All posts by Camille

THE 13th STEP

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS

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Release date and track list

May 6, 2022
NL MP3/CDR self-released on Bandcamp

  1. A Scented Candle
  2. Divine Resignation 6
  3. Cover Version (Unabridged)
  4. A Quiet Night In
  5. Tunnel Of Love
  6. A Very British Romance
  7. Learning Curve
  8. Cosmic Radiation – The Radiator – Fare Thee Well
  9. A Starry Stripy Submarine A Spying On Murmansk
  10. The Lie In The Sky
  11. Blind Man’s Buff
  12. Collecting Seashells
Credits
  • EK- vox
  • Erik Drost-guitar
  • The Silverman- instruments

Ray Steeg mastered ‘The Tunnel’, Sarada made the beautiful original artwork for ‘The Tunnel’ and ‘A Scented Candle’, Franke Nardiello provided the wonderful painting for the original version of ‘The Shock Exchange’. Cover art for this collection by EK. Thank you Lisa and Dave at ‘Noise Noise Noise’ and Stefano at Rustblade Records.

Notes

This follow-up to “12 Steps Off The Path” is an anthology which collects the two 12″ EPs on the excellent ‘Noise Noise Noise’ label ( ‘A Scented Candle’ and ‘The Tunnel’ ) plus The Dots’ side of ‘The Shock Exchange’ and bonus cut, ‘Collecting Seashells’ which was intended for a compilation celebrating the films of Fellini but never realised. Sound has been enhanced for this collection and the beautiful original covers are included as bonus items with this download.

The CDR is a lovingly handmade limited edition of 113.

 

Tales From The Trenches

EDWARD KA-SPEL

<< back to the Combined Discography

Release date and track list

May 6, 2022
NL MP3 self-released on the EK’s Bandcamp

  1. 1919
  2. Archetype / Charcoal Estates / Votes For Pinocchio / No Gateway
  3. X Marks The Spot
  4. No Show Tonight
  5. The Seek Her Here…..
  6. Platform 5
  7. No Show Tomorrow
Credits
  • Edward Ka-Spel
Notes

Bandcamp Friday, possibly the last. It’s an occasion that has become precious to music lovers at a time when the planet is at such a low point.

I guess I’ve been using these Fridays like a long diary and the latest entry commenced a little less than a month ago, and was finished just yesterday.  The title is “Tales From The Trenches”. Just an attempt to try and make some sense of it all.

 

Bandcamp Friday May 2022

Possibly the final Bandcamp Friday, so it feels appropriate to see things out in a good way. “The 13th Step” gathers together “A Scented Candle”, “The Tunnel” and “The Shock Exchange” into a single release as a CDR and digital album.  The sound has also been greatly enhanced.

Order the CDR of The 13th Step HERE. This is a limited edition of 113. They will be shipped out on or around May 15, 2022

Meanwhile, over at: edwardka-spel.bandcamp.com you’ll find “Tales From The Trenches”- a sad installment into what is proving to be an audio diary of a sad year.

Many vinyl rarities are also present for the curious today – seek and you’ll find!

White Light // White Heat Review + Interview

EDWARD KA-SPEL of The LEGENDARY PINK DOTS “refuses to slow down” with the new LP “The Museum of Human Happiness”

 | 13th April 2022

Earlier on March 18, Metropolis Records released the brand new album ‘The Museum of Human Happiness’ by the unique and mythical act The Legendary Pink Dots. With an ocean of releases for 41 years now, this new record can be considered as another fresh wave into The Dots swell, or another leap forward for these groundbreakers whose inspiration is literally boundless both in music and the performing level. ‘The Museum…’ has 12 new songs that emanate from the multifaceted sonic front of the band with things that we are used to and many more that either renew their ‘situation’ or add other pieces to the wonderful, big puzzle of their course.

The music here is so complicated simple; The Dots are (still) playing Avant-rock music in the avant-garde style, blending it all (again and forever) with experimental elements that are taken from psychedelia (and the neo-psychedelia too), and placing them on the usual field of the old post-punk rails; of course, you will also hear some hidden traces of the ‘gaze’ task and execution as well as the poetic-punk attitude and style…simple as that yeah! ‘Cloudsurfer’ is a rather characteristic song of this year’s orientation, check it out and Ι see you again later…

Αlmost everything has been written and said about this band, and most of it is correct and true. The next track ‘Nightingale’ is putting other thoughts, it sounds as if it reveals the complexity of their unique existence in a notable, experimental spot in the new album…

…and the same goes for the closing track of the record, ‘Nirvana For Zeroes’…

…and of course, the adventure starts at the beginning with a piece so trademark for The Dots, ‘This Is The Museum’.

