Shape Worship - A City Remembrancer
by Maarten Schiethart
published: 11 / 1 / 2016
Label:
Front and Follow
Format: CD
intro
Thought-provoking debut album from Shape Worship, the project of South London pianist and urban dub musician Ed Gillett
This is stupendous 'stuff' from Ed Gillett, who if things were different might be his fellow South London hoodie pal Burial. Initially the words that come to mind listening to these electronica escapades are 'cacaphonic drizzle'. Similarly, the Congotronic samples which Shape Worship uses on wider notes add touches that can be easily overheard as well. The epitome of confusion is what it aims for. 'A City Remembrancer' sums up urban and suburban buzz in a worship of sound, like echoes from a city falling apart. That doesn't mean to say though that he's a talent already lost on the piano. Ed Gillett nearly succeeds in creating paintings and drawings that become like striking sound attacks. A keen understanding of Philip Glass on 'Zoned' provides a few seconds of jokes on the 'Koyaanisqatsi' theme. What caught my ear though remain those Konono Numéro Un samples. Brooding on hip movements, the album never loses its sense of direction. The dialogue snippets, which come from estate residents, stand as an ironic testament as to why we'd better escape from the city whilst increasingly the noises become quiet and remote. As if 'A City Remembrancer' has gone suburban, Shape Worship calms down on 'Saffron and Jasmine', via 'Decanted' before finishing with 'Necropolis' with sounds of happy laughter next to a stream of water. Far-fetched as a concept, the album merely appears as too pretentious. It is urban dub with a political twist.
Track Listing:-
1 Tamesis (Vision)2 Zoned (Hecate)
3 Mudlarks
4 Vertices (Ziggurat)
5 Heygate Palimpsest
6 An Exemplar
7 Paternoster (Look)
8 Rentiers Dub
9 1987 (Interlude)
10 Saffron and Jasmine
11 Decanted (Mohir)
12 Necropolis (So Many)
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/shapeworship/http://shapeworship.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/ehgillett
Label Links:-
http://www.frontandfollow.com/https://www.facebook.com/frontandfollow?_rdr=p
http://frontandfollow.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/frontandfollow
bandcamp
soundcloud
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesPhilip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Jules Winchester - The Journey
Deep Purple - =1
Bill Wyman - Drive My Car
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Popstar - Obscene
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart