A few months back Brian and I toodled out to see Astral Social Club on a bill with Acid Mothers Temple and I think it's fair to say that we loved both, but it was the former that really made my mind take off to another place with their epic, droning one track performance. That night was closer in spirit to the LP Brian's reviewing this week but Octuplex excellently shows off several other sides to the band in handy, bite-sized experimental chunks. At times almost techno and at times almost ambient (and at times both simultaneously), these tracks are nearly all shot through with a maximal melting pot approach to sound that seriously gets my mind twitching. Guitars, synths, kitchen sinks - they're all swirling around in here somewhere. If I had headphones on at the moment I'd probably be trying to walk in every direction at once. It's often like listening to (at least) two disparate styles of music at once but it totally works, in that sense I'm constantly being reminded of Wolfgang Voigt's Gas stuff.. Although this is a far noisier cacophony. There's collaborations with the likes of Richard Youngs and Spider Stacey of the Pogues (!) across these eight tracks of fun on VHF that I heartily endorse.
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What their label says...
After a couple years in the underground wilderness, Neil Campbellsunique Astral Social Club returns to VHF with the squelching, restlessambience of Octuplex.The CD is split roughly in half between Harmonia / Voigt-stylechuggers and sweeping swirls of instantly recognizable dronage, familiarto fans of Campbells extensive contributions to VibracathedralOrchestra, Sunroof! and others. His interest in techno comes outon Caustic Roeand Muscle Adductor,which neatly compile theinfluence of recent minimal jam innovations with piles of synth andeffects noise, lending the beat-driven tracks a rough, unfussy style.Other cuts like Mgik Churnand Pilgrim Sunburstswell withtwittering electric birdsong and synthetic rain, the trademark sound ofmany Astral titles.Octuplex is full up with collaborator cameos, including the familiar(Richard Youngs, John Clyde-Evans), and the novel (Spider Stacyfrom The Pogues!).
Other items by Astral Social Club
#s 8-16 Astral Social Club CD, £5.79 Sorry - sold out.
