it originates from another planet. they have been sitting on a completed album (“orpheum circuit”) for some time. all they need now is an adventurous label that can match the scope of their ambition." - angry ape, 01.08

"cheju / shoosh ‘split’ (awkward silence). no sooner have we managed to wean ourselves off the delights of cheju’s ‘hutton’ (out now via october man) then up pops this rather cute split release with shoosh. admittedly i think it was prompted by and large by our bemoaning of the fact that it’d somehow escaped our radar to which wil (cheju) immediately responded by dropping off a copy. all the same though its been a while since we had a chance to marvel over anything from the awkward silence sound bunker in fact quite possibly the last thing might have been that rather spiffing marcia blaine school for girls split with d_rradio (which blimey was about 4 years ago). now issued on dinky 3” cd’s as opposed to the old style vinyl - which we kind of miss - any strictly limited to just 300 copies cheju - who really shouldn’t need any introductions in these pages given that he pops up here with more regularity than weekender and static caravan releases - decorates his side of the split with a brace of exclusive cuts. the exotically located ’moody copy’ is a reclining evensong braided with lightly dusted vini reilly styled minimalist lunar rustic finger works that sweetly float atop a gyrating and spellbound field of entranced skittering glitch scuffles - very much appealing to fans of both manual and ellis island sound and gracefully despatched with prickling perfection. ‘drogo’ is equipped with a more expansive sound and hitherto wide screen presence, sumptuously stirred in a beguiling haze of cavernous drone swathes and deliciously invested with soft centred harpsichord florets, this ornamental odyssey swirls in biter sweet climes of melancholic magnificence. shoosh are a uk trio who feature among their collective ranks neil carlill who was one time member of delicatessen and lodger who these days can be found splitting recording duties with his other band vedette who we recommend you check out immediately via http://www.myspace.com/vedettemusic (we’ll mention them in passing next missive out though frankly i suspect we‘ve mentioned them previously - ah well two mentions never hurt anyone - i hope). not to be outdone shoosh’s ghostly alluring ‘elastic soil’ is an off centred though numbingly beautiful work of ethereal psych-ambi-folk, pining celestial sheens, crooked and dust ridden stumbling acoustic flamenco strums serve as deliciously spectral montages underpinning the ether driven wandering vocal mantras - all at once hazy and disquieting though magically omnipresent the individual parts coalesce and caress like heavenly apparitions weaving in and out of view imagining animal collective centre stage in a celestial gunfight setting amid supernatural serenades sourced from neil young’s ‘eldorado’. ‘come in from the cold’ is an ostensibly more twinkle some affair, tranquil and measured this arresting countrified slice of star watching bliss out groove had us recalling at times mercury rev’s lackadaisical ‘carwash hair’ which in our books is no bad thing - need we say more - i think not. www.awkwardsilencerecordings.com further listening - http://www.myspace.com/cheju - a tiny peak into the world of cheju - a world of lush glitch grooves, star hopping amorphic ambient love notes and glacially swept melodic monuments that embrace a clinical idm matrix with a warming analogue persona. featured here are a brace of cuts from his ultra limited u-cover outings ‘diode’ which we mentioned in these very pages a few missives ago - however we suggest you go direct to ‘pachinko’ culled from 2005’s ‘taito-ku’ ep which admittedly we missed - and smother yourself in the delicate orientalised faltermayer like sveltely threaded textures within. ..." - losing today, 01.08

"an instrumental so elegantly slippery in it's casual adoption and adaptation of forms & styles to defy smart-alec pigeonholing. oh well, you'll be needing the facts then; "moody copy" is all busily noodling synth sheets, razor-cut feedback burbles and airy melody. poor description, great listen, but this is just an unaffected and intellegently assembled selection of sounds, it used to be called 'music'." - unpeeled, 02.08

"after a lengthy hiatus, uk-based label awkward silence makes a welcome return to the electronic music scene. having previously released a series of acclaimed split 7” singles featuring artists such as arovane, lowfish, skanfrom, sybarite, bauri, novel 23, the marcia blaine school for girls, maps and diagrams and isan to name just a few, the label resumes activities with split single from dheju and newcomers shoosh. limited to just 300 copies, the single comes housed in a sleek little m-lock cd case complete with its familiar black and white awkward silence styled artwork. picking up where they left off, the label continue their ongoing series on limited edition 3” cdr's which allow them to include up to 21 minutes of music with each split release. they have also introduced a digital format. cheju is uk-based electronic musician and producer wil bolton who co-owns respected electronic music label boltfish recordings. a prolific artist in his own right, bolton has ep, album and digital releases for labels including smallfish, rednetic recordings, static caravan, boltfish, october man recordings, kahvi and camomille (to name just a few) and also has collaborative projects with mint and zainetica. for his two tracks on this release he sticks to what he knows and does best; melodic electronic music. the first of bolton’s tracks, “moody copy,” is a melodic flowing track with gently cascading guitar, discrete little reversed effects and crunchy, slightly metallic beats. his second contribution, “drogo,” is again resplendent with smooth flowing texture, harpsichord-like melodies and precise snappy beats. of the two tracks, “drogo” is the darker and more reflective but by no means melancholic. shoosh, the trio of ed drury, neil carlill and craig murphy, have a different approach to their music. more guitar-based than cheju, shoosh features a love-it-or-hate-it vocal style. their track “elastic soil” is predominantly guitar-based but also features some soaring electronic textures underneath it all. their second track, “come in from the cold,” is weirder still vocally and features shimmering electronic swirls and acoustic guitar. the first of their tracks sounds like bowie meets genesis p orridge while the second is more like dylan; both sound like drug-addled psychedelic folk. awkward silence’s return produces two distinctly different tracks; cheju produces two crunchy melodic electronic tracks while shoosh offer uniquely blissed out weird psychedelic folk excursions. it is good to see that awkward silence are willing to experiment with pushing boundaries and introducing something a bit out of the ordinary to listening public. look out for more releases from the label in coming months, who knows what they will come up with next!" - igloomag, 02.08