You will enjoy all these ‘surreal’ diamonds and more in their entire new album, but better go now to the conversation I had with Edward Ka-Spel who is not the usual rock star of our times, he doesn’t give many interviews, he is quite sparing and very comprehensive but we respect him absolutely and endlessly!

HELLO MR KA-SPEL, IT IS AN HONOUR TO HAVE YOU WITH US, WELCOME TO WL//WH!!! LET’S GO STRAIGHT TO THE HOT NEWS PLEASE, THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS RECENTLY RELEASED THEIR BRAND NEW ALBUM ‘THE MUSEUM OF HUMAN HAPPINESS’ WITH 12 BRAND NEW SONGS AND I’D LIKE TO ASK WHAT KIND OF WORKMANSHIP IS THIS NEW LP FOR THE DOTS, AND THEIR FANS?

Hi my friend…I guess the first bricks of ‘The Museum’ were planted in early 2020, just as the World closed down. It was actually quite terrifying. From casual advice about the need to wash our hands for 20 seconds, it seemed like the daily deaths on the tv screens resembled winning lottery tickets. Supermarkets here were emptied, and police were poised to pounce on anyone who blew a kiss at someone else. With all that time at home, I had to write…and write..and write. And then record….

I READ IN THE PRESS KIT A STATEMENT FROM YOU THAT NEEDS A LITTLE EXPLANATION FOR OUR READERS “THE LYRICS ARE UTTERLY POIGNANT, DESPERATE, YET SOMETIMES BEARING A FLASH OF GALLOWS HUMOR”. DOES THIS REVEAL THE WHOLE MYSTERY OF THE NEW ALBUM?

Not at all. Just a little guidance for the unprepared…
ARTISTICALLY, THE DOTS WERE ALWAYS A VERSATILE PROJECT OVER THE YEARS BUT I FEEL THE NEW ALBUM TAKES THINGS TO A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CONSTELLATION FROM YOUR PREVIOUS STUDIO ALBUMS. WHERE ARE YOU GOING AND WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST WITH ‘THE MUSEUM…’?

41 years of The Dots but I refuse to slow down or reach for the carpet slippers. You see there is still so much left to discover…

ARE THERE ANY ‘FAVORITE TRACKS’ FOR YOU ON THE NEW ALBUM OR TRACKS THAT YOU ARE A LITTLE AFRAID OF FOR YOUR AUDIENCE?

Not really… There was plenty of time to perfect this one and it was necessary with the impossibility of us getting together.

IF A YOUNG PERSON HEARD YOU SAY THAT YOU HAVE A BAND AND ASKED YOU WHAT KIND OF MUSIC YOU PLAY, WHAT WOULD YOU ANSWER? WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO THE DOTS FINALLY MAKE?

A question I face quite often and I’m usually clueless when it comes to an answer. Normally I stick with ‘unique’ …we have our ‘own sound’ which of course, leaves the questioner utterly confused.

I’VE SEEN THE DOTS LIVE IN ATHENS BACK IN 2008 OR 2009 AND I WAS AMAZED! I HAD ALREADY KNOWN THE BAND SINCE THE MID-90S AND SEEING THE DOTS PERFORMING LIVE REALLY EXPLAINED A LOT TO ME. THE QUESTION IS WHERE ALL THIS INNER SOUND PHANTASMAGORIA IS HIDDEN INSIDE YOU AND HOW FINALLY AFTER SO MANY DECADES (I STILL BELIEVE) DO YOU MAKE SUCH AMAZING PERFORMANCES? REMEMBER THAT IN THE END, WE DIDN’T WANT YOU TO LEAVE THE STAGE? (THIS CITY COULD BE ANY OTHER IN THE WORLD I GUESS)

I’ll never forget that first show in Gagarin 205…We’d been trying to get to Athens for decades and eventually drove all the way through Italy and took the trucker boat to Igoumenitsa. The audience was plain magnificent…it inspired us all.

