LABEL: Upp Records
CAT NO: UPP001
BARCODE: 7427136152510
Tracklisting:
1. Vous Et Ici
2. So Far
3. Pelican House
4. The Daffodil Women
5. The Swish
6. Boat
7. One Two
8. He Folds
9. Ian’s Gone
10. Vancouver Slim
ELEGIAC – Elegiac
2LP – Limited Edition White Vinyl
An astonishing album made by two of Britain’s great maverick musical spirits. Ted Milton is a prolific poet, with several volumes under his belt, as well as an avant-garde puppeteer. Yet he’s probably best known as vocalist/saxophonist with psycho-funk afro punk fake no-wave pogo jazz trio Blurt. Milton’s group has produced an impressive string of albums, not to mention his numerous solo recordings. Meanwhile, Edvard Graham Lewis has a history of strong solo releases, both under his own name and as He Said. And of course, as bassist, lyricist and sometime vocalist with post punk innovators Wire, he’s been responsible for numerous landmark releases, from 1977’s Pink Flag, to 2003’s Send, to 2020’s Mind Hive.
There’s a definite sense that Milton and Lewis were born to collaborate. Both are idiosyncratic sonic stylists: bullish outsiders with a Dadaist’s ear for unexpected rhythms and ear-catching turns of phrase. Now, Elegiac sees them melding their considerable talents to produce an album of arresting intensity. What started out as a one-off joint composition, proved to be such a fruitful exercise it soon developed into a stream of new work. The album has been arranged and mixed by electronic composer and sound artist Sam Britton. Britton’s sure touch ensures that the various elements work together to create something quite unique. For whilst this album is a collection that foregrounds its off-centre and experimental aspects, it’s also blessed with plenty of hooks and seductive grooves. This is exemplified by ‘Swish‘, which, with its shuffling drums and reverberating guitar traces, sounds like a sublime out-take from Can’s ‘Tago Mago‘.