"the 24th edition of the awkward silence split series pits two tracks from the criminally over-looked electronic merchant cheju with two pieces from the other-worldly trio of shoosh. cheju's two upbeat, foot-tappers are both heavy on the anthem-sized synths and feature crisp 'n' crunchy beats. shoosh are a different proposition altogether, combining the talents of craig murphy (synths, programming), multi-instrumentalist ed drury and former delicatessen frontman neil carlill, who provides rather unique vocals. a starlit chime introduces 'elastic soil' but will not prepare the listener for the intergalactic journey they are about to embark on. murphy's spectral drones provide the template for drury to weave a beautiful spanish guitar arrangement atop, while carlill delivers his indecipherable yet strangely alluring vocals, spell-blindingly inventive, shoosh construct an exclusive brand of ambient-space-folk." - reverb mag, 02.08

"awkward silence are a kent based label who have decided to switch to issuing limited editions of 500 split singles on 3" cd, with the price of doing so on vinyl having reached an all time high. the artists featured here are in the epic45 vein, where neo-shoegazing meets electronica and has a mildly pleasant time. cheju's two tracks, "moody copy" and "drogo" are melodic instrumentals with a gnarly electronic undertow gnashing at their spring heels. shoosh's "elastic soil" features flamenco guitar and woozy, processed vocals stumbling around in a sweetly acrid haze." - the wire, 03.08

"awkward silence originally started releasing their split records in the traditional format of 7" singles. however, since june 2005 the chosen format has been a 3" cd, the latest being two tracks each from cheju and stoosh. the former is the prolific wil bolton who - as well as being co-owner of boltfish recordings - has recorded under numerous labels over the last few years. shoosh, meanwhile, are a three-piece who include neil carlill, erstwhile member of mid-90s acts delicatessen and lodger. in truth, cheju and stoosh are barely comparable although both operate in the broad church we know as “electronica”. of the two, cheju aim for the more direct route to melodies. ‘moody copy’ is as smooth and approachable as the warmest of european techno whereas the slightly darker ‘drago’ is a nice mixture of glacial atmospheres, precise beats and a harpsichord-like tune. shoosh is definitely more leftfield. their two tracks explore a psychedelic world. ‘elastic soil’ begins with spanish guitar before some warped vocals convey an evening of stoned abandon in madrid. the haze doesn’t clear for ‘come in from the cold’ either. nevertheless there’s a certain nightmarish charm to their songs. with two very contrasting styles on the cd, it’s difficult to recommend this to newcomers but for those who like a mixture of straightforward and experimental electronica, look no further because salvation is here." - leonard's lair, 03.08

"près de deux ans après la dernière sortie du label et alors qu’on pensait la structure en sommeil quasi-définitif, voici qu’awkward silence recordings revient sur le devant de la scène. au programme cette fois-ci l’anglais cheju, dont on a déjà régulièrement parlé ici, et le trio shoosh qui débute sa carrière discographique avec ce split ep. c’est wil bolton qui ouvre les débats avec un premier titre d’electronica mélodique aussi réussi et classique que d’habitude : jolie ambiance onirique, mélodie délicate à base de guitare, rythmique peu agressive, morceau vite accrocheur (moody copy). le propos se durcit légèrement avec drogo, en même temps que la pulsation se rapproche du dub et que les lignes chromatiques se parent d’atours métalliques. dans un style différent, shoosh offre deux titres chantés dans lesquels la voix semble comme ralentie, tandis que, sur le plan musical, outre une guitare acoustique mise en avant, le reste est nimbé dans une sorte d’évanescence. naviguant entre psychédélisme light et free-folk alangui, la musique du trio anglais ne nous convainc pas suffisamment pour qu’on y retourne à l’avenir, sans pour autant qu’on écoute avec douleur ces deux morceaux." - etherreal, 02.08

"after something of a hiatus, awkward silence returns, and it's with another one of those famed split releases. this one combines the forces of wil bolton's cheju and new artists shoosh, a duo comprised of ed drury and neil carlill. as you'd expect from this label, the first thing that greets your ears is a flurry of crunchy idm beats and some breezy, miniature melodies stemming from bolton's laptop and manipulated guitar lines. the second track is a little less heavily treated and relies upon warm synth strings and a kind of bitcrushed harpsichord sound. shoosh present a far folksier prospect, first with the digitised folk of 'elastic soil' - which avoids all that tunng-style folktronica business thanks to its strained and unhinged vocal - and the rather lovely 'come in from the cold', another swirl of guitars, screeching synthesis and that strangely compelling, warped voice. limited to 300 copies." - boomkat, 08.08