The Legendary Pink Dots live at Gagarin 205 Athens

MR KA-SPEL I BELIEVE YOU ARE AN INNOVATOR LIKE A PIONEER AND A GROUNDBREAKER IN MUSIC, BUT SOMETIMES IN HISTORY, THIS CAN’T HAPPEN ALONE. TELL US A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE DOTS, PLEASE, AND HOW COME YOU AGREED TO NAVIGATE TOGETHER WITH THE DOTS?

Well, there is The Silverman ( Phil Knight) who was there at the beginning and now lives in The Netherlands with an attic crammed with analogue synthesizers, then there’s Erik Drost with the edgiest, noisiest, and tenderest guitar you’ll ever wish to hear. A band of long-standing friendships ultimately…Sure, there’s tension but it’s all in the music…

REALLY NOW I WANT TO ASK WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO AT HOME AT THIS TIME? WOULD YOU LIKE TO SUGGEST US SOMETHING …?

A hard one..but probably my favourite album of the last few years ‘async’ by Ryuichi Sakamoto…

I DO NOT REMEMBER READING ANYWHERE WHY THE NAME OF THE BAND IS THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS AND MOST OF OUR READERS WILL HAVE THE SAME QUESTION TOO, WILL YOU TELL US?

Our first piano had spots of pink nail varnish on the keys which we referred to as those ‘legendary pink dots’. It had a ring to it…

WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS FOR THE BAND, ANY LIVE GIGS, ANY OTHER RELEASE BY THE DOTS OR AS A SOLO?

Planning tours right now, including a show in Athens next February… Recording a lot of solo material in the last months and posting it on our Bandcamp pages. I also made an album together with the Pink Dots’ violin player from back in the 80s (Patrick Q Wright) entitled, ‘The Scarlet Trail of Stinging Tears’.

EDWARD KA-SPEL THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME, LAST WORDS ON YOU!

Ah, no words…..

Source: whitelight-whiteheat.com

Obsküre- The Museum Of Human Happiness

THE LEGENDARY PINK DOTS: THE MUSEUM OF HUMAN HAPPINESS

Un album des Legendary Pink Dots s’appréhende avec un sens du sacré quand on est fan. Les autres regarderont ça avec un petit sourire en coin. La discographie d’Edward Ka-Spel est vertigineuse par le nombre. Et l’on sait aussi que chaque disque a son ambiance générale, ses tonalités ou couleurs et ses passages magnifiques sur lesquels on reviendra forcément, mais qu’il faudra dans un premier temps savoir repérer dans cet amoncellement sonore pour mieux les apprécier. Le dernier long format Angel In The Detail datant de 2019 (aussi chez Metropolis), on a eu plus de temps que de coutume pour approfondir. Nous sommes donc prêts pour de nouveaux titres.

La première pièce de ce cru 2022 est un long morceau hypnotique qui cache sous des travers prog une félicité new wave clinquante – digne de The Tower ou Any Day Now. Pourtant, pour avoir accès aux jolies pointes, il faut accepter les répétitions, les détails dysharmoniques qui louvoient. Le groupe s’amuse et refuse le tube propre qu’il sait écrire. “Cruel Britannia” épouse un rythme disco-rock gentiment brit-pop, mais sans refrain appuyé, perdu dans les souffles de fusées qui décollent et qui interrogent les atermoiements de la démocratie et de l’amour des autres. “Hands face Space” renoue également avec les volutes synth-wave primordiales, mais le canevas bifurque vite vers une psyché-folk progressive accrocheuse, mais en partie décevante.

La tonalité est introspective sur plusieurs titres, c’est-à-dire que la musique sert d’accompagnement à une prise de conscience (altérée) du leader et le suivre n’est pas aisé. Les fans du groupe le savent : “Cloudsurfer” ne survivra sans doute pas à ses trois écoutes polies : gonflée par le heavy sixties et les nappes kraut, la composition ne sait pas forcément où aller, mais elle trace une route psychédélique. “Postcards from Home” est bien plus pertinente, triste et mélancolique, sur un fond minimal-jazzy répétitif.

