Cheju/Shoosh Review At Losing Today

Losing Today

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.

http://www.myspace.com/shooshmusic - 6 tracks featured all by and large from the Orpheum Circuit sessions - we suggest you rip the weirdly eerie and spectral oriental chamber like frosted ambi-folk elegance of ’snake eyes’ - quite gorgeous once it gets into its sublime groove.

http://www.myspace.com/solipsism - the alter ego of Shoosh man Craig Murphy who it seems from his base of operations up in Ayreshire has been knocking out EP‘s like nobody‘s business making them all - by and large - free to download from Last FM- the words looking and gift horse spring to mind. Non of your half arsed twiddling about here - no sir - what you get are consuming collages depicting in the minds eye intergalactic voyages to far flung milky ways, gloriously wide screen in stature and vividly fulsome in texture. And while the obvious winner hand down here is ’bastardism’ - a lushly envisaged cosmic pit stop where shuffling statue-esque beats orbit amorously across swirling passages of soft psych ambient blissfulness - think Biosphere trading dialects more appreciable to the polar climes of Amon Düül and Jean-Michel Jarre - a magnificent dreamscaping delight. Though that said our money is squarely on the monumental ’this is our tree and were not getting out of it’ - a desirable and engaging slice of achingly lonesome spectral beauty, frail and fragile yet none the less chilled, charmed and caressing - culled from the ’free’ EP which like it inadvertently says on the tin is - er - free from the aforementioned outlets. Talk about spoiling you.

http://www.myspace.com/weirdfields - its that man Craig Murphy again this time under his guise as Weird Fields - a self described ‘ambient / film soundtrack’ project who not content in dividing himself between his Shoosh and Solipsism identities can be found occasionally orchestrating opining odysseys of cavernous cascades. Delicate, lonesome and hitherto monolithic these somnambulant drone-scapes swirl in frosted pirouette formations applying a stately courtship (none more so than ‘distant star‘). Two free to download albums to his name via Lastfm in the shape of ’a place to call home’ and ’destruct science’ which we thoroughly recommend that you seek out and love - for now though amid the showcase of glacial tides and sparsely drawn and effecting minimalist washes of lilting electronic symphonies we suggest you stop by at your first opportunity to sample the warming radiance of the playfully orbiting oscillations of the melting ’so long good friend’ - bit of a peach by our reckoning appealing to ’magnetic fields’ era Jaare and Vangelis fans alike.

shoosh - Come In From The Cold Video

hello,

Here's the new video by my Weird Fields project for the Shoosh track Come In From The Cold. This track is from the split EP with Cheju and is currently available from Awkward Silence Recordings and Norman Records on 3" mini CD format.



cheers
craig

cheju/shoosh EP review at angry ape

Angry Ape

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.



Description: 3" CDs on Awkward Silence


Format: CD single
Label: Awkward Silence Records
Price: £3.79
Availability: despatched in 1 working day

Buy now from Norman Records

Or direct from the Awkward Silence site.

Available soon from Bleep

Angry Ape Video Review

Hello,

Angry Ape have reviewed my video for Swiss post-rock band Brakhage.

Review

Angry Ape Review

You may recall that on December 31st we told you about the new net label Either/Or and the rather fine free download EP from EL Heath (which is still available here by the way). We've now just heard the label are preparing their first compilation album, which in their words, is "influenced, but not solely directed, by ambient music."

The first taster from the album comes in the form of this Weird Fields-directed video for Swedish sound-surgeons Brakhage and their track Early Morning Frost. The video is a disturbing display of heat-generated colours and trippy, surreal imagery that more than compliments the menacing, broody bass that pulses and shifts over faint digital crackles.

We for one, cannot wait to hear the compilation.

Brakhage - Early Morning Frost Video

Hello,

I was recently asked to do a video for a swiss post rock band called Brakhage. It was for a track of their's called Early morning Frost. This track is being released on a compilation by the netlabel Either Or. It was the guy who runs the netlabel that asked me to do it. Anyway, here's the video, hope you enjoy it.

Cheju/Shoosh Split EP Out Now At Norman Records

Description: 3" CDs on Awkward Silence
Format: CD single
Label: Awkward Silence Records
Price: £3.79
Availability: despatched in 1 working day

Norman Records

Weird Fields - A Place To Call Home

Hello,

The new Weird Fields EP titled, A Place To Call Home is now complete and available for free download for a limited time exclusively from Last FM. This EP is being released in a couple of months on American label Zenapolae.


Download

Warm Breeze Video

Hello again,

I've decided to do a new video for my solipsism track, Warm Breeze. I wasn't happy with how the last version turned out and went back to the drawing board, or editing suite more appropriately :)

Rubens - Cayla's Third Video

Hello,

here's the new video i've done for fellow Herb artists, Rubens. It's for a track called Cayla's Third from their "Carnivalesque" album.

Weird Fields - Destruct Science EP

Hello,

I've now decided to release my Destruct Science EP for free download exclusively through Last FM. This EP was originally meant to be going out on an American label last November, however things never panned out as hoped. And rather than go through the tedious process of finding a new label for it, i felt it was better just to give it away for free.



Destruct Science - Download

This may also be the last Weird Fields release for some time, as I've decided to focus this project more on music videos for the time being.

Hope you enjoy it!

cheers
craig

Crystalism Video

Hello,

here's my new video for my Crystalism track, taken from the Crystalism EP. Available now for free download from Last FM.

Delusions Outermind Video

here's the new video I did for the solipsism track Delusions Outermind from the new Exit Strategy EP. This tracks features an English based artist called Jash



The "Exit Strategy" EP features Jash on Delusions Outermind and The Hidden Persuader on Destruct Science.



Tracklist
1. Delusions Outermind (Feat. Jash)
2. Destruct Science (Feat. The Hidden Persuader)
3. Exit Strategy
4. Freedom Run

Download EP

Elastic Soil Video

Hello,

here's the new video for the shoosh track, by a very talented video artist and musician from Poland called Myppa.