Friday 7 May 2010

Kev Hopper - Whispering Foils

Excellent release on Stereolab's Duophionic imprint from 2000. Kev Hopper was the (fantastic) bassist in 80s musical-weird-beards Stump ('Chaos' on Youtube). He went on to release mostly instrumental albums, featuring samples, bass, and lots of musical saw, which he plays.
The results vary from the totally brilliant 'Return Of The Bung', with it's basslines slithering and rolling around weird ambient textures and some clean tremelo guitar - this could almost be an outtake from Eno's Another Green World. 'Lamalou Les Bains' is a combination of saw, acoustic guitar and vibes, and is very High Llamas-y; and I could even imagine Monsieur Hulot wandering around with this in the background. 'Canary Lights' is another excellent track based around the tumbling sound of Hopper's percussive bass - tapping and popping over a shuffling groove while mandolin, accordion and vocals add the melodic textures. The whole ambience also reminds me of Tortoise, and this could obviously fit into the post rock category, but comparisons do this album a bit of a disservice (even though I've made loads), as it sounds quite unique. Also, it is rather lovely sounding.
Check out Kev Hopper's Website. It's pretty interesting, and also he is giving away all his music - so download it and donate him some money: I recommend 'I Saw Spoombung's Daughter Consumed By Kirby Dots'.

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