Les arrangements, heureusement, sont une force et beaucoup de fans aiment traquer les détails qui parsèment par touches les compositions. “Coronation Street” fait partie de ces pièces qu’il faut observer au microscope auditif. La voix mutine se promène dans un paysage chatoyant : oui, encore une fois, on peut songer à des trips liés à des hallucinogènes en écoutant les Pink Dots… On sait aussi que “Tripping on my Nightmares” deviendra un compagnon du soir, une fois sa montée saturée intégrée dans notre cerveau.

La voix trône, exigeante et toujours juvénile ; on l’apprécie particulièrement pour sa richesse sur le conte “The Girl who got there first”, même si ce titre manque aussi d’une stabilité. De nombreux samples font état de foules qui applaudissent ou crient, comme si la solitude liée au confinement devait se conjurer par la musique. “There be Monsters” narre ainsi de manière métaphorique l’invasion du virus dans un village, une submersion que le groupe a vécue en direct lorsqu’il a tourné pour ses quarante ans d’existence, gagnant chaque soir une nouvelle destination soumise peu de jours après à des interdictions. À l’opposé, la berceuse accompagnée de chants d’oiseaux et jouée au piano, “A Stretch beyond”, est un moment de calme ; moment doublé par la psalmodie au clavecin électronique qui finit l’album : “Nirvana for Zeroes” est un nouvel anthem du groupe, classique dans ses aspects maniérés et expérimentaux, long voyage en territoires baroques.

L’album selon Ka-Spel est conçu comme un bûcher expiatoire face à la folie humaine. “Nightingale” a cette dimension cérémonielle qu’on apprécie chez les Dots : intime et publique à la fois, un rituel proche de nous et pourtant élevé. Combien planeront une fois de plus ?

English:

A Legendary Pink Dots album is apprehended with a sense of the sacred when one is a fan. The others will watch this with a smirk. Edward Ka-Spel’s discography is dizzying in number. And we also know that each disc has its general atmosphere, its tones or colors and its magnificent passages to which we will inevitably come back, but which it will first be necessary to know how to spot in this sound heap to better appreciate them. The last long format Angel In The Detail dating from 2019 (also at Metropolis), we had more time than usual to deepen. So we are ready for new titles.

The first piece of this vintage 2022 is a long hypnotic track that hides under prog quirks a flashy new wave bliss – worthy ofThe Tower or Any Day Now . However, to have access to the pretty points, you have to accept the repetitions, the disharmonic details that waver. The group has fun and refuses the clean hit that they know how to write. “Cruel Britannia” espouses a gently Brit-pop disco-rock rhythm, but without a strong chorus, lost in the blasts of rockets taking off and questioning the procrastination of democracy and the love of others. “Hands face Space” also reconnects with the primordial synth-wave volutes, but the framework quickly branches off towards a catchy, but partly disappointing progressive psyche-folk.

The tone is introspective on several titles, that is to say that the music serves as an accompaniment to a (altered) awareness of the leader and following him is not easy. Fans of the group know it: “Cloudsurfer” will probably not survive its three polite listenings: inflated by the heavy sixties and the kraut layers, the composition does not necessarily know where to go, but it traces a psychedelic route. “Postcards from Home” is much more relevant, sad and melancholy, on a repetitive minimal-jazzy background.

The arrangements, fortunately, are a strength and many fans like to hunt down the details that dot the compositions. “Coronation Street” is one of those pieces that must be observed under an auditory microscope. The mischievous voice wanders through a shimmering landscape: yes, once again, we can think of trips linked to hallucinogens while listening to the Pink Dots… We also know that “Tripping on my Nightmares” will become an evening companion, once its saturated rise is integrated into our brain.

The voice reigns, demanding and always youthful; we particularly appreciate it for its richness on the tale “The Girl who got there first”, even if this title also lacks stability. Many samples show crowds applauding or shouting, as if the loneliness linked to confinement had to be warded off by music. “There be Monsters” thus metaphorically narrates the invasion of the virus in a village, a submersion that the group experienced live when it toured for its forty years of existence, reaching a new destination each evening subject to few days later to bans. In contrast, the lullaby accompanied by birdsong and played on the piano, “A Stretch beyond”, is a moment of calm;

The album according to Ka-Spel is conceived as an expiatory pyre in the face of human madness. “Nightingale” has this ceremonial dimension that we appreciate in the Dots: intimate and public at the same time, a ritual close to us and yet elevated. How many will soar once more?

Posted by: Sylvain Nicolino
Source: Obskure.com